Moel y Gadfa

Nearest town:
Bala (13km NNW)
OS reference:
SH94082304
OS sheet:
125
Latitude:
52° 47' 38.93 N
Longitude:
3° 34' 15.74 W
Added to TMA by

Images

Image of Moel y Gadfa (Round Cairn) by GLADMAN

Needless to say.... this is not somewhere to be caught in hill fog without a compass.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Dec 31, 2023
Image of Moel y Gadfa (Round Cairn) by GLADMAN

Looking towards Llyn Efyrnwy... rightly beloved of tourists. No tourists up here, however.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Dec 31, 2023
Image of Moel y Gadfa (Round Cairn) by GLADMAN

Dodgy conditions, so poor light – but nevertheless a pretty substantial monument, albeit well camouflaged upon the hillside.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Dec 31, 2023

Articles

A very obscure Bronze Age cairn between Bwlch-y-Groes and Llyn Efyrnwy, east of the mighty Arans.

GLADMAN
GLADMAN Dec 29, 2023

Miscellaneous

Moel y Gadfa
Round Cairn
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Dec 30, 2023

Despite being featured upon current OS mapping I’m pretty confident that a visit to the obscure Bronze Age cairn located upon the south-eastern spur of Moel y Gadfa – the high moor ( at 1,669ft) overlooking the minor road linking the mountain pass Bwlch-y-Groes and Llyn Efyrnwy – will not grace many antiquarian-themed itineraries. Ha! Upon second thoughts, very confident...

To be fair, the terrain to be found here – to the east of the magnificent Arans – is probably an acquired taste and, as such, likely to appeal only to those with a penchant for avoiding the crowds and immersing themselves in the landscape – hopefully not TOO literally, one would hope. It is pretty hard going underfoot... but hey, nothing good comes without a little effort, right?

In the event I struggled to find the monument owing to fence lines on the ground not mirroring what was shown upon my map, this disorientating me more than a little as hill fog swept in to further confuse matters with reduced visibility... and driving rain. However, find it I did. Eventually.

Coflein notes:

“A much disturbed & spread round cairn, in the region of 7.5m in diameter & 1.0m high.” [RCAHMW AP94-CS 0027 J.Wiles 26.07.04]

Sites within 20km of Moel y Gadfa

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