Carnedd y Saeson

Nearest town:
Llanfairfechan (4km NNE)
OS reference:
SH678717
OS sheet:
115
Latitude:
53° 13' 31.82 N
Longitude:
3° 58' 49.89 W
Added to TMA by

Images

Image of Carnedd y Saeson (Cairn(s)) by GLADMAN

Excellent site, this. The visit was too long delayed.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Nov 7, 2017
Image of Carnedd y Saeson (Cairn(s)) by GLADMAN

Lovely day for a pic-nic...............

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Nov 7, 2017
Image of Carnedd y Saeson (Cairn(s)) by GLADMAN

The excellent cap stone side on.......

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Nov 7, 2017
Image of Carnedd y Saeson (Cairn(s)) by GLADMAN

Such is the paucity of poor weather upon the northern Carneddau that conditions such as these required me to drop everything and rush to the site before they were gone for another year...

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Nov 7, 2017
Image of Carnedd y Saeson (Cairn(s)) by thesweetcheat

Sometimes the word “cairn” on a map doesn’t do justice to what you find on site.

Image credit: A. Brookes (19.7.2014)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Sep 18, 2014
Image of Carnedd y Saeson (Cairn(s)) by postman

The mist rolling in, gone are the mountains and the view across the Straits to Angelsey, But Carnedd y Saeson stayed put.

Image credit: Chris Bickerton
postman
postman Jul 21, 2014
Image of Carnedd y Saeson (Cairn(s)) by postman

Looking over one of the few places where some cairn material can still be seen, with the cist lid behind.

Image credit: Chris Bickerton
postman
postman Nov 10, 2013
Image of Carnedd y Saeson (Cairn(s)) by postman

A good section of inner and outer kerb stones

Image credit: Chris Bickerton
postman
postman Nov 10, 2013
Image of Carnedd y Saeson (Cairn(s)) by postman

The cist lid on the left and the space it covered.

Image credit: Chris Bickerton
postman
postman Nov 10, 2013
Image of Carnedd y Saeson (Cairn(s)) by postman

Looking down into the Anafon valley, its just a short walk from here to another good cairn.

Image credit: Chris Bickerton
postman
postman Nov 10, 2013
Image of Carnedd y Saeson (Cairn(s)) by postman

This mysterious something is half way from the carpark to Carnedd y Saeson, about 200m from both, on the other side of a wall. Coflein doesnt mention it but there are hut circles in the same field. Any thoughts?

Image credit: Chris Bickerton
postman
postman Jul 17, 2010

Articles

Carnedd y Saeson

postman
postman Nov 11, 2013

All along the North coast of Wales there are many ancient sites, masses of hill forts, a thousand cairns, even the second biggest man made mound in Britain, but it is the Druids circle that shines out most to me. But a close second is this place, Carnedd y Saeson, very overlooked, mostly ignored, but highly entertaining.
Two concentric circles of small stones, with a large displaced cist capstone in the middle. Marked on the map as just one in a group of nondescript cairns, but this is no spread of loose stones, if it were cleared and tidied of all the choking gorse bushes it would not look out of place on Dartmoor, with it’s big cist and surrounding stone circle. So to that end I shall be trying to get up here a bit more often, with my shears and flick saw and see if I cant make it a bit more visitor friendly and to finally see the whole thing. Unless anyone has any reservations.

Carnedd y Saeson

postman
postman Jul 17, 2010

From the A55 turn south as if heading for Aber falls, drive straight through the carpark and over the bridge, keep going till you run out of road, this is an official free carpark, fits a dozen or so.
Follow the wall and path up the hill, looking for sticky out stones in the wall for climbing easily over the wall. It is here that the ruined stone circle??? or hut circle or what ever it is, is hiding.
Keep climbing the hill following the wall and path untill you can see the stone walls of a large tumbled enclosure above you up the hill some more. Looking down on the enclosure you can also see the cairn stones of Carnedd y Saeson to the left, approach with caution and set your faces to stunned.
What a fantastic place, the monument is in appearance two concentric stone circles with cairn material here and there with a large capstone in the middle of it all. The only detractor is the abundant gorse all over this hillside, it impedes progress at the least and is doing its best to smother the stones at worst.
The cairn is itself very interesting, but the surroundings are what really stuns you, the wooded gorge and awesome mountains and hopefully like me deep blue skies, dont get too comfortable or you could spend a week up here,
just letting the place wash through you and soak you up.
Also, you so have to go to Aber falls if your here its one of the local wonders.

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