Eglwys Gwyddelod

Nearest town:
Tywyn (7km W)
OS reference:
SH663002
OS sheet:
135
Latitude:
52° 34' 57.92 N
Longitude:
3° 58' 24.83 W
Added to TMA by

Images

Image of Eglwys Gwyddelod (Cairn circle) by thesweetcheat

The small cairn, looking west. The eastern arc suggests the cairn had a kerb.

Image credit: A. Brookes (20.4.2023)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat May 27, 2024
Image of Eglwys Gwyddelod (Cairn circle) by thesweetcheat

Looking ESE. The track is waterlogged, somehow I doubt it’s ever dry.

Image credit: A. Brookes (20.4.2023)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat May 27, 2024
Image of Eglwys Gwyddelod (Cairn circle) by thesweetcheat

From the southeast. Very different weather to my previous visit.

Image credit: A. Brookes (20.4.2023)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat May 27, 2024
Image of Eglwys Gwyddelod (Cairn circle) by thesweetcheat

The flat-topped stone. Note moss-obscured vein cutting through the stone.

Image credit: A. Brookes/Bloss (3.9.2011)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Sep 4, 2011
Image of Eglwys Gwyddelod (Cairn circle) by thesweetcheat

Wide angle, looking east. Note waterlogged state of the track behind.

Image credit: A. Brookes/Bloss (3.9.2011)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Sep 4, 2011
Image of Eglwys Gwyddelod (Cairn circle) by postman

This cairn is about 100yards over the ridge and out of view of the stone circle, but close enough to have the same name.

Image credit: Chris Bickerton
postman
postman Apr 25, 2010
Image of Eglwys Gwyddelod (Cairn circle) by gjrk

The view from the pathway, northwards, to the ridge and the circle.

Image credit: Gordon Kingston
gjrk
gjrk Jul 28, 2009
Image of Eglwys Gwyddelod (Cairn circle) by gjrk

Looking southeast towards the pathway up from the road.

Image credit: Gordon Kingston
gjrk
gjrk Jul 28, 2009
Image of Eglwys Gwyddelod (Cairn circle) by gjrk

The flat-topped stone on the northern side of the circle, looking towards the southern arc.

Image credit: Gordon Kingston
gjrk
gjrk Jul 28, 2009
Image of Eglwys Gwyddelod (Cairn circle) by Kammer

Taken 9th November 2002: This stone is on the north side of the circle, and it’s unusually flat at the top.

Image credit: Simon Marshall
Kammer
Kammer Nov 12, 2002
Image of Eglwys Gwyddelod (Cairn circle) by Kammer

Taken 9th November 2002: Looking (approximately) east towards Happy Valley (in the near distance), the Dyfi Valley (in the middle distance), and the Cambrian Mountains (way off in the haze). You can see the rocky outcrop to the left of this shot.

Image credit: Simon Marshall
Kammer
Kammer Nov 12, 2002
Image of Eglwys Gwyddelod (Cairn circle) by Kammer

Taken 9th November 2002: This is the south side of the circle, viewed from the east. I think that William was playing fire engines when I took this.

Image credit: Simon Marshall
Kammer
Kammer Nov 12, 2002
Image of Eglwys Gwyddelod (Cairn circle) by Kammer

Taken 9th November 2002: This is the circle, viewed from the rocky outcrop that lies just to the north of it. No step ladder required here!

Image credit: Simon Marshall
Kammer
Kammer Nov 12, 2002

Articles

Eglwys Gwyddelod

postman
postman Apr 25, 2010

I didnt have an OS map for the place so I extrapolated from the Coflein map and marked an x marks the spot on my road map, then I google street viewed as close as I could. It was enough to get me there easily, infact it made me smile to see places for myself that I’d just seen on the computer 12 hours before. Applause due to Coflein, google and the internet in general.
I parked fifty yards from a house called Pant yr onn and walked with Maggie the Jack Russell up the stoney path. Whilst listening to a cuckoo and watching newly arrived swallows the view to the east began to open out, mountain peaks began to appear over the hilltops and suddenly we were there.
This is one of the strangest placed stone circles Ive ever seen, it looks almost deliberatley hidden amongst the rocks, if it was meant to be seen there are better places, though to be seen from where?
Just over the ridge on the next wide shelf is a cairn, not even a foot high but still discernible coflein gives it the same name as the stone circle.
Nine stones remain in the ring, one stone is just two feet away from a ten foot drop, and as Coflein is at pains to tell us (so much so that there are two entries for this place one a stone circle and the other a cairn circle) the northern stone is not broken there are two stones, the flat top one is a circle stone the other one a wandering boulder.
On the way back down we saw a Jay and a Heron carrying nesting material, and on the way from Mynnydd Pentre two cormorants at Tal y llyn.

Eglwys Gwyddelod

Kammer
Kammer Nov 12, 2002

Visited 9th November 2002: We went to the wrong place first of all, which was a bit embarrassing (my fault). On our second attempt we made it to the right valley, and found the circle without too much trouble (I’ll spare you the details).

Eglwys Gwyddelod is a cairn circle, or so the experts seem to think. There’s no remaining in-fill that can be positively identified, so I’m not sure how it was decided that the site isn’t just a stone circle. It’s much bigger than the cairn circles I’m familiar with (e.g. Dolgamfa or Hirnant) which are kerb cairns. At Eglwys Gwyddelod the stones are approximately one cubic meter in size, which I grant you isn’t big on stone circle standards, but on local standards it’s quite large.

The circle sits on a natural shelf overlooking a small valley with beautiful views, particularly to the east. Through the valley runs the old mountain road (and I use the term loosely) between Pennal and Bryn Crug. This is the best way to get to the site on foot, but look out for the enormous water filled trenches caused by off-roaders. Also beware slippery rock on this track, as it’s had hundreds of years of polishing from a variety of feet & vehicles. Wellies aren’t a bad idea if it’s been raining.

Well worth a visit, but it’s a bit of a way from the road.

Miscellaneous

Eglwys Gwyddelod
Cairn circle
Kammer
Kammer Nov 13, 2002

‘Eglwys’ means church and ‘Gwyddelod’ is the word for ‘the Irish’, so this site’s name probably means ‘The Church of the Irish’.

However, there’s another less common meaning for the word ‘Gwyddelod’ (probably developed on the basis of misinterpretation of the word ‘gwydd’) which is an old word for ‘woods/trees’ etc. This means the circle’s name might mean ‘The Church of the Trees’.

Big thanks to Elin for her help translating this, and providing most of the other Welsh language info that I’ve posted.

Kammer x

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