Llech-y-Doll

Also known as:
Cilan Uchaf
Nearest town:
Pwllheli (13km NNE)
OS reference:
SH300235
OS sheet:
123
Latitude:
52° 46' 54.69 N
Longitude:
4° 31' 15.3 W
Added to TMA by

Images

Image of Llech-y-Doll (Burial Chamber) by thesweetcheat

There’s a real feeling of edge of the world remoteness here.

Image credit: A. Brookes (11.3.2016)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Apr 3, 2016
Image of Llech-y-Doll (Burial Chamber) by thesweetcheat

This is a massively thick stone, interesting to speculate on whether it was ever properly elevated on supports.

Image credit: A. Brookes (11.3.2016)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Apr 3, 2016
Image of Llech-y-Doll (Burial Chamber) by thesweetcheat

Looking northeast towards Porth Ceiriad. Pared Mawr cliff fort is visible as a bump on the skyline, centre.

Image credit: A. Brookes (11.3.2016)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Apr 3, 2016
Image of Llech-y-Doll (Burial Chamber) by Meic

September 2014. Looks so much like an Irish boulder burial

Image credit: Michael Mitchell
Meic
Meic Jan 7, 2015
Image of Llech-y-Doll (Burial Chamber) by postman

Green and pleasant land meets the big blue, with a big old stone getting in the way

Image credit: Chris Bickerton
postman
postman Aug 24, 2012

Articles

Llech-y-Doll

postman
postman Aug 24, 2012

Due to the passage of time directions to this burial chamber have changed slightly since rdavymed came here nine years ago.
Parking is still at Cilan Uchaf farm, but your charged two quid for the pleasure now, there is an honesty slot in the barns side door.
Heading south east from the farm through a gate with a sign encouraging fishermen to come this way, after closing the gate behind you go into the right hand far corner of the field passing an unused caravan. There is another gate to be open and closed and across the field is another gate, head for that and then your in the burial chambers field it’s in the far left corner. So that’s three gates, no more than a ten minutes walk, even if you dawdle.

Sounds easy enough, but it’s not the way I went.

Instead of the fisher friendly gate we went down the half overgrown old footpath that bends and takes us away south, not the right way. At the end of this path over a fence, cross a field, and over another fence, then I was sure it would be over the field and over the next fence and there it would be. No . Hmmm, I was sure I would be in the right place, we walked further south down to the sea looked about , wandered hither and thither , but couldn’t find it at all. Eric was trying to be helpful, suggesting it and been pushed over, or it had fallen in the sea, the latter wasn’t impossible we were close to the edge of some high cliffs, and erosion isn’t a made up word. We retraced our steps, basically I employed the tactic of going round in circles getting more and more frustrated. As a last gasp solution we sat on the cliff tops looking out to sea, I put the map away and began to resign myself to some inadequate failed notes. Suddenly a spark of genius entered my consciousnesses, I silently stood up walked over to the stile ten meters away, peered across the field and pointed “there it is”, just like John Cleese pointing out Brian as he runs off through the streets.

I couldn’t believe how hard I’d found finding this bloody great stone to be, at one point I was going to blame unusually magnetic bedrock, then the map was wrong, plainly. In the end I can only presume it really is harder to find than you at first think.
The llech is really very big, over four feet tall five feet wide and twelve? feet long. Sitting on the stone for a while we watched a RNLI lifeboat out doing maneuvers, or perhaps showing off to a girlfriend. High on the cliff tops above Porth ceiriad is a hill fort, but time wont allow a visit today. Under the stone at its southern end are a couple of stones that could have supported this end of the capstone, could be field clearance though.
rdavymed’s field notes mention it isn’t easy to find and he’s dead right, but he also says it could be the most spectacular site on the Lleyn, I’m not so sure about that though. It’s a very worthwhile place to get to, for the size of the llech and those easy on the eye sea views.

Llech-y-Doll

R
rdavymed Sep 8, 2003

I can’t believe no-one has posted regarding this site before. Perhaps the most spectacular site on the Lleyn Peninsula, with cracking views out to sea.

Not the easiest place to find. Park at Cilan Uchaf farm (there is a large car park), walk down the track to your left and keep going towards the sea, climbing any wall you come up against. Keep your eyes to the right, as this is where the chamber will appear on your right.

The chamber itself is typical of those in North Wales, but the views are anything but.

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