Caer Drewyn

Nearest town:
Llangollen (13km E)
OS reference:
SJ087444
OS sheet:
125
Latitude:
52° 59' 19.52 N
Longitude:
3° 21' 36.93 W
Added to TMA by

Images

Image of Caer Drewyn (Hillfort) by juamei

Image Credit: Natural Resources Wales

Image credit: LiDAR Composite Dataset. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v2.0.
juamei
juamei Mar 25, 2018
Image of Caer Drewyn (Hillfort) by postman

Southern wall looking southwest over Corwen

Image credit: Chris Bickerton
postman
postman Apr 13, 2011
Image of Caer Drewyn (Hillfort) by postman

western wall looking north towards the rectangular annex.

Image credit: Chris Bickerton
postman
postman Apr 13, 2011
Image of Caer Drewyn (Hillfort) by postman

The eastern wall looking north. With rectangular annex containing a hut circle?

Image credit: Chris Bickerton
postman
postman Apr 13, 2011
Image of Caer Drewyn (Hillfort) by postman

Northern wall looking west, with a small entrance.

Image credit: Chris Bickerton
postman
postman Apr 13, 2011
Image of Caer Drewyn (Hillfort) by GLADMAN

A pretty substantial rampart, it has to be said.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Jun 17, 2009
Image of Caer Drewyn (Hillfort) by licornenoire

One of two hut circles(the 2nd though no stones are visible, is above the 1st) on the Eastern edge of the fort outside the walls , of a later (?’dark age’?) date... (I’m looking North in the photo) Should be easy to see in this aerial photograph gtj.org.uk/en/blowup1/1220
, look outside the ramparts at lower end of the satt. photo:

Note in the aerial photo the little holes in the ramparts, one of those (to the left) shows the bit of exposed dry stone walling in one of my photos. (I think!)

Image credit: Nick Dooley
licornenoire
licornenoire Nov 22, 2006
Image of Caer Drewyn (Hillfort) by licornenoire

Looking Westwards, late afternoon on the 12th October 2006 from the NE corner of the fort.

Image credit: Nick Dooley
licornenoire
licornenoire Nov 22, 2006
Image of Caer Drewyn (Hillfort) by licornenoire

12th Oct 2006 From the North East corner of the fort (in the ‘gatehouse’) looking Westwards. Northern rampart below.

Image credit: Nick D
licornenoire
licornenoire Nov 19, 2006
Image of Caer Drewyn (Hillfort) by licornenoire

12th Oct 2006 Looking from the interior of the fort , North Eastwards (so the North East rampart in view)

Image credit: Nick D
licornenoire
licornenoire Nov 19, 2006
Image of Caer Drewyn (Hillfort) by licornenoire

12th Oct 2006 Piece of ancient (IronAge?) dry stone walling ,in the South East Rampart.

Image credit: Nick Dooley
licornenoire
licornenoire Nov 19, 2006
Image of Caer Drewyn (Hillfort) by licornenoire

9th Oct 2006 Looking NE, through the NE ‘gateway’(?) of Caer Drewyn. The modern cairn on the left has appeared since the last time I came up here ( 9 years ago). “Gatehouse” being torn to bits as a result.

Image credit: Nick Dooley Oct 2006
licornenoire
licornenoire Oct 22, 2006

Articles

Caer Drewyn

postman
postman Apr 13, 2011

One of the last great North Walean hillforts on my list of must see’s, and what a cracker it is.
I parked on the B5437 and made my own unguided way up, on my way up I tried to see if I could see Owain Glyndwrs mount down the river a couple of miles but it was out of view, but I did see a load of rabbits, more than seems reasonable, especially with three Buzzards circling constantly overhead.
The hillfort is close to the road but it’s a steep climb from there, when I eventually huffed and puffed my way to the top I was at the south east corner of the fort, the best preserved part of the wall, its stone spread is now more like a really really long cairn, indeed as I walked round I unconsiously kept looking for cists, only to immediately remember where I was.
Coflein says this is a multi phase hilltop site, starting with a small fort at the top, which was later incorperated into what we see now, which goes some way to explain the weird rectangular annexe on the north east corner. Here the walls are truly massive, so much so that the obligatory giant was drafted in to explain the mighty work.
The grand entance is at the eastern end, but it hasnt fared well over the last two millenia, at least two other smaller entrances are at the east and west.

Folklore

Caer Drewyn
Hillfort
Rhiannon
Rhiannon Jun 12, 2011

Drewyn Gawr made Caer Drewyn in Deyrnion, the other side of the river from Corwen. And to his sweetheart he made that Caer, to milk her cows within it.

From ‘The Giants of Wales and their Dwellings’ by Sion Dafydd Rhys, c.1600. Gawr = a giant (because you’d need to be a giant to build something like Caer Drewyn. Maybe they were even giant cows?). The 1917 translation by Hugh Owen is at the Celtic Literature Collective here:
maryjones.us/ctexts/giants_wales.html

Folklore

Caer Drewyn
Hillfort
Rhiannon
Rhiannon Oct 8, 2007

Near the summit of a hill.. called Cefyn Creini, The Mountain of Worship, there is a vast circle of loose stones, which bears the appearance of having once been a British fortification. This is called Caer Drewyn and Y Caer Wen, The White Fort. It is near half a mile in circumference, but the walls are at present in such a state, that at a distance they appear like huge heaps of stones piled round the circumference of a circle.

Owen Gwynedd is believed to have occupied this post while Henry II had his men encamped among the Berwyn mountains, on the opposite side of the vale. It is also related that Owen Glyndwr made use of this place in his occasional retreats.

p39 in ‘Excursions in North Wales’ by William Bingley (1839 ed.)

This hillfort with its huge stone walls would have overseen the important routeway of the Avon Dyfrdwy (the Dee). Owain Glyndwr was apparently born and lived in the valley below – it’s said to be the place where he gathered his army.

Sites within 20km of Caer Drewyn

Like all websites everywhere, we use cookies.