thesweetcheat

Small mound on Cefn Crew, possibly the burnt mound shown on the OS 1:25000. The top of Fan Fawr can be seen on the skyline.

Cwm Crew, hidden gem into the heart of Brecon Beacons. Settled in prehistoric times.

Another view of the second “something”. Any views?

Another of the “somethings” on the northwestern side of the stream. This one is at approx. SN997169.

The CPAT HER places several hut circles on the hillside opposite.

There are several “somethings” on the northwest side of the stream in Cwm Crew, although nothing is shown on CPAT/Coflein. My best guess is a building platform, to level out the steeply sloping terrain. The grid ref of this one is very approx. SN994166.

The entrance to Cwm Crew, just above Nant Crew bridge. The settlement lines the sides of the valley.

The last sun of our last trip of 2014.

Moon’s up.

The thick hoarfrost remained untouched by the sun throughout the day on these north-facing slopes.

Dusk visit at the end of a beautiful Winter’s day.

Looking towards Llanmadoc Hill, a Bronze Age cairn cemetery occupies the length of the ridge.

The tallest standing stone on the Gower.

Not really gonna miss this one!

North Hill Tor rises over the salt marshes of Llandimore Marsh. The fort occupies the area immediately to the right of the rocky outcrop. Llanelli can be seen across the estuary.

The SW corner of the ramparts. The biggest cairn of the dozen or so on Llanmadoc Hill is visible on the high point far left (above the horse).

Looking SE along the southern rampart. The prominent hill on the skyline is Cefn Bryn, crowned by Maen Ceti chambered tomb.

The impressive southern ramparts. The northern tip of Rhossili Down can be seen far left.

The curve of the NE rampart.

NE rampart, with a commanding view over the Gower.

A single bank and ditch suffices on the north, where the steep slopes of the hill provide natural defence.

Thick hoar frost in the northern ditch.

Impressive earthworks on the NW side.

Looking down on the NW ramparts from the outer western bank.

The outermost bank on the west. It doesn’t appear to connect to the rest of the fort so is more like a cross-dyke. Looking over the Loughor/Lwchwr estuary, towards Pembrey on the Carmarthenshire coast.

Worm’s Head seen from the eastern end of Llanmadoc Hill.

Cairn XII.

Unfortunately Cairn XII has suffered at the hands of shelter building idiots.

The very substantial Cairn XII, the best preserved of the dozen or so cairns on Llanmadoc Hill.

Cairn XII (SS440927) at the eastern end of the ridge.

Looking east across Cairn X, with the big summit cairn (Cairn XII) on the high point beyond.

Cairn X (SS43829268), another wreck.

Cairn IX (SS43749265), looking west along the ridge.

Cairn VIII (SS43689263).

Cairn VII (SS43539258), another large – 17m diameter – cairn that has been robbed right down.

Cairn V, looking ENE with the Loughor Estuary far left.

Trashed Cairn V (SS43379260), looking NW across Carmarthen Bay towards Pembrokeshire.

Looking west across Cairn III towards the (out of sight) summit of the hill.

Kerbstones on the northern edge of Cairn III. G/F is standing on the main path along the top of Llanmadoc Hill, but I doubt many of the visitors stop to look at this site on their way past.

1m long slab of quartz conglomerate off-centre in Cairn III. Possible indication of a cist?

Looking across Cairn III (SS43299249). This one is a large ring of stones, almost 25m across, with kerbing on the north and a large slab off-centre.

The low remains of Cairn I between the toposcope and the stone pile.

The low remains of Cairn I (the stone pile is a modern addition) with Rhossili Down and Worm’s Head beyond.

The westernmost cairn on the hill is almost non-existent and now has a stupid QEII commemorative toposcope added.

Sunburst and snowblind.

Here’s what I missed previously. The cist is filled with snow, the view is towards Pen Cerrig-calch (right) with the even snowier Brecon Beacons far left.