thesweetcheat

The stony shore on the south side of the fort. Was this once part of the fort interior?

The outside of the NE rampart. There is no trace of an external ditch here, presumably it’s been infilled. The weird yeti-shaped lump on the far left is actually the ivy-smothered remains of Holy Trinity Church.

The inner side of the overgrown NE rampart.

The southern ends of the western ramparts, possibly truncated by coastal erosion.

Looking east across the fort interior, complete with football pitch.

The impressive triple lines of ramparts on the northwestern side. Out of sight beyond the buildings, approx centre, is Heston Brake chambered long barrow.

The western ramparts.

Sudbrook promontory fort on the left, overshadowed now by the New Severn Bridge.

Pen-y-Beacon (with Twmpa to the right) from the low-lying Wye meadows north of Hay.

Glorious, if hazy, view of the Black Mountains from Offa’s Dyke Path above the River Wye north of Hay. Pen-y-Beacon (Hay Bluff) is in the centre of the picture, with Twmpa and Rhos Dirion over to the right.

The somewhat incongruous (but rather groovy) monkey puzzle trees in the background seem to provide a destination for many people walking up Hergest Ridge from Kington. Not sure what Mike Oldfield thinks...

Showing the natural “cup” in the top of the stone.

Looking north.

Looking west into Wales. Hanter Hill, a prominent landmark from the nearby Four Stones stone circle, is on the right.

Looking NE. The mountains of Y Mynydd Du, Fforest Fawr and the Brecon Beacons can be seen from this site.

Looking approx north.

This is a fabulous site. The block appears to rest precariously on improbably small supports, but is solid as, well, a rock.

Towards Afon Llwchwr.

This is a big old cairn.

From the south, across the nearby pool.

A warning to those approaching from the SW: the ground in the foreground is a proper bog.

Brightly clad types bask in the sunshine while obligingly providing scale for the great Great Cairn. The moody storm front is heading away, thankfully.

Stonwold E Cairn, looking ENE. The mountains of Y Mynydd Du are a grey smudge on the left skyline.

Turf-covered Stonwold E Cairn. Looking WNW towards Llanmadoc Hill.

Even harder to see view of Cefn Bryn SW Cairn, looking west towards Rhossili Down.

Not easy to see, but I think this is Cefn Bryn SW Cairn. Some of the stonework shows up as lighter flecks in the turf. The central hollow can just be made out. Looking east.

Looking SE. Gorse is claiming the cairn as its own.

The overgrown cairn.

Looking north along the outer eastern rampart.

Outer eastern rampart.

Entrance gap in the inner eastern rampart.

Northern rampart, looking west.

Looking eastwards along the northern rampart. The distant hill is Cefn Bryn.

The western end of the northern rampart.

Approaching East Fort from the northwest.

The West Fort from the east. Burry Holms promontory fort is visible on the right.

The eastern side.

Bank and ditch on the south side. The gap is not an original entrance.

The southwestern corner of the enclosure.

The North Enclosure from the south, looking towards Llanmadoc Hill.

Outwork to the ESE of the fort.

Ditch on the eastern side of the fort.

Western interior, looking towards Burry Holms and Carmarthen Bay.

The northeastern rampart, looking towards Llanmadoc Hill. The fort is built on a fairly steep incline.

Inner ditch, southwestern side of fort.

The eastern outworks. The hilltop East Fort can be seen on the skyline, right of photo.

Outer ditch on the southwest, looking towards the north end of Rhossili Down.

Approaching West Fort from the south.

Hardings Down from Rhossili Down, near Sweyne’s Howes.

Small “standing stone” marking the position of the well to the east of the settlement, near Sluxton Farm.