Seen from Fan Llia. The cairn is the darker green feature at the bottom of the picture, just below the drystone wall/fence. One of the branches of the nascent Afon Llia separates the cairn from Maen Llia (centre). The lower slopes of Fan Nedd rise behind.
Looking towards a cloud-covered Fan Fawr. The base of the earlier, much larger, cairn can be seen.
Looking back to the summit of Fan Llia. The wider base of the original cairn can be seen in the foreground, topped by material robbed from the mound by idiots.
Looking south into a poorly-timed – but mercifully brief – hailstorm, that started up about two minutes before I reached the cairn and stopped about a minute after I left it. Hmmm.
Approaching the Fan Llia summit ridge and cairn from Fan Dringarth.
The western arc of the circle.
Maen Mawr, thick ice at its foot.
Looking NW across the circle.
Approaching from the northwest, with Waun Leuci/Cefn Cul rising behind.
Garn Las southern cairn, looking north.
Looking SE from the stone setting towards the be-cairned Garn Las.
The three stone setting, looking towards the circles and Foel Darw.
The western circle, looking east along the Nant Tarw valley with Foel Darw on the left.
The western circle. The large recumbent slab is on the right. The largest stone of the three-stone setting is visible as a dark spot on the far left of the picture.
The eastern circle from the west, looking towards Foel Darw and Twyn Perfedd.
The tallest stone in the eastern circle.
The western arc of the eastern circle, showing the SW recumbent (fallen?) stone. The Nant Tarw cairn lies away to the right.
The SE recumbents of the eastern circle.
The eastern circle, looking NW. There are two larger recumbent stones hidden in the reedy grass in the SE corner of the circle (foreground).
The third, most natural-looking, of the stones along the path between Blaen Uchaf and Nant Tarw. Looking west.
The second (less convincing) possible waymarker.
The easternmost waymarker, seen from the bank above the bridleway.
The easternmost of the possible waymarker stones.
The sun-starved north side. Looking SW-ish.
Showing the packing material around the base of the stone, and its hillside position. Looking north towards Mynydd Wysg.
Under a winter sun, looking SE towards the Glasfynydd Forest.
The steeply scarped northern face of Fan Gyhirych (left), seen from Crai Reservoir. The ridge on the right of the picture is Waun Leuci, with its own cairns. Beyond that lies Maen Mawr and the Cerrig Duon circle.
Looking north, showing the vertical cliff faces and scree slopes of Creigiau Eglwyseg. If you visit the barrows, don’t go wandering too near the edge in the mist...
The northern cliffs, the slopes below crossed by Offa’s Dyke path. There are half a dozen barrows perched near the edges of these cliffs, spread over a couple of miles.
Seen from the SE, the barrow almost disappears into a camouflage of heather. Llandegla Forest fills the skyline, in the foreground the muddy trail of Offa’s Dyke Path snakes past the barrow, a little too close for comfort.
Even in January the barrow’s construction is completely obscured by heather.
Approaching from Llandegla Forest along Offa’s Dyke Path.
The Moel Gyw barrow. The upright slate slab is a modern information marker.
Looking towards Eryri/Snowdonia, Glyderau and Carneddau from Moel Gyw. The charming town of Ruthin is visible below the mist. What a terrific place for a barrow this is.
The awesome view SW from the cairn, with the summit trig in the foreground. Floating above the mist-filled Vale of Clwyd, various mountain ranges can be seen – Arannau, Cader Idris, Arenig, Moelwynnion and the main Yr Eryri ranges.
The excavation-scooped top of the cairn, with the makings of a (thankfully small) walker’s cairn plonked on top. The hill on the skyline is Cryn-y-Brain, also blessed with a number of round barrows.
The possible ditch is obscured by heather, even in January. Looking towards the conical Moel Morfydd (Llantysilio Mountain) and the Berwyns.
The decent-sized round barrow on the summit of Moel Gyw.
The forbidding peaks of the Aran range, seen from Moel Gyw in the Clwydian Hills, some 25 miles or so to the NE. Aran Fawddwy is the highest peak, on the left.
A frozen Foel Fenlli, with Moel Famau behind, seen from Moel Gyw.
The unworked limestone block.
Foel Fenlli towering above the town of Ruthin.
The low January sun shows up the excavation scars well.
Seen from the west in leafless January.
