thesweetcheat

Graded stones in the NE arc.

With Dinas hillfort the conical hill to the left of centre. The stones of the kerb appear to be graded and mirrored across the monument, with a run of stones rising to a single taller stone on two opposite sides (SW/NE) while on the other two oppposite sides (SE/NW) the stones are squarer and lower.

Looking southeast.

Looking NNW.

Looking west across the Afon Rheidol towards Disgwylfa Fach and Disgwylfa Fawr (the latter crowned with a big round barrow).

A bit of moody cloud shadow on Disgwylfa Fawr. That’s tomorrow’s objective decided then. Seen from the road to the east, about halfway between the Lle’r Neuaddau and Hirnant cairn circles.

Down the Rheidol.

Details of the stones in the ring.

Looking ESE towards Bryn Llwyd.

Looking northwest. The green hillside on the left is the lower slopes of Y Garn, at the southwestern end of the Pumlumon massif. Interesting how the mountains are invisible from here, the focus appears to be on the river valley instead.

Looking southwest. Disgwylfa Fawr is the big hill on the right, topped with a big round barrow.

From the NNE, looking down the Rheidol valley with Dinas hillfort the prominent hill straight ahead.

The southwestern cairn.

The shelter built into the top of the southwestern cairn.

The southwestern cairn.

The northeastern cairn. Cader Idris is on the skyline to the left, the Arannau over on the right.

The northeastern “ring” cairn. The western (lefthand) arc appears to be formed by the edge of a natural outcrop.

Looking from the central cairn to the southwestern cairn. The two shadowed mountain summits on the skyline also have cairns; Y Garn (slightly right of centre) and Pen Pumlumon Fawr (right).

The central cairn.

The central cairn.

The two massive round cairns.

The massive round cairns are visible from a good distance away. Seen here from the southwest.

The cairns are silhouetted on the skyline. Seen from the small marker cairn (modern) on the summit of Pen Pumlumon Llygad-bychan, above the source of Afon Gwy.

The northern cairn, which appears to be a modern marker overlaid on natural outcroppings. Cader Idris over on the skyline to the right.

The uncertain northern cairn. Not much in the way of consolidated material.

The summit cairn, a huge monument rather wrecked by shelter building but still impressive.

The excellent southern cairn. Y Garn (with its own cairn) is the summit in shadow over to the right.

The excellent southern cairn to the right, the mangled summit cairn on the left.

Pen Pumlumon Fawr seen from the slopes of Y Garn to the southwest.

Cloud shadows race across Y Garn; seen from Pen Drawsallt on the descent from Pen Pumlumon Fawr.

Looking northwest across Nant y Moch reservoir towards Drosgol and the distant Tarrenau.

Looking towards Pen Pumlumon Fawr.

The left side shows the mutilation caused by the building of a drystone wall across the edge of the cairn, most likely from material taken from the cairn itself.

The summit cairn seemed a long time coming, but it’s a whopper.

The approach from the east offers a less brutal ascent than from elsewhere, with just some bog to slow the unwary down.

The route of Sarn Helen Roman road on Waen Gly-nyd. From the amount of Bronze Age cairns along the ridge, I reckon it’s a safe bet that it followed an older prehistoric trackway here.

The cairnfields are on the left, but there’s some rough terrain between the track and them, which tiring legs didn’t fancy. Swansea Bay and Mumbles can be seen, centre skyline.

Detail of stone emerging from the vegetation.

There’s certainly a round stone mound, no sign of the shelter mentioned by Coflein now though.

Emerging blinking into the sunlight.

Cairn II in the foreground, with Cairn I beyond.

Cairn II, looking south.

Cain II. Don’t go into the pale bog, it’s not a “short cut” to anywhere.

Looking down on the Dulais valley. Mynydd Marchywel (with cairns) is the prominent hill on the right.

Looking northwest into Carmarthenshire.

Cairn I, looking ESE. The light-coloured area is a bog, broad tracks invite the unwary but don’t be fooled.