GLADMAN

Towards the wondrous little hill fort, Dinas.

Foel Lwyd glowers beyond...

Located in a very exposed position (tell me about it).... this certainly didn’t appear to be a hut circle to me?

Towards Bwlch y Ddeufaen. Such was the vibe, I was drawn back the following day to ascend Carnedd y Ddelw. Tal-y-Fan peeks out behind Foel Lwyd, centre left.

You have to be innit to winnit. Extreme weather has its benefits.. So does engaging with TMA to get that precious intel.

A must-visit after its existence was highlighted by TSC a short while back. Promising a superb vibe, it duly delivered. And then some. The great axe factory (and site of former hill fort... hmmm what might have been?) upon Penmaenmawr can be seen beyond.

Needless to say – but I’ll say it anyway – be very careful when on this coastline, particularly with kids..

Pretty decent defences for such an obscure site....

Looking towards Dunraven. To be fair, it’s difficult NOT to see another cliff fort on the south coast of Wales.

Zooming in from Fan Dringarth. The main cairn can be seen, approx centre, upon the near bank...

Corn Du and Pen-y-Fan tower beyond the deep defile riven by the Nant Mawr. Seen from Fan Dringarth...

Glorious light, in stark contrast to the hill fog the enveloped me upon the ascent earlier in the day. Boxing Day 2025.

Towards Fan Nedd while hanging out at the cairn...

Boxing Day 2025: temperature inversion having peeled away, another aerial view of the great stone – centre, far right – in its glorious environment, as seen from Fan Llia. Fan Nedd rears up, above left, its northern cairn prominent. Y Mynydd Du crowns the horizon, beyond...

What would certainly appear to be the site as seen from the wondrous Pen-y-Castell (incidentally, pointed out to me by the initially VERY hostile landowner. Please ensure you ask at Pen-y-Castell farm for access in order to mitigate further issues.).

Given the lack of awareness, I did ponder whether this might be a glacial erratic and not a capstone... but the supports are so precise.

Looking to The Arans....

Llyn Tegid (Bala Lake) can be seen in the distance.

The large ‘upper cairn’....

Looking across the settlement site to the cairn at SH84552735. Oh, and the most wondrous Arans.

What I understood to be the upper enclosing wall....

The site possesses a very photogenic tree...

Southern flank, looking approx west

Southeastern(ish) corner, looking approx east.

Northern flank – Foel Fynyddau is background, left.

Southern flank, looking approx east...

Southern flank, looking approx west

Northwestern corner. Excellent little hillfort, this....

Great viewpoint, great vibe, clear archaeology... what more could one want?

Again, once one attunes the megalithic radar, the monument is pretty obvious.

Pity about the surmounting OS trig pillar... but at least this is too obscure to have fallen prey to a vandal shelter. Looking toward Llangollen, I believe.

The kind of place to sit at all day... so I did.

Self-evidently, the surviving footprint of a prehistoric cairn.

Sweeping views towards the peaks of Northern Snowdonia.

Located at 1,542ft, this is not among the highest of Wales’ upland cairns.... but it’s certainly one of the more obscure.

Worth a look after a sojourn at the nearby Moel Caws sites....

A pretty substantial monument...

Not the best of vibe owing to the proximity of the A494... but nevertheless, pretty substantial and worth a close look...

The settlement lies beyond...

Sunburst.... in between the seemingly inevitable rain burst.