GLADMAN

An ascent of Fan Gyhirych from the west...

Far be it for me to criticize The National Trust’s method of showcasing a prehistoric monument to the public ... but antiquarian-minded visitors here are clearly of very little – if any – consequence to them.

A remnant of the original. Some remnant!

A canny little stone circle, if ever I did see one....

Returning to Oldbury... to find I’d only seen one out of three rock shelters last time around. How little we really know....

Within a locale rich to overflowing in prehistoric delights... this inland promontory fort is not even shown on the map. Any good? Err, yeah.

Stopping off to look at the much denuded – yet still substantial – cairns near Hafotty-Fach, concluding a fine walkabout upon Tyrrau Mawr, Cadair Idris

Includes an aerial view of an enigmatic monument upon Tyrrau Mawr’s north-eastern shoulder (SH6812 1392)

Didn’t we have a lovely time the day we went to Bangor? No, wait. Abergele.

The Citizen Cairn finally takes a look at what is surely among Snowdonia’s most powerful hillforts. Bit stormy, though.

Apparently, also site of a Neolithic Axe Factory. The usual.

The Citizen Cairn gets blown away on the crags of Mynydd y Graig.....

Contrary to immediate perceptions, a visit here is straightforward and worthwhile.

Well worth a shufti in a highly recommended locale....

Don’t leave home without those secateurs.....

Near Llantwit Major, Vale of Glamorgan

A stumble around what, to my eyes at least, is a probable long cairn....

OK, somewhat overgrown it may be... but well worth checking out for the views and wondrous coastal exposure.

Part Two: Let there be light. And lo! There was...

Part One: Into the mists of time. Careful, now.

Apparently, I’ve ‘relatives’ living in Camelford? Well, whaddya know?

Watching the clouds go by...

A rather windy Christmas Eve upon Pen-y-Castell. Please make sure you stop off and ask at Pen-y-Castell Farm first, regardless of what the locals... many, many years of experience... or Google might say!!!

Put this visit off for too long because of the masts... worth the wait, to be fair.

With nothing better to do... a return to this wondrous site proved ‘invigorating’, to say the least.

Stopping off at Maen Llia. As one should.... but, in my case, rarely gets around to doing. No matter, we are all but fleeting actors upon its stage....

An old favourite – and still not that busy, relatively speaking... although it seems word’s getting around. Classic example of a modern ‘marker cairn’ sitting upon an ancient footprint.

Apparently.... the scene of a mythical ‘domestic disagreement’ between a couple of giants back in the day. “How far is it STILL to Anglesey? Right, that’s it! YOU can carry all these bloody stones!! ....”

No connection to a certain William Broad, or so it seems....

Don’t spoil the walk by playing any golf, mind.....

Bit “cheesy”, perhaps? But then I like cheese...

Is this ‘tumulus’ the real deal? Of gorse it is...

More summit views... plus a first-class descent via superb cascades...

Obscure as you like.... the final ascent from the east is not for those with a casual interest.

Apparently, one shouldn’t ‘shiver’ or ‘tremble’ here? The Citizen Cairn did. Rather ‘damp’ at times, but wondrous nonetheless.

Mind your head, now....

Feeling on Gop of the world... upon a very windy Gop-y-Goleuni, near Prestatyn.

The memory not being what it was, I’d forgotten how impressive this one really is....

With Gaer Fawr under half a mile downhill to the north, here we have two for the price of one, my friends...

Question: What’s the difference between a fortified settlement on a hill... and a hillfort? A tramp around the sprawling earthworks of Gaer Fawr.

A soggy afternoon at Pierce Wood and Piercefield Great Camp, near Chepstow.

Since Toby Driver gives it a spotlight in his recent book I guess I really had to...

A well preserved cist upon northern Cefn Moel...

A walk to the ‘Bwlch Cairn’... and on to Pen-yr-Heol Las, via Ffynnon Las.

Having approached via Mud Lane.... incidentally, there’s a Slade Farm near The Mam C... I’m happy to say this low-lying hillfort is “Dyna-mite”.

Taking in the FOUR cross banks of this superb cliff fort....

The approach to arguably one of the finest cliff forts in the UK... Careful, now.

Well, it would be rude not to drop in having spent some more quality time at Tinkinswood, right?

Call this visit a belated Christmas present from old St. Nick lodged just up the road. Apparently.

42 years after my last vist to Pendine... I’m back. And this time it’s, er, archaeological...