The source of the Afon Tawe is overlooked by a brace of cairns upon the skyline: Twr-y-Fan Foel (centre left) and Fan Foel (right). The enigmatic Llyn y Fan Fawr is cradled within a glacial hollow below the former, far left.... the ‘Fairy Lake’ – Llyn y Fan Fach – beyond the latter.
Looking from Bwlch Cerrig Duon... the cairn is sited upon the initial section of shadowed flank of Moel Feity to the right. The Blaentawe is central...
The monument (approx. centre) viewed across the river....
The Afon Tarell cascading in a rather unusual manner below the cairn...
Highlighting the manner in which the cairn might be suggested to have been located with reference to the Afon Tarell... Incidentally Fan Frynych can be seen top right.
The cairn is located to overlook a small, yet enigmatic water fall beside a ford across the Afon Tarell...
Into the sun – not something to be expected – with the initial rise of Craig Cerrig-geisiad above.
As the others have stated, this is a significant cairn.... although how much is natural is not clear.
Aerial view highlighting the exquisite location of the monument... seen ascending the excellent cliff line of Craig Cerrig-gleisiad last month.
Looking approx south across the monument (centre) – note the natural outcropping to the right.
The cairn is not that upstanding but nevertheless well defined, with loose material piled to south-east with apparent traces of kerbing. The summit skyline of Y Mynydd Du rises beyond.
The Blaentawe – aka the nascent Afon Tawe – flowing from its horizon source. The placement of the cairn – sited extreme top right upon the lower flank of Moel Feity – suggests to me an association with the watercourse and its numerous cascades. The cairn topped summits of Twr-y-Fan Foel and Fan Foel rise beyond.
The elegant, sweeping prow of Twr-y-Fan Foel from across the northern extremity of Llyn y Fan Fawr. Fan Foel, with a far better, excavated monument, lies beyond.
Despite being within a church yard... not my favourite genre of venue, it has to be said... I liked it here.
Life upon the funerary monument.... my rucksack gives an indication of the sheer size of this massive round barrow.
The summit of the barrow...
The barrow is a lot more substantial than I anticipated...
One wonders how many of the visitors to the church have any idea what the untidy mound within the trees represents?
The enigmatic Bronze Age skyline seen from the cairn at Foel Deg ar Bedol.
So this is why the location’s called ‘Beacons Down’, then?
To my mind the Coflein record overstates the upstanding nature of the barrows here... I was only able to positively identifty this – presumably the larger – amongst the lead workings
According to Coflein these barrows were only (finally) discovered – from the air – in 2013:
“Pair of well-preserved round barrows, discovered during Royal Commission aerial reconnaissance under snow on 24th January 2013. The barrows sit 60m apart on the northern edge of common land, which also preserves wider-spreading remains of ancient field systems. The smaller western barrow.. (SS88847580)... measures approx. 14m diameter and stands 0.6-0.7m high preserving its smooth, conical shape. The larger, flatter, eastern barrow (SS88927583).. measures approx. 21m diameter and stands 0.6m high....” Toby Driver, RCAHMW, Feb 2013
It would appear only the sheep – the odd CPAT surveyor notwithstanding – come here.
Not shown on either scale OS map, I blundered to this beautiful cairn looking for another.
The monument mirrors a far less well defined cairn upon the south-eastern ridge of Mynydd Troed, across Cwm Sorgwm. The play of light upon the landscape will never be exactly replicated again, the shutter capturing a micro-second of what it is to live in The British Isles
Nature does her thing...
Note the little sarsen to the right....
The little sarsen stone lying upon the extensive summit of the mound