Kammer

Visited 14th February 2003: This stone is not in its original location, but I don’t know the exact circumstances of the move. I suspect that it was something to do with the creation of the housing estate that now surrounds it. The sign next to the stone says it was re-erected in 1981, but it doesn’t say much else.

Maen Llwyd stands near its original location in a cul-de-sac called Cae Maenllwyd, just off another residential road called Craig Fryn in Machynlleth. It’s situated on a triangular island of grass, with a park bench next to it, and road running around it. You really can’t miss it. Parking is no problem, because the area is extremely quiet.

Visited 9th February 2003: We were on our way from Llanidloes to Machynlleth, so we stopped briefly in Staylittle to see what we could find of the barrows. We were short of time, so it was a superficial visit. The easiest barrow to get a good look at is the one just north of the forestry plantation (the grid reference above is for this barrow). It strikes me as pretty unusual to find a barrow cemetery in a valley like this, at least in these parts.

The mountain road between Llani and Mach is really beautiful, with fantastic views of Snowdonia as you head north. It’s well worth taking this route if you’ve got the time. We stopped off at Maen Llwyd on the way.

Visited 9th February 2003: Maen Llwyd is marked on the Landranger map so it’s easy to find. There’s no public footpath to the stone, but you can see it from the road/track.

The stone is relatively large, especially in girth. Based on a photo I took of Louise standing next to it (unpublished because she’d kill me if I posted it), I’d say Maen Llwyd is about 5ft 10 high. It doesn’t really taper towards the top as is usually the case in the smaller stones further south. It’s a beautiful lump of rock, and well worth a visit if you’re in the area.

The RCAHMW records date Maen Llwyd as post Medieval, but this seems rather unlikely to me given its size. I’m not alone in doubting this date, because Cadw and the Clwyd Powys Archaeological Trust both date the stone as Bronze Age.

Visited 11th January 2003: At Meini Gwyn are three quartz standing stones, two relatively close to each and one further off in the garden of a nearby cottage. Of the three stones, two are fallen, the third (in the middle) is probably in it’s original position.

The two stones to the east are easy to see from the road (the fence is so poor that you could slip underneath it without any trouble...if you wanted to that is). To the east of the furthest stone are the (probable) remains of a cairn and a small tumulus, but you have to squint really hard to make them out.

The stone in the garden is only just visible from the road. I asked at the cottage to take a closer look, and the man who lives there was happy for me to go in and take a photo. He was keen that I shouldn’t be in the garden at the same time as his dog, but I never saw the beast, so I can only guess at how big it was (6ft tall with fangs etc). The stone has been planted around, and made into rather a fetching garden feature.

Thanks to Rhiannon for drawing this site to my attention in the first place.

The road from Ystumtuen to Bwa-Drain farm is gated, so by car it’s easier to approach from the north. Don’t be put off by the sign saying the road is private. I’ve checked with Ceredigion County Council, and this isn’t the case. You can park near the farm, although there’s not much space (make sure you leave enough room for farm traffic to get through).

The footpath that runs past the hillfort starts just to the west of the farm. You cross a strange little wooden bridge over the stream before going through a gate and along the edge of the field. At the corner of the field you’re supposed to stay to the north of the trees and keep to the west of the ruined farm house (called Pen-castell), but it’s well worth taking a peek at the ruin. It’s only a Nineteenth Century building, but its state of decay is fascinating (obviously, don’t go inside). After this you pass over a stile and you’re in the same field as the fort. The footpath goes to the east of the fort, so at this stage you have to deviate from it. You can’t miss the earthen banks of the fort, and there’s a gap in the defences orientated in your direction.

The views from the fort are spectacular, especially looking west down the Rheidol valley. You can see the sea, and Aberystwyth, without much difficulty. You can also make out Pendinas with the chimney-like monument on top of it. Look out for steam trains in the valley below you in the summer.

Visited September 2001: We were originally heading for Bryn Celli Ddu, but when we got there it still had Foot and Mouth signs up on the roadside warning not to go near it. We decided to see whether Bodowyr was accessible. William fell asleep in the car as we wound our way along the lanes between the two sites.

It wasn’t all that tricky to find Bodowyr, given that we only had a crappy road atlas with us. When we arrived we parked up right by the footpath, and decided to leave him in the car to snooze. The walk to the site is short, and relatively flat (no surprise there really, it is Anglesey). Bodowyr does look strange in it’s iron cage, but it was sunny, and we enjoyed just chilling out by the stones. I remember that it was good having some child free time to talk to each other (no offence meant Will).

Visited 25th January 2003: Peterborough is a maze of dual carriageway. Without a map it took me while to find the road that runs near these stones. If you’re approaching on the A47(T) (guess what, it’s a dual carriageway) you can only get at the junction if you’re travelling west. Look out for a signpost for Castor, Ailsworth, Marholm and Golf Course. At the top of the slip road you need to turn left, then immediately left again down a little access road, so you’re heading east again. There’s a Nene Park information board on the corner. Keep on down this road and resist the temptation of parking until you the next information board (with some blurb about the stones on it).

There’s no public access to the stones, but you can get very close to them (or hop the fence). They are at the top of the field between the road and the River Nene (not right next to the river), but they’re a bit obscured by foliage if you’re standing on the road. From the information board walk west until you see a small crumbling concrete water main sign on your left (at least I think that’s what it is). The stones are directly adjacent to this sign, on the other side of the fence.

I’m a bit suspicious about the antiquity of the stones themselves. They’re both very square in cross section, and apparently there’s a theory that they date back to the Middle Ages. If they’re Bronze Age, they don’t look like anything else I’ve seen. Worth a visit if you’re stuck in Cambridgeshire and longing for some olde lumps of stone.

Visited 11th January: This was the last site we visited, and it was certainly the most beautiful. Access to Gareg Hir is very good, and you can see it from the road. The stone stands on the edge of a forestry plantation, and there’s a public footpath running very close to it. We parked in front of the metal gate that bars access to the forestry track, but this wouldn’t be ideal for a long visit.

The stone has a lot of modern carving on it (modern as in not prehistoric). There are also some interesting artificial looking horizontal groves on the north facing side of the stone. These may also be modern.

This is a fine stone by any standards, and well worth a visit.

Visited 11th January 2003: We were on our way to see Gareg Hir when we passed these two round barrows. As Alfie was demanding milk we stopped, and I decided to take a closer look. The barrows turned out to be bigger, and better defined than I’d expected. They’re both ploughed down, and I’m no expert on these things, so I’m not sure what type they originally were.

Crugiau Fâch are the two most accessible barrows in a reasonably large group (large by Carmarthenshire standards that is). Most of the others are in the surrounding forestry.

Visited 11th January 2003: There’s no public footpath to Pentre Ynys, but you can see the stone from the road.

When we visited, the gate to the field it sits in was wide open and there were no crops or livestock to avoid, so we decided to take closer look. I parked in the gateway opposite, and we were just at the stone when the farmer turned up at the gateway in an enormous tractor. Our car was stopping him from turning into the field, so feeling embarrassed (for parking badly and for going into the field without permission) I pegged it back to move the car. As it turned out the farmer was fine about us looking at the stone, and was just keen to get on with his muck spreading.

The stone itself looks a bit lost in the middle of the field. The surrounding ground has been quite badly eroded by cattle, and the stone has bird shit all over it (excuse my French), so it lacks glamour.

There’s another stone relatively nearby, but less accessible, called the Rhyd y Fwyalchen Stone (SN42942412). This stands to the south, on the other side of Nant Felys (like Pentre Ynys it’s marked on the Landranger). I’d imagine that the two stones are directly connected to each other and/or the river that runs between them.

Visited 11th January 2003: Parc Garreg Lwyd is still standing, but only just. It leans alarmingly to the south. The stone is on private land with no public access across it, but you can get a good view of the stone from the road.

There’s enough space to park a car adjacent to the stone, but there’s a surprising amount of traffic running along here, so we didn’t stop for long. Parc Garreg Lwyd is marked on the Landranger, so it’s easy to find.

Visited Winter 1999 (I think): The climb up to Dinas isn’t quite as bad as it looks, but you’d be hard pressed to get a pushchair up there. Approaching from the south you can park at the gate just to the north of the bridge (SN741827) and there’s a public footpath that goes east, then north, passing to the east of the hillfort. Obviously there’s no point in sticking to this path because you’ll miss the views to the west, and any chance of identifying the ramparts of the fort itself.

Up at the top the views are spectacular, especially to the west and east (towards Pumlumon Fawr). The climb is worth it just for the feeling of splendid isolation, and knowing that you’re slap bang in the middle of an excellent cluster of upland Bronze Age sites.

Visited 29th December 2002: We cleverly ignored the directions to the site in the Modern Antiquarian, and for a short while I thought we wouldn’t be able to get anywhere near the stones. Then I remembered the book, and it turned out to be easy.

There were winter crops in the field surrounding the stones, and there’s no public footpath, so we couldn’t get very close. I’m dying to take a better look, so we’ll be back in 2003 for another try.

I’ve driven past this War Memorial on numerous occassions, and apart from thinking it was made from a remarkably large lump of quartz, never thought anything of it.

More recently I started to wonder about the origins of the this boulder. It reminded me of some of the standings stones in the area (the Glandwr Stone and one of the Pond Nant y Cagal stones). I made some enquiries and a good friend of mine who lives nearby (and has a passing interest in archaeology) assured me that this was probably just a boulder transported from one of the nearby mines.

It was only by coincidence that while I was thumbing through some records in the NMRW looking for something entirely unconnected, I found an the extract from Sainsbury’s thesis (below). This indicates that the stone does have a mining connection, but it wasn’t dug out of the ground by modern miners, it was already standing out in the open. I can’t help feeling a bit smug.

Visited 20th July 2002: We had a some trouble finding this circle, so here are some directions. Approaching on the A488 park at the anonymous little hamlet near the junction that leads to Hemford (the hamlet) and the village of Shelve (SO327995). Resist the temptation of driving towards the hamlet of Hemford as you can’t get to the stones from the north*. We parked on the A488 in a slither of a lay-by just to the south of the junction.

Access to the stones is down a driveway that has a green wooden sign with Graham Radley TRADITIONAL FURNITURE KITCHENS & JOINERY on it. From this point you’ll see three gateways (one with no gate that leads to Mr. Radley’s house). Take the middle gateway (the gate with a sign saying Holly Bank on it) and follow the drive down the side of Mr Radley’s land until you come to another gate. Go through this (and the next one if it’s closed), and keep going in the same direction following the perimeter of the field (heading west). If you look north you can just make out the circle.

In the furthest corner of the field where the footpath meets the boundary fence, you need to change direction and cross the little bridge (two railway sleepers) over a drainage ditch, and then cross the stile. Judging by the OS map you’re leaving the public footpath at this point. Mr Radley told us that taking this route wouldn’t be a problem, but I gather he’s not the land owner, so tread carefully.

Follow the perimeter of this field (heading approximately north west) and when you reach the next perimeter keep going (through the gateway). You’re now in the same field as the circle, but this field is farmed so try and avoid damaging any crops. We visited when the hay had just been cut, so we had no difficulty getting to the stones. I’ve said so much about getting to the circle that I won’t bore you with too much detail about the stones themselves (the plethora of photos is enough).

* See Reg’s post ‘cos it looks like you can get to the stones from the north.

Visited 20th July 2002: Having approached from the Chirbury direction we headed towards Mitchell’s Fold from the north west. There’s a footpath onto the common that follows a farmer’s track from this direction. In our ignorance we drove up this track to the edge of the common without realising that we would land up almost right next to the circle.

I wouldn’t drive this route again, armed with the knowledge that once you’ve started it you can’t easily park up or turn around until you’re there. Also anything less than a 4x4 would have trouble with it, and it’s embarrassing enough having a 4x4 without parking it next to a stone circle like some sort of klutz. Next time I think I’ll try approaching from another direction on foot!

Mitchell’s Fold is a very calm circle, and the views are spectacular. While we were there it threatened to rain really hard, and we had the pleasure of watching an enormous rain storm gentle roll towards us from Wales.

Visited 4th January 2003: Llech Bron is on private land, but you can see it clearly from the road. William and I bumped into the woman who owns the land while I was gawping at the stone, and we chatted by the roadside for a while. She was very friendly, but wasn’t keen for us to go up to the stone because there were rams in the field (and it was muddy – not sure why she thought this was problem though). She invited us to come back in the summer to take a closer look.

From our conversation I learned an found out a variation on the legend that Rhiannon has posted (below). Apparently while he was making Devil’s Bridge the Devil threw the stone from “that hill over there” (presumably Trichrug).

Another story she told me is that a local farmer tried digging down the side of the stone with his tractor. Apparently he got 30 feet down, and still didn’t find the bottom of the stone.

I’m a bit suspicious about the tractor story, but the Devil story sounds about right. I was also told that the name Garreg y Big is used affectionately by the locals to describe the stone.

Visited 2nd January 2003: Pen y Wern sits at the top of the hill (the one it takes it’s name from), at the top of a cultivated field. The area immediately around the site has been left unploughed and there are a couple of sorry looking Scots Pines standing on the south west edge of the site. The view across the valley towards the small town of Knighton (aka Tref-y-Clawdd) is presumably quite impressive on a good day, but unfortunately it wasn’t a good day when we visited. Unless you enjoy climbing hills, I’d recommend approaching from the north because it’s a relatively gentle slope up to the site itself.

I’m afraid that there’s not much to see at Pen y Wern, and I’m pretty convinced it’s a cairn rather than a stone circle. There are some stones on the ground, but they are relatively small. I’d hesitate to suggest that they are anything but cairn material, but I may be wrong. The edges of the cairn are difficult to discern, but the stones that can be seen don’t appear to correspond with the contours of the site, so probably not a kerb cairn. There is a large hollow within the site that may relate to an illicit excavation at some time.

Unless you’re already in the area I wouldn’t recommend making a trip just to see this site.

Visited 31st December 2002: First I should warn you that this is one of those sites that has had all the zing kicked out of it. Don’t make the journey unless you’re ready for disappointment.

We parked at the rather incongruous Ramada Jarvis Hotel which intersects the enclosure (I asked permission and they were happy so long as we gave our registration number). A footpath follows the perimeter of the field that the site sits in, but pretty early on we decided to ignore that and follow the edge of the enclosure (there’s no livestock or crops in the field).

The M1 makes the site pretty unpleasant, mainly because it’s so noisy. On the eastern side of the enclosure Lou and I had trouble talking to each other over the racket. In the north west we found a BMX track, presumably made by local kids. Unfortunately it consists of both ditches and ramps dug out of the enclosure. I had a look amongst the mess for worked flint, but didn’t find anything.

Poor old Aubreys.

Visited 29th December 2002: Despite the rain we walked most of the way down the renovated stretch of the West Kennett Avenue. I had planned to visit Falkner’s Circle, but I stupidly left Merrick’s directions in the car and couldn’t remember where it was. This was the first time either of the boys had been to Avebury, so I decided not to hunt too hard for the circle and leave the avenue on a high note before Will got too pissed off with the rain.

Visited 29th December 2002: We made the long slog up to West Kennet this afternoon, despite the muddy river that used to be a footpath. The National Trust have put a sign up at the car park warning people about the state of the path and suggesting that appropriate footwear should be worn. I’m guessing that high heeled boots aren’t recommended, but I saw someone struggle to the top despite wearing a chunky pair (all power to them).

When we entered the barrow, and moved down to the chamber at the end I was mightily pissed off to find a plastic tarpaulin on the floor, covered in mud and spent tea lights. The wall of the chamber was also littered with tea lights, and the accompanying soot and wax. There were a couple of biodegradable offerings in the chamber as well, but they both had poisonous berries on them, and I had to keep asking William not to pick them up (or to put them down, depending on how far he’d got). Unfortunately we couldn’t do much clearing up (with the prospect of getting the two boys back down the mud slide to the car). It made me sad to see the place looking like that.

What’s the story with this sort of behaviour? Are the people who do this really Pagans? If they are, how the hell do they justify causing so much damage to a place that is sacred and/or of unique archaeological importance? How stupid can you be? It gives a bad name to the majority of people who use the site for spiritual purposes without leaving it in a mess.

Despite all this, I’m glad we took the boys to see West Kennett. Next time, we take bin bags!

Visited 10th December 2002: I finally got round to visiting this site. Lle’r Neuaddau Circle is a kerb cairn, situated on the hillside between the Rheidol Gorge and a smaller gorge belonging to a tributary.

Lle’r Neuaddau is on private land, but the farmer seemed happy for me to go and look at the stones when I asked at the farmhouse. There are two sheep dogs that inhabit the farmyard and bark a lot (I’m not great with dogs) but they seemed to quieten down when I talked to them in pigeon Welsh (ci da = good dog).

The circle is a short walk south from the farm. As you approach, the view down the Rheidol valley is impressive. Lle’r Neuaddau circle is very similar in shape and location to two other local curb cairns, Hirnant (nearby) and Dolgamfa (three and a half miles down stream). It’s much less well know than the other two sites, presumably because it’s not so easy to get at. Apparently there were 19 stones in the circle when it was first surveyed, but there are now on only 18 in situ. There’s a large depression on the inside of the circle, presumably made by treasure hunters (it’s not central, but approximately to the south).

Well worth a visit, but obviously you’re dependant on the farmer being in, and willing for you to see the site.

Visited 24th November 2002: This is a really enigmatic site, in a beautiful location. There are ten stones remaining, and an identifiable hole where an eleventh once stood. Even though this site is now thought to be the remains of a ring cairn, it doesn’t neatly fit the bill. Six of the stones form a semi circle (this is the bit that looks like a ring cairn), and three more stand in a row (like a tail to the ring) to the east. Slightly to the north of this tail is a big quartz boulder. All in all it ends up looking like a question mark in plan, which is very appropriate!

Apparently the farmer who owns the field has reported two or more fallen stones coming to light nearby in ploughing. Also worth looking out for (difficult to miss really) are the remains of a large cairn about 20 meters to the west of the Arthog stones.

I don’t get the impression that many people visit the Arthog Standing Stones, which is a shame because they’re rather splendid. I’d certainly recommend a detour if you’re in the area.

The walk to the Arthog Standing Stones is pleasant, but a bit convoluted. From the road (SH648138) head west through the white metal gate and along the track. Keep going to the point where a pretty little stone footbridge crosses the river. Cross here, and once over on the other side of the river keep heading east (diverging from the well trodden path to Pant-Phylip). Continue along the north bank of the river following a muddy rutted track. Where the track crosses back across the river at a ford, the footpath heads north through a gate (held shut with bailing twine). Go through this gate and follow the perimeter of the field north (this is pretty steep). The field perimeter curves around to the east (great views to the west), and if you keep going you’ll arrive at the stones which are in the far corner of the field.

Visited November 24th 2002: After Bryn Seward we headed off to find Waun Oer. The stones are easy to miss as you approach them because of a tall dry stone wall running between them and the road. Luckily we spotted one of the stones through a gateway. Even better there was no gate in the gateway, so apart from the mud there was nothing stopping me from strolling in to the field to take a closer look.

This row is much more complete than Bryn Seward, with five stones remaining, two of which are fallen. I must admit that I’m a bit confused looking back over my photos, because I can only see four stones in them. Perhaps one of them had wondered off!

The most distinctive stone is a big fallen one, with unusual elongated markings on it. There’s a nearby boulder with similar markings, and this was cited in the Cadw records as evidence that both sets of markings are probably naturally formed. In the case of the stone in the row, the patterns may have been artificially enhanced. The fallen stone also has a cup mark on it near it’s pointed end, a little over an inch in diameter. Unfortunately I only discovered this after my visit.

Interestingly, the Cadw surveyor drew comparisons between Waun Oer and the West Kennett Avenue (in his notes he put ‘don’t laugh’ in brackets). In the same way that the Kennet stones are often identified as either male or female in shape, this chap reckoned that the Waun Oer stones also fall into two distinct types. I’ll have to go back and check this out, as well as searching out the cup mark.

Visited 24th November 2002: Bryn Seward was the penultimate site on our trip around the Llynau Cregennen area. We approached from the east, and I’ve never been on a more gated road in my life. With Alfie’s baby seat in the front, I had no choice but to open and close all the gates myself (there were loads of them!). I managed to cut my hand on one of them, so beware sharp edges on the gates if you visit Bryn Seward.

The light was fading, so we passed through the forestry, leaving Bedd y Brenin for another day. As the forestry opens up, there’s the first stone on the right hand side of the road (see photos 1 & 2). The views beyond towards the Mawddach Estuary and Abermaw (Barmouth) are amazing, with the Llyn Peninsular stretching off to the west. You can see why these stones and this sacred route run along this hillside.

The second stone is just before the gate after the forestry (you really can’t miss it). This was my favourite, because it’s really quite thin in cross section, but it’s face is very triangular. Standing next to the stock fence it looks really darned good. There’s a possible third ‘fallen’ stone just west of this on the other side of the fence, but I was so unimpressed by it that I didn’t photograph it (I’m not convinced it’s really part of the row).

Just beyond the thin triangular stone is the ambiguous half buried boulder. Since our visit I’ve read a Cadw description of the row, and apparently the stones used to be incorporated into a low dry stone wall. This wall has now collapsed and spread, which accounts for the debris along the side of the road, and the ambiguity of some of the stones.

After Bryn Seward it we headed off along more gated road, towards Waun Oer.

Visited 10th December 2002: The weather was bitterly cold. I had a pleasant stroll up through the Nant yr Arian forestry before realising I wasn’t on the right footpath at all (thanks to my old OS map which didn’t have the upper lake marked on it). I had to cut across country to correct my mistake.

The footpath I should have been on starts at the Llwernog Trout Farm entrance east of the Nant yr Arian Forestry Cenre (SN72458130). It’s really a bridlepath, following a farmer’s track from the A44, past the Trout Farm buildings, and across the earthen dam that forms the lower of the two lakes. The track briefly heads northwest before hooking to the northeast and up onto Blaen Llwernog (the hill that the stones get their name from).

The footpath was easy to follow while there were faint ruts along it, but when it passed to the west of Blaen Llwernog’s summit the ruts petered out. I guessed my way from there, heading northwest. A forestry plantation came into sight, then I spotted an elegant little Mam hill outlined against the trees. I had a feeling this was the direction to head in, and sure enough I ended up at a gate in the corner of the field. Here the footpath crosses the boundary fence. On the other side of the gate, before the forestry plantation, are the stones. They sit to the right of the footpath on slightly elevated piece of ground.

Perhaps I should have started this essay by saying, these two stones are not very big. It’s a long walk to see stones as tiny as these, so if you want something megalithic rather than minilithic, don’t come here. Fortunately I already knew this before I started out, and I was really pleased to find the site. The walk up was cold and windy, but exceptionally beautiful, and the surrounding hills looked fantastic. At the stones the forestry spoils the views towards Pumlumon Fawr, which I suspect were an important element to whoever erected them. On the bright side, the trees formed an excellent windbreak, so I stopped to have lunch leaning against a stock fence before heading back to the car.

Visited 8th December 2002: For the full harrowing tale of our visit, take a look at my field notes for Cerrig Caerau, which stands only a few hundred yards away from Lled Croen yr Ych.

Chris and I made a very hasty visit to Lled Croen yr Ych, with Alfie strapped to me (thankfully oblivious to the extreme cold because he was under my coat). The others stayed at Cerrig Caerau sheltering behind the largest stone. There’s a fence running between the two circles, with a conveniently placed stile (only slightly broken) so that you can get between the sites.

This circle is a smaller than it’s neighbour, with small squat stones (each less than a cubic metre in size). Some of the stones are unusual shapes, with one small wedge like stone on the side of the circle nearest to Cerrig Caerau. None of the stones are standing, but in contrast to Cerrig Caerau, I’m not convinced that they ever were standing. They’re more like little boulders than standing stones.

If I had to guess, I’d say that Cerrig Caerau is the older of the two circles because it has the look of a pale imitation. In comparison, to it’s neighbour Lled Croen yr Ych is slightly drab and feels less well thought out. A latecomer perhaps, but an enigmatic one, given it’s close proximity to Cerrig Caerau.

Having derided it, I have to admit that Lled Croen yr Ych isn’t without a charm of its own, and if it weren’t right next door to a more eminent circle (on local standards) then I guess I’d look at it in a different light. I would really like to visit both these circles again in the summer.

Visited 8th December 2002: This afternoon I dragged my immediate family, plus my brother Pete and his partner Chris, off to see Cerrig Caerau stone circle and it’s smaller neighbour Lled Croen yr Ych.

We parked to the south of Newydd Fynyddog at the end of the footpath, and had a picnic lunch in the car. It was bitterly cold when we got out of the car, and William started complaining almost immediately. The walk from the road to the circle isn’t all that long (about half a mile) but it’s quite a steep gradient. We practically dragged William up the hill, and he was crying most of the way. To be fair, it was really cold, and the wind made it worse. He was suffering quite a bit from the cold, but by the time we realised this we were practically at the circle. Rather than turn back we kept on going.

The stones aren’t very big, and none of them remain standing. The views must be impressive on a good day, but visibility was very poor this afternoon, and we couldn’t see much of the surrounding hills. William sheltered behind the biggest stone with Pete, and (depending on how cold and pissed off we were) the rest of us had a look at the stones. It wasn’t the most relaxed visit to a stone circle that we’ve ever made, because we were all worrying about poor old Will.

Chris, Alfie and I pegged it across the stile to take a quick look at Lled Croen yr Ych, then we all headed off back down the hill. Pete carried William most of the way back, and he fell asleep as we walked (which worried us a bit). He slept in the car under a pile of coats on the way back, then woke up when we got home as if nothing had happened.

I’d recommend a visit to these sites if you’re in the area, but perhaps not in weather like we had today. Sorry about that William!

Visited 24th November 2002: We drove to Carreg y Big from Waen Bant, and spotted it from the gate (one of many that cross the roads around here). The stone is very close to the road, positioned at the bottom of a small elongated lump of hill on the south west shore of the southerly of the two lakes. The only nearby parking space has a sign next to it saying “Parking for Fishermen Only”. We ignored this and parked.

Carreg y Big is just over two metres high (I’m basing this on the photo of Lou standing next to it), so definitely larger than Waen Bant. We both liked it more than Waun Bant, but not just because it’s larger. The surrounding countryside is spectacular, and while we were there the sun made a last attempt at shining, so the whole scene was something special.

Next to Carreg y Big is a much smaller stone which I have yet to find any reference to. It reminded me of a little stone called Castell Coch near the Buwch a’r Llo standing stones in Ceredigion. I was tempted to name this little stone Carreg y Small, but that would be a horrible thing to do with the Welsh language. I’ll have to come up with something better.

Visited 24th November 2002: Waen Bant is easy to find, but if you want to park nearby you’ll have to risk putting at least two wheels on the grass (something I thought twice about because I didn’t fancy getting stuck).

There’s no public footpath to Waen Bant, but it’s not far from the road, and there are no fences between the road and the stone. We approached from the bottom of the field, and got a good view of the stone sitting on it’s little lump of land in front of us as we walked.

The stone isn’t as big as it looks in photos (I’m warning you now so that you don’t expect something enormous). At a guess (based on William’s height) I’d say it’s about 1.75 metres high. There’s a distinctive undercut on it’s eastern side which is about half the stone’s height in length. I’m not sure that this is artificial, but I’m certain it was significant to whoever erected the stone.

The views out towards Cadair Idris are spectacular, as are the views north towards the mountains on the other side of the Mawddach Estuary. The stone seems to be orientated towards Cadair Idris (specifically the peak called Craig-las). Apparently there’s another standing stone to the south east of Waun Bant called the Afon Arthog Stone, but this isn’t marked on the OS map, so in the failing light we decided not to try and find it.

Visited August 1997: I was impressed by Skara Brae, but I still can’t help comparing it to the Knap of Howar on Papa Westray. Skara Brae is definitely more complex, better preserved, bigger and more accessible than the Knap of Howar, but it’s also blighted by lots of tourists and (albeit on a small scale) the dreaded visitor’s centre syndrome.

You are directed around a specific route at Skara Brae. This doesn’t take you into any of the houses, so you are always looking down into them (a bit artificial given that there was a roof there once). At the Knap of Howar you can walk into the houses and take a seat. The Knap of Howar is the oldest known inhabited structure in northern Europe, and you can have a picnic in it, while at Skara Brae you get to see some bits through protective glass (I can see that this is necessary, but it still spoils things a bit).

I’m glad we went to Skara Brae, because it is something very special. Worth it if only for the Maes Howe T-shirt I bought in the shop (just kidding).

Visited 24th July 2002: We went to Flag Fen without realising that the Sea Henge timbers were in storage there. I’m certain that the experience was nowhere near as magical as visiting the site in it’s original location, but I still got over excited by the experience.

Of course, the battery ran out on the digital camera, so I had a go with the SLR. The results aren’t fantastic, but I thought I’d post them up anyway. It was good to see the timbers (I missed out on seeing them in situ) but sad to see them in the wrong place.

Visited November 1998: We went to see the giant on our honeymoon. At the time Lou was already pregnant (no, it’s wasn’t a shotgun wedding) so we decided fertility rites needn’t be pursued.

When my Dad drove past this site with his prudish mother and father my Grandma allegedly commented on the size of the giant’s club. This wasn’t intended as an innuendo (if you’d ever met her you’d know she was no Kenneth Williams), but as a pathetic distraction technique, intended to draw her son’s attention away from the enormous penis on the hillside. Needless to say this didn’t stop Dad from spotting the giant’s most distinctive attribute.

Visited 9th November 2002: We went to the wrong place first of all, which was a bit embarrassing (my fault). On our second attempt we made it to the right valley, and found the circle without too much trouble (I’ll spare you the details).

Eglwys Gwyddelod is a cairn circle, or so the experts seem to think. There’s no remaining in-fill that can be positively identified, so I’m not sure how it was decided that the site isn’t just a stone circle. It’s much bigger than the cairn circles I’m familiar with (e.g. Dolgamfa or Hirnant) which are kerb cairns. At Eglwys Gwyddelod the stones are approximately one cubic meter in size, which I grant you isn’t big on stone circle standards, but on local standards it’s quite large.

The circle sits on a natural shelf overlooking a small valley with beautiful views, particularly to the east. Through the valley runs the old mountain road (and I use the term loosely) between Pennal and Bryn Crug. This is the best way to get to the site on foot, but look out for the enormous water filled trenches caused by off-roaders. Also beware slippery rock on this track, as it’s had hundreds of years of polishing from a variety of feet & vehicles. Wellies aren’t a bad idea if it’s been raining.

Well worth a visit, but it’s a bit of a way from the road.

Visited 9th November 2002: Croes Faen is very easy to find, and you can get good views of it from the road. The stone is exceptionally tall and slender, with two vertical edges on the south east side of it.

Croes Faen is almost certainly not prehistoric. It’s thought to be the remains of a Medieval cross, the head having been removed or knocked off at some point. Croes Faen means stone cross.

Visited 9th November 2002: There’s no public access to this stone, but you can get a reasonable view of it by parking a 4x4 or van in the lane next to it and standing on the roof.

This is the point I got to before I resigned myself to trespass. A genteel sprint to the stone was much more productive, and I enjoyed tranquil seconds at the site before it was time to sprint back to the car. Is this normal?

Visited 26th July 2002: I’m repeating myself a bit here (see Countless Stones) but parking for Kit’s Coty and Countless Stones is extremely poor.

The safest parking space we found was at the end of the weird dual carriageway (TQ74456055). Here it is on Multimap:

uk.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?grid=TQ74456055&scale=25,000

This might be the same place that ‘juamei’ is describing below. Take a flourecent vest with you, especailly if you go on to visit Countless Stones!

Visited 26th July 2002: Parking and access to Countless Stones and Kit’s Coty is appalling because the traffic on the small roads between them is fast and there’s no footpath. The safest parking space we found was at the end of the weird dual carriageway (TQ74456055). Here it is on Multimap:

uk.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?grid=TQ74456055&scale=25,000

Getting to Kit’s Coty on foot from here was relatively easy, but walking to Countless Stones from the same spot was a bit more hair raising. We had our three year old son William with us, which made it more scary.

There’s a ‘demi-lay-by’ right next to the entrance to Countless Stones, but you can’t really park there for long without feeling like you’re about to get shunted by a passing lorry. On the way back I went and got the car and collected Lou and Will from here (like some sort of SAS hostage extraction).

The stones themselves are well worth a visit, despite the nearby pillons and the dodgy road. They aren’t in a cage or covered in chalk graffiti like Kit’s Coty, so I got the impression that they have fewer visitors. Perhaps the road is actually protecting them!

Visited 5th October 2002: After Carreg Coetan Arthur the setting for Llech-y-Tripped was a refreshing change. The cromlech nestles in the corner of a field, high on a ridge overlooking the mountains. The sea is really close, but this site definitely isn’t orientated towards it.

There’s no signage at any point from the road, but the sturdy looking (and unusual) stile into the field where the cromlech sits suggests that public access is allowed. The stones are easy to see from the track. This site is obviously not visited as much as it’s suburban neighbour, but it’s such a big beauty of a cromlech. I’d certainly recommend a visit.

Visited May 1995: Lou and I walked to Swarth Fell back in the good old days when we lived in the Lake District. We were on route from Bowness to Penrith, mostly following the Roman track called High Street. I saw the circle on the OS map, so we decided to deviated from the footpath to find it.

We nearly didn’t find the stones because they are all fallen. We were knackered when we got there, so we downed our (stupidly overloaded) rucksacks and stopped to relax and take in the view. This decision severely inhibited our progress for the rest of the day, but as I recall we didn’t really care. As you can see, in the photo Louise is as recumbent as the stones.

Visited 4th November 2002: I pursuaded Louise that this was a minor detour on our way back home from Edinburgh. In practise the roads were a lot slower than we expected, and we nearly ran out of light before we got there. Fortunately the chamber is aligned (approximately) to the south west, with beautiful views across the Dore Valley and towards the setting sun. The evening light contrasted dramatically between vivid sunshine and deep shadow.

The capstone is enormous (none of the photos here do it justice), and even though it’s now broken into two pieces, I was in awe of it. I tried to find the cup marks that are supposed to be on the outlying stone*, but all I found was a relatively modern carving of a star (see photo).

This was Alfie’s first visit to a prehistoric site, but we got no reaction out of him (other than the usual ‘give me milk mummy!’). William was very pleased with the burial chamber, and decided to pretend it was a shop. Well worth the extra miles!

As an aside, access for wheelchair users and people with pushchairs is unnecessarily hampered by a narrow gateway in the perimetre fence. This is all the more annoying because the site is so close to the road. Visitors with limited mobility on foot will probably have relatively little difficulty getting in through the gap.

* [I figured out later on that the cupmarked stone is not part of this site, but a seperate stone]

Visited 24th October 2002: We originally set out to find two sites, but the first eluded us completely. When we got to Cei Bach I was expecting Llwyn-on-Fach to be something small and obscure, which is probably why we drove straight past it at first.

Second time around I walked along the road and spotted the stone on the edge of a grass covered car park (bloody obvious it was!). By local standards it’s quite large, so I was pleasantly surprised. On the eastern side of the stone are two lumps of metal, circular in cross-section, embedded in the stone. There is another on the western side of the stone.

I’m guessing that the stone may have been part of a boundary at some stage, and these pieces of metal indicate where the fence met the stone. I’m not sure whether this idea tallies with the stone’s existing position though, or the irregular heights at which the metal is embedded in the stone.

Llwyn-on-Fach is thought to be a Bronze Age standing stone, but reading between the lines, it looks like not everyone is convinced of its antiquity. The stone isn’t marked on the OS, and it isn’t listed on the RCAHMW database.

This was going to be Alfie’s first antiquarian expedition, but as he was asleep when we arrived so we decided to leave him in the car.

Visited 5th October 2002: Surprisingly pleasant, considering the twee housing estate that surrounds it.

We parked the car in the road opposite (to have a pre-cromlech snack) and watched two visitors stroll into the site and walk out again one minute later! Presumably it wasn’t what they were expecting.

It’s pretty amazing how only two of the uprights are actually holding the weight of the capstone!

Visited 17th October 2002: Two days after my son Alfie was born I headed off with William to misuse my paternity leave and find these two stones. I had kept them ‘up my sleeve’ for use in emergency (break glass if long distance travel is not possible).

Without the aid of the trusty OS map (I had left it in the office on the day before Alfie’s birth) I eventually found my way to Pen-bont Rhydybeddau by a circuitous route. I then followed my nose to where I thought the stones should be and surprised myself by spotting them as we drove past.

A public footpath runs directly between the two stones, and where it meets the road there is just enough space to park. It was bloody cold, and the beautiful view down the valley and out to sea was marred slightly by what was obviously an enormous rain storm heading our way.

Both stones are striking, and typical of standing stones in the area they aren’t very tall. The western stone has an interesting horizontal groove on one side, which looks like it might be natural. I was impressed by the whole place, the setting and the stones. It felt very grey and old.

After half an hour of exploration we made it back to the car just as the rain came. It was a memorable visit, and we both had a lot of fun. I’d recommend a visit if you’re in the area.

Visited 5th August 2002: Once again I visited a site with good intentions to stay on the footpath, but in the end it came to now’t. I walked along the bridleway to the north of the stone, but the hedgerow made it very difficult to see it clearly.

Rather than turn back I kept on walking until I got to a gate into the field adjoining the one that the stone is in. By hopping over this I reached the stone and took a couple of very furtive photographs. I was feeling rather smug with myself until I spotted a couple of faces watching me from the upstairs window of a house at the bottom of the field. I decided to briskly leave the scene of the crime via a gate next to the house, and onto the A487. Yes, the stone is clearly visible from the main road!

This Bronze Age platform cairn was originally sited further down the valley (SN75108690), and was flooded when the Nant y Moch Reservoir was created in 1961. The cairn was rediscovered in 1984 when the level of the reservoir was low. After excavation it was moved piece by piece to its current location (you can still make out some of the numbers painted on the stones to identify them).

It’s usually pretty easy to find the cairn, but in poor weather you might not spot it from the road because its surrounded by reeds. Coming from Ponterwyd you need to cross the Nant y Moch Dam itself, then after the first cattle grid start looking out for the site on your right. There is a stock fence around the cairn (but no gate to stop the sheep or visitors from getting in). There’s also a conveniently placed lay-by for parking in.

Visited 6th October 2002: We decided to get as close as possible to the Penlan Stones by following a footpath to the north of them, approaching from the west. We had in mind a nice little loop that would take us back down to the road. After a short walk it was pretty easy to see the stones from the footpath, even though they have been disguised by the farmer who has put a large sheep feeding trough between them.

When we got to the bit where the footpath forks, we headed south and found ourselves in the same field as the stones. Rather than do the law abiding thing, we deviated from the path to get a closer look. Approaching the stones there were loads of sheep gathered around them (the trough is definitely adding to the soil erosion around stones). Even though we walked slowly the sheep were really jumpy, and made off to the far side of the field (soft southern lowland sheep!).

The stones are excellently placed, with beautiful views out to the south towards the mountains. The sunlight was only getting through the cloud in patches and the haze stopped the view prematurely, but this made landscape look even more strange and beautiful than usual.

After this we tried to get down to the road but we couldn’t find a way across the barbed wire boundary fence. We ended up retracing our footsteps rather than doing the ‘loop’. Later when we drove down the road we saw no sign of a stile crossing the fence. Another footpath bites the dust?!

The third stone that is associated with the Penlan Stones, to the south and on the other side of the road, is called Pen-Lan-Tre-Haidd (SN09043543). This stone has the alternative name of the Penparke standing stone. It’s marked on the latest edition of the Landranger, but not on older versions. From the road, I scrambled up a really steep bank to get the photo that I’ve posted. There is definitely no other public access running close to this stone.

Visited August 1997: We spent a really beautiful and leisurely day on Papa Westray (or Papay as it’s affectionately called), most of it hanging out at the Knap of Howar. It was a warm day, so we just sat there talking for ages, wondering about the houses and looking out to sea.

The Knap of Howar is the oldest known inhabited structure in northern Europe! It’s older than Skara Brae, and a lot less commercialised. It’s hard to believe just how open access the site is, especially considering it’s age. You can just wonder in and take a really close look, which is far from the case at Skara Brae. We were at the site for hours, and we only bumped in to some people as we left.

The whole island is very far removed from life on the mainland (both the Orkney mainland and the British mainland). There’s practically no traffic on Papay, and we saw very few people. Our visit was at the height of the tourist season and the weather had been especially good, so I can’t imagine how quiet it must be off-season!

My only regret is that we never made it to the Holm of Papay to see the chambered cairns there. If you go to Papay, don’t be lulled into such a sense of serenity that you miss the ferry to the Holm of Papay (that’s what happened to us).

Visited 25th September 2002: The Buwch a’r Llo and Mynydd March stones are very easy to find, but I’ve only just found their neighbour, a small stone called Castell Coch.

Castell Coch means red castle in Welsh, and it seems to be named after the nearby farm (I have no idea how the farm came to get it’s name). Coming from the direction of Penrhyn Coch it’s beyond the cattle grid on the right-hand side of the road, hidden in amongst the reeds. Although it’s near the road, I only spotted it by chance. I’ll not spoil your fun by giving you the grid reference!

Visited 25th September 2002: This was my second visit to this hillside, having realised that I had walked right past the Glandwr Stone(s) on my first visit (to the Disgwylfa Fach Stone) without even noticing them/it!

You can easily see the big quartz Glandwr Stone from the road, but it does look a lot like a sheep. You get to it the same way that I’ve described on the Disgwylfa Fach page, except (ironically) it’s a lot easier to see than the Disgwylfa Fach Stone.

Next to the quartz stone, poking out of the ground at an angle, is a smaller triangular shaped stone that may or may not be a another monolith. There’s no sign of any packing stones around it, so it could be the tip of a natural outcrop.

The eight figure grid reference for the Glandwr Stone(s) is, SN73098359. I’ve posted a photo indicating it’s location in realtion to the Disgwylfa Fach Stone on the Disgwylfa Fach page.