Kammer

Visited 22nd March 2004: I found it tricky to navigate in Northern Ireland, so our route out of Belfast to the Giant’s Ring was a bit circuitous. The site is signposted from some directions, but not from others, so the GPS turned out to be very useful.

Parking is easy, and access to the henge is reasonably good. This is prime dog walking territory for the locals. Definitely an amenity as much as a piece of heritage. The weather was rubbish, but we dutifully plodded around the top of the henge bank looking in at the tomb, and out at the surrounding fields (spotting Ballynahatty Stone). Half way round the henge we lost our resolve (the rain was getting very bad) and descended into the relative shelter of the interior. The tomb itself was my first glimpse of an Irish megalithic tomb. It’s a dollop of a tomb, like an over-weight caterpillar, or a Siamese twin dolmen. Compact and chunky.

I contemplated squeezing inside, but thought better of it. We walked the remaining half of the henge bank, then scuttled back to the car. Nice henge! Nice tomb! Horrible weather!

Visited 11th February 2004: This was the last on the list my local standing stones, left ‘til the end largely because it’s slap bang next to someone’s house. There’s a public footpath running past the stone and the house, but it’s not regularly used, and I was very aware that I might seem intrusive.

With Alfie on my back I cautiously approached the stone and the house. We were soon met by a small dog, closely followed by the gentleman who lives in the house and a second (much larger) dog. After the barking had died down a bit we chatted over the garden gate, and were invited in for a cup of tea. It was nice to have some adult company.

Afterwards I took a look at the stone, which leans at quite an angle. There’s a lot of erosion around the base of the stone and a green band indicates where sheep have rubbed against it, leaving paint from their wool. There’s a strong case for a relationship between Garrig Hir and the The Buwch a’r Llo Group. Situated at the head of the valley, the route from this stone would be a logical way to reach sites further east.

Attempted Visit 15th December 2003: William and I tried walking to Bedd y Brenin from the road to the north west of it, but the terrain was very difficult. The footpath runs along a gap in the forestry plantation, and it was extremely muddy. Along with the gradient and the cold, this made it heavy going and William couldn’t cope. Frustratingly close to the cairn I decided we should turn back.

Watch out for the cows. There were two bullocks in the forestry when we visited, and when we returned to the car, one of them was standing threateningly close to it. It didn’t move as we approached, but just stared at us. I ended up posting William into the car through the hatchback, and sliding into the car very carefully myself to avoid getting between the car and the bullock.

Next time I might try approaching from a different direction, and not in the middle of winter with a tired four year old in tow!

Visited 15th December 2003: This is quite a large cairn, at least in terms of its diameter. What’s left of it really looks like a ring cairn, with quite an obvious hollow in the middle. Access is straight-forward, as there are no fences or walls between the cairn and the road (to the north at least). Although it’s a short walk from the road to the cairn, you’ll have to get out of the car to see it.

Visited 15th December 2003: Hafotty-Fach Stone II isn’t obvious from the road because it’s quite a way down the slope. It’s pretty unassuming, but worth looking for. The thin edge of the stone points down the valley, leading me to ponder whether there’s a connection between this cluster of Bronze Age sites and the stream.

Visited 15th December 2003: I spotted this stone as we drove along the road between the National trust car park and Carreg y Big. It’s on the eastern side of the road, not far from one of the rocky outcrops that sit between the road and the lake. I was immediately struck by the obvious packing stones around the base of the stone, especially those on the eastern side. I wonder whether anyone has recorded this site before.

Visited 15th December 2003: This standing stone (or cairn, or whatever it is) is clearly visible from the road that runs to the west of the lower Cregennen lake. A public footpath runs very close to the stone, but although this is the quickest way to get to it, the route involves climbing a ladder to get over a large dry stone wall (so not great for visitors with limited mobility).

It’s a beautiful spot, squeezed into the thin strip of flat ground between the lake and Pared-y-Cefn-Hir. Probably a good place for quiet contemplation, if you don’t have a four year old with you.

Visited 7th December 2003: This was the last site of the day, and it certainly had the biggest impact on us. Driving up towards the chamber we over-shot the obvious parking spot and ended up plonking the car down near the farm with the huge concrete silage silos (not recommended). The sun was setting, and I was panicking a bit, thinking it might be dark by the time we reached the chamber. After walking in circles for a bit we remembered the GPS, and got back on track.

The chamber is really enchanting (and I don’t use words like that very often). Tucked behind a ruined farmstead, and embedded in a tall dry stone wall, the chamber hides itself. At first it’s unassuming, but then the size of the thing hits you. Camouflaged by the wall, and in the fading light, this process took a few seconds. The sky was rose red and orange by the time we arrived, just missing the chance to photograph the sun set. Behind us the moon rose, and it got decidedly chilly. Magical though.

On the way back to the car I realised we should have parked further to the south, where there’s a footpath sign next to the road (green metal arrows pointing in two directions, but with the little image of the walking man peeled off). The entrance to the field where Gwern Einion and the farmstead stand is marked by a small rusty iron pedestrian gate. Once you get through this just head for the farmstead (on the horizon with the skeleton roof) and you’ll find the tomb behind it. GPS totally unnecessary, so long as you don’t get into a flap like I did.