Visited 24th May 2003: This standing stone is relatively close to the Tafarn y Bwlch stone pair. It stands a short way up the hillside from the track, and is easy to spot. The first thing that struck me was the little pond that Waun Mawn stands in, and the second thing that struck me was that William was about to try wading in it! The water was muddy, but clearly deeper than his wellies are long, so I had to move quickly to avoid a premature trip back to the car.
Kammer
Taken 24th May 2003: From the east. We had real trouble stopping William from getting into the puddle!
Image credit: Simon Marshall
Taken 24th May 2003: From the nort west (ish), the stone sitting tidy in it’s mucky puddle.
Image credit: Simon Marshall
Taken 24th May 2003: From the south east, with the loverly Louise posing for scale.
Image credit: Simon Marshall
Visited 24th May 2003: After visiting Pentre Ifan with Jane and her posse, we went our separate ways, Jane to the seaside and us lot to the stones around Tafarn y Bwlch. The walk to this stone pair is very civilized, and compared to many other sites in the area, access is very good. The track leads right past them, and on towards Waun Mawn.
The unusual thing about the Tafarn y Bwlch stones is they both lean, and were probably erected that way. The angles of the stones remain remarkably similar, even after 3000 plus of livestock rubbing against them (and 3 year olds sitting on them). Why were they created this way? They reminded me of the stones at Bedd Arthur and Meini Gwyr, both local where the lean on the stones might be original.
Taken 24th May 2003: From the south east. Apologies for practically repeating RiotGibbon’s photo, but what the heck.
Image credit: Simon Marshall
Taken 24th May 2003: The two stones from the south(ish), looking in the directions of St David’s Head (which was visible to the naked eye).
Image credit: Simon Marshall
Taken 24th May 2003: The stone pair from the north (or thereabouts) with Lou and William alongside for scale. The stones were vertical before William sat on them!
Image credit: Simon Marshall
Visited 10th May 2003: We parked at the end of the restored stretch of the West Kennett Avenue and Flotsky and I took a brisk stroll to what remains of Falkner’s Circle. The weather kept changing while we were there, and when it chose to be sunny the light was brilliant and crisp. Surprisingly pleasant, given the amount of destruction this place has had inflicted on it.
Taken 10th May 2003: From slightly south of the the centre of the site (that’s tricky to say), looking approximately west.
Image credit: Simon Marshall
Taken 10th May 2003: From near the centre of the site, looking towards Silbury Hill (slightly right of centre, just below the horizon) and Knoll Down (I think).
Image credit: Simon Marshall
10th May 2003: Viewed from the east, the Cove post-concrete, but pre-tidy up.
Image credit: Simon Marshall
10th May 2003: After all the exciting stone moving and concreting had taken place, here is the Cove in the latter stages of being part of a building site.
Image credit: Simon Marshall
10th May 2003: The mound viewed from the south (slightly further east than the last shot). In the foreground is a ghastly modern avenue of stones. You can also clearly see the grotty grotto that was dug into the side of the hill.
Image credit: Simon Marshall
10th May 2003: The mound viewed from the south.
Image credit: Simon Marshall
Apparently this stone stands to the south west of the Chapel. The Gwynedd Archaeological Trust lists it as a prehistoric site, but the RCAHMW lists it as ‘Unknown’.
Visited 24th May 2003: While Lou and Alfie dozed in the car, the rest of us hung out at Carreg Coetan. Jane sketched the chamber from the corner of it’s little enclosure, her daughter chilled out and sent some text messages, I took photos and the boys ran around making noise.
We were there for a while (at least, longer than my last visit) and it was good to have the time to explore. The chamber isn’t especially complex, but watching it from different angles gave me some new perspective on the place. Mynydd Carningli is a big focus for sites in this region, and Carreg Coetan is no exception, orientated towards this sacred mountain rather than the sea.
Taken 24th May 2003: From the west, showing just how close modern development has come to the monument.
Image credit: Simon Marshall
Taken 24th May 2003: The chamber from the south west, with Jane sketching in the background and the boys behind the cahmber.
Image credit: Simon Marshall
Visited 24th May 2003: We were on our way to the chippy in Dinas Cross (having just left Parc-y-Meirw) when I spotted the cairn from the car. Our convoy ground to a halt, and Jane, William and I went to take a closer look. Glyn Gath is very close to the road, but well hidden under heather and gorse, so it’s a bit tricky to spot (like one of those Magic Eye things). Once you’re up next to it, it’s quite impressive. The ring is well defined, especially on the south west side.
Taken 24th May 2003: The south west side of the cairn, where it’s most discernable. In the distance is one of the natural rocky outcrops that dominate the local landscape (I think this one is Carn Enoch).
Image credit: Simon Marshall
Taken 24th May 2003: The cairn from the south. I’m afraid it’s a bit tricky to make out in 2D, because both it and the surrounding land are covered in heather and gorse. In the far distance (to the right) is the lane snaking off towards Dinas Cross.
Image credit: Simon Marshall
Visited 24th May 2003: This is the first site we visited with Jane and her clan. All seven of us clambered into the field, and sat at the top looking down the row towards Fishguard. The weather was (unexpectedly) great, and it all looked vibrant with the gorse in flower and the stupidly lush pasture.
There are definitely stones hidden in the hedge bank that were once part of the row, but only a couple of likely contenders are visible. The biggest recumbent stone is visible from the lane, and it’s truly whopping. It’s a shame that you can’t really walk around the stones, and get the over-all picture of what the row might have originally looked like.
Taken 24th May 2003: A stone lying in the hedge bank on the field side of the row. I didn’t establish whether this is the same stone that can be seen from the lane (see RiotGibbon’s photo – themodernantiquarian.com/image.php?image_id=24), but it appears to be much smaller.
Image credit: Simon Marshall
Taken 24th May 2003: The middle stone (there are four, so this needs explaining). By this I mean the stone that stands between the garepost stone, and the stone at the eastern end of the row.
Image credit: Simon Marshall
Taken 24th May 2003: From the south, this is the most westerly of the standing stones, with William standing next to it (not much use for scale until I find out how tall he is). In the background is the natural outcrop called Garn Fawr.
Image credit: Simon Marshall
Taken 24th May 2003: The most easterly of the four standing stones is used as a gatepost and a fencepost, and has a barbed wire strand unceremoniously wrapped around it.
Image credit: Simon Marshall
Taken 24th May 2003: The clichéd photo of the stone row from the east, but this time with the unusual ingredient of Welsh sunshine! In the distance you can make out Fishguard and the ferry from Ireland.
Image credit: Simon Marshall
Here’s a quote about Cerrig y Gof from the book Prehistoric Preseli, by N.P. Figgis:
There are a few other tombs of vaguely similar pattern in western Scotland and eastern Ireland, but they are rare and none is really very similar. Fenton, the early nineteenth-century Pembrokeshire antiquarian, explored [Cerrig y Gof] when it was already in much the same state as it is today, and found some black pebbles (unusual – white quartz is common), charcoal and bits of unburned human bone along with what he described as sherds of the ‘rudest’ pottery, all now sadly lost.
Here’s more from Neolithic Sites of Cardiganshire Carmarthenshire & Pembrokeshire by G. Children and G. Nash:
Cerrig y Gof was excavated in 1811 by Fenton... he believed a central cromlech originally completed the complex. This argument is disputed because the central area is too small to accommodate a chamber of a size similar to the other five.
These two books are excellent resources if you’re planning a trip to the area.
Taken 10th May 2003: The remaining stone from the north west, with a distinctive round barrow on the horizon (not sure of it’s name but I believe it’s at SU117692).
Image credit: Simon Marshall
Taken 10th May 2003: My good friend Flotsky standing next to what remains of Falkner’s circle.
Image credit: Simon Marshall
Visited 20th April and 24th May 2003: On these two subsequent ‘visits’ to the stone I viewed it from afar. The closest satisfactory view I’ve managed to get of the stone, without wandering into the field uninvited, is from the gate next to Mercury Garage (on the A478). The second view, is much more spectacular, but not so close up, from the viewing point to the south of Dinas Cross.
Visited 20th April: Bedd Morris is situated right next to the road between Newport and Pontfaen. It’s antiquity is in doubt because there are no records of it before the 19th Century. There are two inscriptions on the stone indicating that it was used as a Parish boundary marker (between the parishes of Llanychlwyddog and Newport), and opinion is divided as to whether the stone predates this use or not.
There’s a small car park right next to the stone, and a cattle grid. The stone is over 2 metres tall, so you really can’t miss it. It strikes me that this would be a good place to park and walk to Carningli from, as the gradient isn’t too steep approaching from the west.
Taken 20th April: From the south west, looking down the road in the direction of Newport.
Image credit: Simon Marshall
Taken 20th April: From the south, risking life and limb to take the photo from the middle of the road.
Image credit: Simon Marshall
This stone is on private land, behind the barn of Ty’r-coed Farm. According to Wendy Hughes (in her book Prehistoric Sites of The Gower & West Glamorgan) you may gain permission to view it if you ask at the farmhouse.
A promontory fort occupying a narrow headland south east of the Knave. The cliff has eroded considerably since the fort’s construction, but apparently the original entrance is discernable as a break in the defences, 5 metres short of the cliff edge on the south side (my source here is Prehistoric Sites of The Gower & West Glamorgan by Wendy Hughes).
The site is accessible from the coastal footpath, but be careful near the cliff edge!
Another site I’ve not visited, the Knave is a semicircular cliff fort with a bank and ditch on the inland side. The site was excavated in 1938 by Audrey Williams, and the remains of two huts were found, one of which had been burnt down. It’s thought that the Knave probably only served one or two families because of it’s relatively small size.
I’ve not visited this site, but apparently it’s an oval shaped Iron Age defence, of about 0.9 hectares. It has an inner bank and ditch as well as an outer bank and ditch which is incomplete (and may have never been finished).
For some reason the fort doesn’t stand at the summit of the hill, but on the ground sloping away from it looking out towards Cheriton. This makes no sense in defensive terms, so it’s a bit of a mystery.
Visited 20th April: On our second pass we identified a place to park near Cerrig y Gof. The road (the A487) runs adjacent to the field where the burial chamber stands, but you can barely see the chamber as you drive past because of the hedgerow [not what Jane says, but I’m sticking to my story]. It’s tricky to park nearby (and cross the road) there’s quite a lot of traffic, and the visibility in either direction is poor. I’d recommend you look out for the entrance to Oakfield Lodge and/or a brown sign with Taith Preseli Tour on it, and park on the verge as close to these as possible (both of these signs are on the south side of the road).
Cerrig y Gof was originally covered by a circular mound, but all that remains are five chambers, all facing outwards. None of the chambers have stones covering their entrances, and all but one have identifiable cap stones. The site is thought to be either a transitional type of tomb built in the early Bronze Age, or a special creation designed specifically for burials from five separate groups. Apparently it compares to some tombs on the west coast of Scotland (not sure which), but the likeness is not exact.
The stones are enigmatic, and do look like big cists. One of the fallen capstones looks like a dolmen, but I think this is purely coincidence. I’d like to go back and spend some more time taking it all in, but on this visit we were pressed for time. I only realised after we’d left that I’d totally failed to look for the fallen standing stone that lies in the same field.
Taken 20th April: This capstone (on the north side of the tomb) has the look of a dolmen, but this is probably coincidental.
Image credit: Simon Marshall
Taken 20th April: One of the chambers, on the south side of the monument.
Image credit: Simon Marshall
Taken 20th April: The chambers from the south, as you see it approaching from the road. Lou, Alfie and Will are doing a good job providing scale.
Image credit: Simon Marshall
Taken 20th April: The chambers from the north, with Lou, Alfie and Will for scale.
Image credit: Simon Marshall
Taken 20th April: The stone as seen over the gate next to Mercury Garage (not a petrol station, but a mechanic’s workshop).
Image credit: Simon Marshall
Visited 20th April: Easy to spot, right next to the A478(T) just to the west of Dinas Cross, Ty Meini (or the Lady Stone as she’s sometimes called) stands behind bars to the north of the road. Parking is a bit tricky, but you can just about get away with putting two wheels on the verge.
It’s good that the stone isn’t obscured by hedgerow, but why such strange school yard railings? Wouldn’t a nice wooden fence have done the trick? Seeing the stone from one angle is exasperating, and you can’t touch it. Still, well worth stopping for if you’re in the area, and easier to see than Parc Cerrig Hirion.
Taken 20th April: I risked life and limb to take this. Here is the stone from the south, as viewed from t’other side of road (balanced on the crash barier). The headland in the distance is Dinas Island.
Image credit: Simon Marshall
Taken 20th April: From the south (slightly to the east) by the roadside. Ty Meini behind bars.
Image credit: Simon Marshall
Visited 20th April 2003: Another stone in a garden, although you can see it from the road. It was just me and Will on this visit, so I decided to knock on the door and get permission to see the stone up close. The gentleman who answered was friendly, and didn’t mind us wondering round to the back of the house to see the oddity in his garden. He seemed a bit bemused, but I got the impression we weren’t the first people to ask. He told me that nobody really knows how old it is.
The stone is very large, and built into the end of a dry stone wall/hedge bank. Perhaps it’s position on the end of the boundary protected it from being destroyed. The shape and size of the stone reminded me a bit of Avebury, which isn’t an enormous exaggeration. Very impressive.