Kammer

Visited 23rd March 2003: This stone stands to the south of the mountain road between Tregaron and Beulah, and may not be prehistoric. The only reference I’ve yet found for it (Cambria Archaeology) suggests it may be a post-Medieval milestone or standing stone. They list it without a name, so I’ve named it after the stream that runs nearby.

Having visited the stone, I’m not sure whether it’s prehistoric or not. It looks to me like it’s too far off from the road to be a milestone, but it could be a boundary marker (a small one at that though). Could it be a kerb stone from a cairn? Not the most awe inspiring site in itself, but enigmatic, and beautifully positioned.

Visited 23rd March 2003: We visited Penmaen-Gwyn after spending an hour or so at Strata Florida Abbey just down the road. The stone stands on a small hill just north of the road (south of the forestry track, contrary to the impression given by Multimap).

There’s a picnic place nearby, but also ample parking at the bottom of the forestry track. The boys were asleep when we arrived, but the stone is so close to the road that there was no problem leaving them in the car. The sunlight through the trees was beautiful, and we took the opportunity enjoy the place in a strange child-free quiet. Very pleasant.

Visited summer 1991: I can only dimly remember this visit, and unfortunately I was totally oblivious to the stone circle and cairns at the time. Either that or we stumbled across the stone by chance. I know I was impressed by the size of the thing, but I wish I’d paid more attention.

Visited 9th March 2003: I trudged out into the drizzle to try and find this obscure stone, having seen it listed in the Clwyd-Powys Archaeological Trust (CPAT) records. I didn’t find a standing stone, but I found what looked like a fallen standing stone, with some exposed packing stones. I took some photos and a grid reference (SN8558575847), and decided to find out more from CPAT.

After quite a few emails back and forth I confirmed that the stone I’d found was the same stone that CPAT had on their records. The stone was listed after a report from one of the Elan Valley wardens in 2001. I wanted to be 100% sure I had the right stone, so I contacted the warden to check. Based on my photos, he confirmed that this is the same stone he reported to CPAT.

What we still don’t know is whether this is a fallen Bronze Age standing stone, or just a random lump of rock. The area that it’s sited on is known as Maen Hir (meaning Long Stone, so the likelihood that a stone had once stood there is high. I’m hoping that CPAT will now do some further investigation and find out more.

Visited 9th March 2003: Llanwrthwl Churchyard is a fat monolith, dominating the south entrance to St Gwrthwl’s church. It seems likely that the stone was erected long before the church. Apart from anything else, it bears no resemblance to a cross shaft, and looks rather more like a ruddy great big standing stone (Rhiannon’s word ‘stout’ sums it up). I can confirm that the churchyard isn’t circular any more, just a bit rounded.

We visited on a Sunday, and there was a service going on in the church (shame because I wanted to see inside). I wonder how many people in the congregation realise how long the site has been in use for ritual purposes. I’m guessing at between 3000 and 4000 years!

St Gwrthwl’s church is easy to get to (the only church in the village so you can’t miss it).

Visited 13th March 2003: I’ve regularly stopped to look at Pen-y-Castell Hillfort from the road, but you have to get a lot closer to see the standing stone (north east of the fort). The stone is local gritstone, small and squat, with an angular shape to it.

The people who erected it may well have chosen the site because of the distinctive hill nearby (later fortified) and the stream running to the south of it (Afon Stewi). The stone sits on flat ground, and is well positioned to be seen by anyone travelling along the valley between the sea and the Pumlumon area.

The two peaks of Disgwylfa Fâch and Disgwylfa Fawr to the east are very striking viewed from the coast, and may have had some significance as a symbolic gateway into the mountains. If this was the case then one of the routes towards this gateway would have taken people up the Stewi valley, past Pen-y-Castell, and the distinctive landmark of the hill. It makes sense for a stone to be erected here.

Back in the 21st Century, a public footpath runs between the stone and the hillfort, close enough for there to be no problem going right up to the stone. It’s also marked on the Landranger, which is handy.

Visited 2nd March 2003: We got the farmer’s permission to take a look at Coynant Maenhir and Maen Hir. Coynant Maenhir is easier to get to than it’s neighbour, but although it’s right next to the road, you can’t see it from the road beause of the hedgerow. You need to walk a couple of meters up the footpath towards the farm to see the stone.

Coynant Maenhir is very close to the hedge, so you can’t really get a clear view of it from the south west. From the most other angles the stone looks relatively slender, but from the northeast it suddenly becomes quite fat. I realise this probably sounds strange, but the width of the stone was surprising.

When I visited there were tracks in the mud from tractor tyres, right next to the stone. This is a bit worrying given the damage that the weight of the tractor could do to the packing stones. The farmer is a really nice bloke with an interest in the stones on his land, so I’m surprised he’s driving this close (or letting other people).

Visited 2nd March 2003: Meini Gwyr is the only site in the Glandy Cross Complex that’s set up for visitors. There’s enough space for parking, and a slightly mouldy notice board by the gate.

Out of an original seventeen stones, there are only two remaining at Meini Gwyr. The site is thought to be an embanked stone circle, originally about 18 meters in diameter. In the 17th Century Edward Lhuyd recorded that there were still fifteen stones in the circle, and he was aware that some stones had already been ‘carried away’. This suggests to me that these stones weren’t long gone at the time.

The site was excavated in 1938 by Prof W.F. Grimes, but most of the paperwork relating to his findings was destroyed in a bombing raid on Bristol in 1940 (this site has had some bad luck). Grimes found out that the circle had an entrance on its north west side, cutting through the earthen bank and flanked by upright stones. He also found fragments of Bronze Age pottery in a hearth set in to the south east bank.

Incidentally, in the garden of the house next door to Meini Gwyr is a modern stone circle with a central stone. Don’t be fooled! Meini Gwyr may be a shadow of its former self, but it still has a bit of that zing that modern stone circles completely lack.

Visited 13th March 2000: After one aborted attempt last year, I finally got round to visiting Pen-y-Castell Hillfort on a lunch hour last week. The sharp winter sunlight was beautiful, but it was still very cold and windy once I got to the top.

There’s loads to see up there, especially considering how insignificant the fort is compared to some of its local rivals. The ramparts and ditches are still relatively well defined, especially around the entrance to the east. Modern erosion to the ramparts gives a cut-away view of the stones that make them up, and there are a number of large boulders within the boundaries of the fort that must have served some purpose when it was in use (it’s unlikely that they’ve been lugged up there since).

The most interesting stone that appears to be part of the original fort stand on the north side of the main entrance, where there is a break in the defensive ditch. I found myself wondering whether it represents the remains of a defensive wall, or possibly the Iron Age equivalent of a kerb stone protecting wooden defensive walls from wear and tear.

As I descended the hill and made my way back to the car there were two F15 fighter planes circling overhead, presumably practising for the real thing in Iraq. I pondered the stupidity of it all, and how far mankind (I use this term intentionally) has come since the simple Iron Age defences of Pen-y-Castell. It took the edge off of an otherwise beautiful visit.