Kammer

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.