The walk down from Mynydd Mawr is very easy, just a summers strole down a gentle hill, contrasting highly with the walk up it. The cairn upon Craig Cwmbychan is visble from up on the higher summit, it was probably smaller than it's near neighbour, seeing as it's only been built into one shelter instead of three.
Standing back from the cairn in almost any direction you can almost kid yourself into believeing that it is still whole and full. But closer to and it has a small entrance into what would be very welcoming shelter from howling winds and sideways stingy face rain. But today the weather is behaving impeccably and the shelter is just a desacration, I almost want to push the stones in but I'm far too knackered, Alken is lying on his back and i'm sitting on a big flat stone of the cairn admiring the view.
The view is admirable, large and dark is the Snowdon massiff, across the valley is Moel Eilio, itself crowned by a large cairn, a ridge runs from Moel Eilio in the direction of Snowdon. Across the hill tops we can see the distant Carneddau and the peak of Tryfan. The cairns on Y Garn and the Nantlle ridge float ethereally above a low arm of Mynydd Mawr. Craig Cwmbychan cairn sits right on the edge of it's ridge, below it the ground gives way sharply down.
As good as this cairn is and as good as the view is it is still time to go, instead of making our way back up to Mynydd Mawr and going back the way we came, we struck off in a more direct route, going down at 45 degrees, through thick heather, large rocks, and hidden streams, it was not the right way at all.
Set upon a subsidiary ridge of Mynydd Mawr at almost 2,000ft (please refer to that site for additional comment - and ranting!), this burial cairn is in a wonderful position overlooking Betws Garmon, possessing magnificent views along Llyn Cwellyn to the Snowdon Massif.
In fact most of Central Snowdonia is visible to some degree or other - even Caernarfon Castle - making this just what the doctor ordered on a lovely September afternoon. A place to sit and ponder 'Bronze Age' related thoughts - whatever they might be - whilst chomping on several Yorkie bars and chicken tikka samosas. Naughty, naughty. But nice.
Coflein states:- 'remains of a burial cairn, probably dating to the Bronze Age, situated within open moorland in a prominent position on the summit of Craig Cwmbychan ridge. Stone built and circular on plan, measuring 11m in diameter and up to 1m in height. The cairn has been disturbed in the past, leaving a large hollow in the centre which has been built up to form a drystone shelter'.
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