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How does something this size escape attention for so long, hidden in plain view, yet not "discovered " until 1972.
We unknowingly followed Elderfords directions, and parked right outside the Penywyrlod farmhouse, hoping to grab a bit of easy parking courtesy of the obliging farm owner, we were blessed indeed, the farm was empty, unoccupied, gone away, as we say at work.
With no one about we made our unhurried and unhindered way over to the long cairn.
It was our first site of the day, a list of Black mountain chambered long cairns fortuitously never far from a road, which was a world of comfort to Simon, our new field wandering friend, who had knee issues. It was so much bigger than we anticipated, much much bigger, and the terrible road building scar where they'd dragged off tonnes of cairn material and almost all the chamber stones, broken up like so much peanut brittle, sandstone isn't a very durable stone at the best of times.
Three large stones are to be seen at the rear ? one is poking out of the cairn, the other two are having a lie down, another large flat stone resides by the front north side. Elderford seems to know what all the stones are, but it's a bit of a confusion and so much is gone that I find it a struggle to believe anything can be said for certain.
But there are some certainties, it is a giant of a cairn, with a giant fatal wound, but in a beautiful place with cracking views, it is a nice place to lay down and die, for a cairn.
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I dont know the right name for this fort it could as easily be Ewloe fort, but ive name it after the river that runs by and the parkland it is in.
High above the Wepra brook, in deep woodland on a sandstone promontory is this little fort. It is only about 30m x 10m. There isn't much in the way of surviving defences either, just a few meters of a ditch separating the promontory to the rest of the high ground, now a golf course. But I can well imagine the place with less trees high above the place where two water courses meet, being a good place to live.
Nowadays the place is Wepra park, with nicely stepped paths all the way along the brook to the much better known Ewloe castle. Today there were many people about, from picnicing families to groups of lads.
Not a decent fort , but a very nice place.
Ps , not really suited to boys with bikes.
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Just north east of the little village of Rhosesmor is yet another Moel y Gaer, occupying a suitable hill top 303 meters above sea level. Parking is obtained on the west side of the hill, there is room for many cars. I headed up the hill with my camera and two straining at the lead dogs, whilst Eric and his mate Luke pushed their bikes up (bikes were part of the deal).Phil elected to stay in the car with the radio.
There were quite a lot of people up on the fort, some were walking the circuit of the fort like me, some were just lounging around on the reservoir, enjoying the sunshine and the views. The views are extensive, the best are west to the bigger hills and east to the Dee estuary. A reservoir on a hill top? with a big dome over it ? in a hill fort ? Absurd.
This is a good hill fort, the hill is just the perfect place to keep an eye on the surroundings, two well defined banks encircle the hill. The main entrance is on the east side facing the estuary, but smaller entrances are at the north and south.
Surely I must have known about this place before now, but then forgot about it, I thought I'd been to all of the good hill forts in North Wales and some crap ones, perhaps now I have. But probably not.
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After Rhiannon's misc post , I just had to come back and check it out, it went straight to the top of the list. It is just like the reports indicated, 6 feet high, over six feet wide and only a foot 'n alf wide, leaning a bit to the west. It was suggested that it was part of a burial chamber, and I can see it being the only survivor of a dolmen of some sort. The coflein entry seems to suggest that the stone was moved off a tumulus, coarsely paved, but surely that is right where it is now. It is on a slight mound that could be described as coarsely paved, on the highest ground, in this field at least. No distant views can be had except a bit to the south east off into Denbighshire.
It is a gnarled old stone, scarred and pitted, and very reminding of some of Avebury's sarsens stones.
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