Cefn Coch (Penmaenmawr)

Nearest town:
Penmaenmawr (1km N)
OS reference:
SH71667468
OS sheet:
115
Latitude:
53° 15' 11.77 N
Longitude:
3° 55' 26.17 W
Added to TMA by

Images

Image of Cefn Coch (Penmaenmawr) (Cairn(s)) by thesweetcheat

From the east. The distant hill immediately to the left is Moel Wnion, with its own cairn.

Image credit: A. Brookes (1.4.2018)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Apr 30, 2018
Image of Cefn Coch (Penmaenmawr) (Cairn(s)) by thesweetcheat

The damaged top, with the high Carneddau ridge covered in snow beyond.

Image credit: A. Brookes (1.4.2018)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Apr 30, 2018
Image of Cefn Coch (Penmaenmawr) (Cairn(s)) by thesweetcheat

Approaching from the west. Apparently we have Henry VIII to thank for the wild Carneddau ponies.

Image credit: A. Brookes (1.4.2018)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Apr 30, 2018
Image of Cefn Coch (Penmaenmawr) (Cairn(s)) by GLADMAN

Looking back toward The Druid’s Circle... top right.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Oct 31, 2013
Image of Cefn Coch (Penmaenmawr) (Cairn(s)) by GLADMAN

The best I could manage of the fabulous skyline created by the northern ridges of Y Carneddau.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Oct 31, 2013
Image of Cefn Coch (Penmaenmawr) (Cairn(s)) by GLADMAN

The primary reason for coming back... proper upland cairn, this. Note the recumbent stone, foreground, Moelfre looming beyond.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Oct 31, 2013
Image of Cefn Coch (Penmaenmawr) (Cairn(s)) by GLADMAN

The beautiful cairn in its landscape, Moelfre rising above. The larger Cors y Carneddau cairn can be seen beyond the dry stone wall to left.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Oct 31, 2013
Image of Cefn Coch (Penmaenmawr) (Cairn(s)) by postman

A kerb cairn and a ring cairn are just over the wall.

Image credit: Chris Bickerton
postman
postman Apr 11, 2013
Image of Cefn Coch (Penmaenmawr) (Cairn(s)) by postman

The denuded interior and Moelfre back drops

Image credit: Chris Bickerton
postman
postman Apr 11, 2013
Image of Cefn Coch (Penmaenmawr) (Cairn(s)) by postman

Moelfre, a natural hill and Cefn Coch a man made hill.

Image credit: Chris Bickerton
postman
postman Apr 11, 2013
Image of Cefn Coch (Penmaenmawr) (Cairn(s)) by postman

A picture to behold, one of the best places ever !

Image credit: Chris Bickerton
postman
postman Apr 11, 2013
Image of Cefn Coch (Penmaenmawr) (Cairn(s)) by postman

Barrow to the right of the wall and a ring cairn on it’s left, kerb cairn left out of picture.

Image credit: Chris Bickerton
postman
postman Apr 11, 2013

Articles

Cefn Coch (Penmaenmawr)

thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Apr 5, 2015

What is entirely certain though, is the massive Cefn Coch (“Red Ridge”) cairn. It would be impressive anywhere, but what sets it apart from comparable sites is the stunning backdrop of the Carneddau.

Turning its face resolutely from the sea hidden behind a ridge to the north, the cairn unquestionably looks inland towards the mountains. The very highest peaks of the range are hidden from here, but the skyline is filled with an array of summits all well above the 2000ft mark, several of which boast contemporary monuments.

It’s a breathtaking sight and we sit in awe for quite a while.

Cefn Coch (Penmaenmawr)

GLADMAN
GLADMAN Jan 25, 2014

Standing proud at the bwlch between Moelfre and Graig Lwyd, this fine upland cairn was the primary reason for my return to this section of Gwynedd’s northern coastline today. To be fair the excursion – assuming one is lucky enough to be in a position to make it, of course – is a real ‘no-brainer’ for a stonehead, considering the numerous other cairns, stone circles... hey, ‘axe factory’... located here above Penmaenmawr. Albeit a sublimely ironic ‘no-brainer’, since the old – or not so old – grey matter needs to be at the top of its game to cope with the sensory overload inherent in such a landscape. Guess I’ll just have to do my best, then.

The cairn stands immediately overlooking The North Wales Path, to the latter’s north, at the point where the Wales Coast Path branches off toward Clip yr Orsedd. Maybe this was always the arrangement, the monument defining an important part of the landscape, a gigantic ‘marker cairn’? Whatever, it is perhaps best seen when descending Moelfre (c1,427ft / 435m) rising to the south, itself blessed by a Bronze Age cairn. Nowhere as good as this one, though. From Moelfre’s slopes it is difficult to dismiss the insidious perception that everything in the neighbourhood was sited relative to everything else. With the utmost care, too. Thoughts come a’tumbling down.... unlike, thankfully, the viewer. Was the monument placed here to interact with travellers upon the track(s), whether engaged in journeying to an actual earthbound destination, or some metaphysical abode? Or was it erected in homage of the striking Moelfre itself. Or Graig Lwyd, source of the precious stone implements? Or even placed in the ‘cleavage’ between the two peaks in accordance with some ritual mamillar fixation? Er.. they have been known. Apparently. Rhetorical questions, of course.

Leaving such speculation to one side, what is certain – at least in my case – is that time spent hanging out upon the cairn, gazing south-westward toward the glorious profile of the northern Carneddau sweeping down to the sea, is paregoric in the extreme, the everyday cares and worries of life ‘down there’ seemingly of little consequence for a while. A brief hiatus, admittedly. Why, even the brightly-clad ramblers marching up and down the tracks, such an irritant at Y Meini Hirion, don’t contemplate interrupting their walks for a mere cairn, even one as upstanding in profile, as impressively defined as this. All 8ft or so of it (c2.6m). Incidentally, there is also a small(ish) recumbent stone to be found close-by to the approx west. Whether this represents a displaced cap stone, fallen prehistoric standing stone, or similarly fallen later marker stone.... or nothing at all I’m afraid I have no idea. Sorry about that.

As mentioned by Postie the interior of the cairn has been hollowed out somewhat; however it does not detract from the experience in my view. As for the agency responsible for such vandalism, I’m in the corner of the much maligned giants here. Yeah, I reckon the damage was the inevitable result of a troll looking for a mis-placed laptop so as to continue his evil on-line trolling mischief. Something needs to be done.

Cefn Coch (Penmaenmawr)

postman
postman Apr 12, 2010

Its only a five minute walk from Druids circle etc so theres really no excuse not to come down to this big barrow (and the ring/kerb cairns).
The barrow sits at the bottom of a very barrow shaped hill called Moelfre (345m) itself crowned by a cairn which Ive yet to inspect. The summit of the barrow was probably around three metres tall in its day but since it was erected..... a giant was passing and mistook the burial mound for a pile of mashed potatoes and took a giant sized mouthful from off its top, immediately realising his mistake (for he wasnt so stupid as to swallow it) he spat out the mouthful in a left to right fashion causing the linear feature we now crudely call “a wall”.
In the beautiful sunshine and hidden from the still cold wind we sat in the hollowed out barrow and looked out across the land, I tried to impart some historical facts about prehistoric times but they seemed more interested in finding the body that must surely be buried beneath our tired derriers. Oi, stop digging !!!

Sites within 20km of Cefn Coch (Penmaenmawr)

Like all websites everywhere, we use cookies.