Garnedd Goch

Nearest town:
Criccieth (12km S)
OS reference:
SH5111949519
OS sheet:
115
Latitude:
53° 1' 18.62 N
Longitude:
4° 13' 11.78 W
Added to TMA by

Images

Image of Garnedd Goch (Round Cairn) by GLADMAN

Highlighting just how big this monument is.......

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN May 2, 2020
Image of Garnedd Goch (Round Cairn) by GLADMAN

Garnedd Goch rises beyond a deserted Llyn Cwm Dulyn. Just as an upland lake should be.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Dec 4, 2015
Image of Garnedd Goch (Round Cairn) by GLADMAN

In retrospect guess I left my descent to the last minute.... not to be recommended.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Oct 27, 2015
Image of Garnedd Goch (Round Cairn) by GLADMAN

Looking approx north-west to the coast... quite a stone pile.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Oct 27, 2015
Image of Garnedd Goch (Round Cairn) by GLADMAN

It’s true... the monument really does have a touch of the red about it. And to be fair the OS trig pillar blends in quite well with the fabric.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Oct 27, 2015
Image of Garnedd Goch (Round Cairn) by GLADMAN

The great Garnedd Goch.... the Red Cairn. The ‘trekking pole’ gives an indication of scale for the wind was far too powerful for a selfie.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Oct 27, 2015
Image of Garnedd Goch (Round Cairn) by GLADMAN

Garnedd Goch – the ‘Red Cairn’ – rises beyond Llyn Cwm Dulyn, a glacial lake (albeit dammed in the 1880’s as a reservoir) which is apparently still home to the enigmatic arctic char. The peak is crowned by a large Bronze Age monument, as are its neighbours Craig Cwm-Silyn and Mynydd Craig Goch, the impressive cliff line of the latter rising to the right of image. Yet another association with river sources.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Nov 6, 2014
Image of Garnedd Goch (Round Cairn) by GLADMAN

Garnedd Goch is seen in its landscape setting from Y Cnicht. Other summits bearing Bronze Age cairns are indicated.

Image credit: Robert Gladstone
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Oct 16, 2010

Articles

Miscellaneous

Garnedd Goch
Round Cairn
GLADMAN
GLADMAN Oct 16, 2010

Garnedd Goch, the ‘Red Cairn’, is sited at the western 2,296ft extremity of a boulder-strewn plateau which also possesses, at its eastern apex, another Bronze Age monument crowning the summit of Craig Cwm Silyn, the primary peak of The Nantlle Ridge. The northern flank of this brutal, upland landscape plunges vertically to the twin lakes of Llynnau Cwm Silyn in a series of awe inspiring crags much beloved by rock climbers. In short, it is an impressive location, albeit not one to frequent in mist! Hence, the name may be prosaic, but a visit here will surely prove to be anything but dull.

So what of the Red Cairn, then? Firstly I should say that it didn’t seem very, well, ‘red’ when I last came a few years ago.... this is not the red sandstone of the South, after all. Then again perhaps that’s just me, since The Snowdon Massif across the way has its own celebrated Crib Goch, of course. But that’s of little consequence for, according to Coflein, it represents the remains of a Bronze Age funerary cairn and:

‘Has a 10msq base and builds like a pyramid up to a central height of 2.5m. A likely victorian cairn of 1m diameter sits on its eastern side. RCAHMW 2006.‘

So there you are. Not the finest of cairns you’ll ever see... but location, location, location!

Sites within 20km of Garnedd Goch

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