Overview of the site from the east, looking towards Foel Lus. The ring cairn is in front, stretching across the shot; one of the kerb stones can be seen far right. The western kerb cairn is in the centre. The SW kerb cairn with cist is in the gorse clump over on the left.
Looking NW across the western kerb cairn towards Craig Hafodwen and Foel Lus.
Western kerb cairn,
The fine western kerb cairn, with possible cist in the centre.
Northeastern arc of the large ring cairn’s bank.
Kerb stones around the eastern edge of the large ring cairn that adjoins the western kerb cairn.
SW kerb cairn, with western kerb cairn above to the left.
The excellent SW kerb cairn.
The rounded capping slab displaced from the cist in the SW kerb cairn. The upright stones of the western kerb cairn can be seen beyond.
Looking over the SW kerb cairn with cist towards Ffridd Wanc and Craig Hafodwen; the complex of sites around Y Meini Hirion lie over there.
Maen Crwn and Red Farm stone circle are behind the dark green conifers, and on the opposite hill a few more good cairns.
Horseeees.......... sweeeet!
This kerb cairn has been built into the western bank of a ring cairn, another cairn just to the left of the sitting horse.
Just in front of the trees in the left distance is Maen Crwn standing stone and in the field to it’s right is Red Farm stone circle(rmns of)
Kerb cairn just yards from another cairn and a ring cairn. Cist exposed and capstone still in situ.
Kerb cairn with cist complete, the kerb and ring cairns close by.
This kerb cairn has been built into the western bank of a ring cairn. A dark grey Irish sea lies beyond Penmaenmawr.
The kerb cairn silouetted by Cefn Maen Amor, I wish I’d gone up to that big rock now.
A good arc of the ring cairn.
The eastern arc of ring cairn.
Eastern arc of ring cairn stones, with cairn built into the western bank.
Looking WNW
Ring cairn with a kerb cairn built into its western bank.
Ring cairn with a kerb cairn built into its western bank. Criag Hafodwen is I think the hill in the beyond.
Quick, no ones looking, grab your boots, map and camera and go go go. I don’t think any one saw me leave, just a few stones and then back home.
I parked at the end of the road as if going to Hafodty stone circle, it’s the next road over from the old church. It’s windy and the clouds obscure the mountain tops, there’s a 17.8 % chance of rain. Probably.
From the car, go through the gate and pass by the large sheep pens and follow the path up hill west nor west. From here I was spiritually guided/guessed my way over to the stones, I saw some stones, decided that would be them and they were. Ideal.
The big cairn with opened interior was the first thing I saw, some larger standing stones forming part of an inner kerb or many stoned cist.
Maybe ten yards from that cairn is the kerb cairn. Some kerbing has gone or been buried by earth and gorse, but enough remain to describe the circularity of the monument. The large oval capstone still sits by the area it covered, the cist is full of earth and grass covered, clearly it was opened a long time ago.
The ring cairn is not immediately obvious, my memory of what Coflein says about its whereabouts is as ever, shady, to say the least.
So I go for a walkabout, or a blownabout, looking back, down at the two cairns from slightly above and I can see it. It was right there next to the first cairn, in fact that first cairn is built right into the western bank of the ring cairn. The ring cairn has a good eastern side with, Coflein says, 18 stones. From above fifty yards away I can really appreciate what it is we have here. It’s a three in one. Why so close to each other, nay, on top of each other. Most curious.
Three sites in a row, and this is the first of the three, I’m off to find a cist now, then another ring cairn, what a fantastic place.
From Waen Gyrach I can see Red Farm stone circle, Maen Crwn standing stone and I can see where Circle 275 and the Druids circle are, Fabulous.
Coflein’s Site Description
The site consists of three closely associated funerary monuments. There is a ring cairn to the east, which measures approximately 15m in diameter and includes an earth and stone bank. There are 18 large stones in the bank, and it is denuded on the western side. In the centre of the bank, there is a mutilated cairn consisting of small to medium, sub-round stones and it measures no more than 0.3m high. To the west, there is a kerbed cairn measuring approximately 6m in diameter. It has large stones on the edge and small to medium round stones in the centre. To the south, there is a spoil heap. The final monument is a cist burial, which lies to the south-west. There is a flattened round capping stone to one side and the cist has been cut into the natural outcropping. In addition, there are the possible remnants of a cairn to the south.
Wow, really ? all that ?
