Tal y Garreg and Llechlwyd

Nearest town:
Tywyn (3km ESE)
OS reference:
SH57400358
OS sheet:
135
Latitude:
52° 36' 38.97 N
Longitude:
4° 6' 22.67 W
Added to TMA by

Images

Image of Tal y Garreg and Llechlwyd (Hillfort) by thesweetcheat

Tal-y-Garreg is top left skyline, seen along the Dysynni valley from Craig-yr-Aderyn (Birds’ Rock). The high ridge over on the right skyline is Allt Lwyd, which has a number of Bronze Age cairns.

Image credit: A. Brookes (26.4.2024)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Mar 17, 2025
Image of Tal y Garreg and Llechlwyd (Hillfort) by thesweetcheat

Tal-y-Garreg on the skyline, left of centre. Seen from the coast at Aberdyfi.

Image credit: A. Brookes (24.4.2024)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Mar 13, 2025
Image of Tal y Garreg and Llechlwyd (Hillfort) by thesweetcheat

Seen from the west. The ravages of the encroaching quarry are most obvious from this side. Llechlwyd promontory fort occupies the lower right-hand end of the hill.

Image credit: A. Brookes (26.7.2015)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Aug 5, 2015
Image of Tal y Garreg and Llechlwyd (Hillfort) by thesweetcheat

Tal y Garreg from the south, across the Afon Dysynni. From this angle the Llechlwyd promontory fort is end-on to the camera.

Image credit: A. Brookes (26.7.2015)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Aug 5, 2015
Image of Tal y Garreg and Llechlwyd (Hillfort) by thesweetcheat

Tal y Garreg from Tywyn across the Dysynni estuary. Llechlwyd promontory fort occupies the lower plateau at the left-hand end of the hill.

Image credit: A. Brookes (25.7.2015)
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Aug 2, 2015

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Miscellaneous

Tal y Garreg and Llechlwyd
Hillfort
thesweetcheat
thesweetcheat Aug 2, 2015

One hill, two forts.

Tal y Garreg fort crowns the summit of the hill at SH57400358, while Llechlwyd cuts off the lower western promontory. Both look down on the mouth of the Dysynni river.

GAT details:

Tal y Garreg

This is a fortification in an exhilarating position, fronting the sea and exposed to all the winds that blow! Its date is very uncertain, and it may have been occupied at more than one period.

The defences are built on the very top of the narrow ridge. They consist of two relatively low earth and stone banks enclosing a rectangular space about 45m long and 22m wide. At the seaward end there is a much stronger point the base of a tower or small circular enclosure (10m in diameter) fronted by a rock-cut ditch now virtually filed with stone. If this stone comes from the collapse of the tower, it must have been quite high. Beyond the ditch is a curving bank with another deep rock-cut ditch beyond. This ditch is now right at the edge of the quarry take care! The ring of concrete pegs on the tower once anchored a shipping signal. (Extract from G. Smith: A Visitor Guide to the Main Iron Age Hillforts of Meirionnydd (2009)).

Llechlwyd promontory fort

A promontory fort enclosing 1.5 acres, situated on a spur of land projecting SW from Tal y Garreg Mountain. The artificial defences comprise an inner and outer bank, 3.6m and 3.2m high respectively with an outer ditch now only 0.8m deep, constructed across the neck of a steep sided promontory. The outer bank and ditch have been destroyed at their west end by a modern quarry road, which exposes a section showing that the ditch was originally 1.9m lower than the present day ground level. The large inner rampart is mainly of stone. And has an in-turned entrance at the junction of its W end with the natural defensive slope of the hill. There are no traces of any huts within the fort. Surveyed at 1: 2500.

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