Cerrig Duon and Maen Mawr

 Visit Date October 2021.  

Another ancient site in south Wales today the site of Cerrig Duon and Maen Mawr.

The actual site is called Cerrig Duon and it consists of a very low stone circle and a standing stone just outside the circle called Maen Mawr, which unimaginatively translates to "Large Stone".

The site of Cerrig Duon (translates to black stones), which probably dates to the Bronze Age (c. 2300 - 800 BC) has also been listed as a stone row and there are two stones outside the circle leading to Maen Mawr and then onto the circle, I am not sure if I would say this was a stone row? however, looking along this line to the south it does seem to line up well with the dip between two mountains to the south and if there was a reason for this I suspect it has been lost in time. Although the circle does not protrude from the ground very much it is a stone circle or perhaps a stone oval would be more correct as it does seem slightly oval in shape.

The stones are all rough slabs of sandstone.

The Stone, Maen Mawr itself is about 7 feet high, nearly 3 feet thick, and about 4 feet wide. The site stands on a flat ridge away from the river in the valley and the views here are magnificent.

There is a theory that the Maen Mawr stone acts as the gnomon of a sundial, casting a shadow aligning with the small stones on midsummer day, I don't really buy into this theory but who knows?

Getting a little higher view makes it easier to see the circle part of this site, but I suspect the vegetation has overgrown too much as early records show as many more with Cadw (the Welsh Government's historic environment service) lists the site as having 20 Stones.

Click on images for full screen view

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Google Reference

51.87248150044887, -3.670084955951269

Google Search reference: Maen Mawr

What Three Words reference : ///skipped.prime.punctuate

Additional information

Visiting this site is quite easy as the main stone can be spotted from the road. Going north on the A4067 the left turn is a little over a kilometre past the Dan-Yr-Ogof visitors centre and just beyond the

Tafarn-y-Garreg Pub.

Once going north it is more difficult to spot but driving south it come into site on the right hand side over the other side of the river.

There are small pull ins along the road and although you will have to cross the river this is easily done.

The circle being low to the ground can not be seen from the road.

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1940's Bridgend

 Event Date: June 2019.  .

In the summer of 2019 my local town held a festival and the theme was "1940's"

The re-enactment day saw the town centre transported back to the 1940s, with shop and pub staff dressing up in clothes from the era and even taping up their windows as they would have done during wartime to prevent flying glass from bomb blasts.

This has been done in the past and there were hopes that it would continue, sadly due to the pandemic, not this year!

A good-humoured enjoyable weekend was had by all concerned.

Click on images for full screen view.

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I hope you enjoyed the images.

I also made a short YouTube video of these images and some extras not on here:-

Wartime Bridgend - YouTube

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A view worth remembering

Visit Date: September 2019

This day I visited a part of the South Wales coast that I have not been to for many years, Langland Bay in the Mumbles area of Swansea. It is a beautiful part of the country. I walked along the coastal path until I saw a breath-taking vision of the coast. I stopped for a little while here and rested at this headland on a public bench that had the dedication on the bench that is in the photograph below.

It was a very poignant moment, the message gripped me and I took the image of the coast with the public bench in the shot. It is easy to understand why this view kept the mentioned POW Keith Bailey thinking of home in those very difficult times.

The mentioned Austin Bailey Foundation was established on 1st of February 1984 by the late Keith Bailey who, despite being a prisoner of war with the Japanese from 1942 to 1945, was acutely conscious of his own good fortune in life.

As a result, he was always keen to help those less fortunate who are in need or have adversity.

Canon Don Lewis, then Vicar of Swansea, assisted in setting up the trust and remained a Trustee, good friend and staunch supporter of its aims until his death.

The trustees of the Austin Bailey Foundation normally meet in May and December. Donations are made in the following categories;

• Local Charities in Swansea and district; - approximately 50% of unrestricted income is used for local charities and local branches of national charities who help children and families, those who are disabled, infirm, aged or in need.
• Local Churches in the City and County of Swansea; - approximately 25% of unrestricted income is donated to local churches for the furtherance of the Christian faith.
• Overseas Charities; - approximately 25% of unrestricted income is given to relief agencies for the relief of poverty and ill-health, and the fostering of opportunities for young people in the developing world.

Please note I have no connection with the Austin Bailey Foundation.

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Google Reference
51.564505682553225, -4.0146685687908805

Google Search reference: Snaple Point View Point

What Three Words reference : ///paces.irrigated.flies

Additional information
Visiting: There is a good size car park ( 51.568155694635536, -4.013917844838723 ) at Langland Bay which is a little over 5 miles from Swansea. There is also an easy coastal walk of just over a mile from Langland Bay west to Caswell Bay.

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Carreg Samson

 Date of visit August 2019

Carreg Samson is another Dolmen in Wales.

As with others of this type the structure would originally have been covered with earth.

It is one of the most beautiful spots overlooking the sea, near the picturesque port of Abercastle.

This is a typical example of this type of neolithic chambered tomb.

The Capstone is 4.5 metres long, 1 metre thick, 2.7 metres wide and between 1 and 2 metres high.

When excavated, it was found that a pit of almost a metre deep lay underneath. The was pit covered by clay stones. A small quantity of bone, flint and pottery was unearthed at the site and included a vessel containing cremated ashes.

Carreg Samson is also known locally as The Longhouse Cromlech

It is also known as Samsons Stone. The connection with the name Samson is regarding St. Samson of Dol, and the legend goes that he placed the capstone onto the structure using his little finger.

St. Samson was the son of Amon of Demetia and Anna Of Gwent, Anna was the daughter of Meurig ap Tewdrig the King of Gwent.

Beautiful spot to rest

This is a great place to visit if you like Dolmens or Cromlechs.

This is a typically beautiful example of this type of Neolithic chambered tomb.

Even if you just like to get outdoors the view from here over the bay of Abercastle.

(Location information below)

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Google Reference
51.95833371460036, -5.132992069771207

Google Search reference: Carreg Samson

What Three Words reference : ///crumble.able.shuttling

Additional information

Visiting: If you drive to Abercastle port (51.95990618212159, -5.12670170227685) there is limited parking for around a dozen cars. You can then walk up and along the coast path until you reach the site, this is a lovely walk.

On the day I visited the car park was jammed full and there is no other parking in this small village. I was disappointed however a local man told me that I could also visit from longhouse farm (51.95689526973494, -5.1342374861494315) which owns the field.

I drove the few minutes there and asked at the farmhouse if I could park and visit the Dolmen, the lady of the house was very welcoming, and let me park there. The access from here is very easy if you have any mobility problems.

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The Pit Pony Memorial and the memories of "Dai"

Visit Date: September 2021

I visited my local nature reserve again which was prompted by a notice in the local paper of a memorial service that is held every year at 8.20 am on the 26th of August on the anniversary of the time and day when 146 men and boys died when there was an explosion in the coal mine.

I was happy to see that the area has had a facelift and a new memorial bench has been placed in the area.

The carving is of a miner and his "Pit Pony".

It was shining in the warm late summer sunshine and it got me thinking of the area where I grew up not 10 miles from here.

I Digress:-

The area was very much a mining valley and back in the late 60's, it was common to see men in the street with "Blue Scars" where coal dust had gone in beneath their skin and cause scars that looked like tattoos permanently on their face and arms.

But the Pit Pony sculpture reminded me of the stables that were behind the row of our houses and that still housed a number of Ponies and I was told that they were Pit Ponies that I assumed now were there in their retirement. No open field for these old boys, I believe they spent their last years in these stables, as I never saw them outside on a single occasion.

I am not sure when the last ponies would have been used here underground but I would guess, these ponies would have been quite young when retired.

This led me to think of the man who looked after the ponies or horses. His name was David Thomas.

In Wales David is a very common name and anyone called David would be known as "Dai" also it was very common to have this as the first part of your nickname and your job or some other "theme" as the second part, One chap in my street was called "Dai Bad Back", yup you've guessed it for years he could not work because of a bad back (I still can't recall his real surname). We also had an "Alan Potcher" who could turn his hand to any odd job and fix it up or "potch it up". Now I think of it there did seem to be many "Dai's" who had something attached to their name (Or maybe I can recall them easier as I was called "Dai" for the first 25 years of my life)!

For the first few years, I knew him I only knew Mr. David Thomas as "Dai Horse" and everyone knew "Dai Horse".

A few years later Mr Thomas started to look after the deliveries of the local Evening newspaper (The South Wales Echo). The papers would come from Cardiff (about 25 miles away) by train to Bridgend and then by bus up to the valleys. The conductor of the bus would then throw the papers from the bus at the main but stop in the village where "Dai" would be waiting. He would then distribute the papers to houses or local shops where we paperboys would take over and deliver them to the houses.

Of course, this meant that "Dai Horse" soon became known as "Dai Echo"

I remember fondly many people having this type of nickname back then but the strangest one I think I heard was the David who bought the biggest house at the head of the valley which at one time would have been the mine managers house. His nickname? Well "Dai Big House" of course.

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Google Reference
51.539548735113236, -3.618187109403901

Google Search reference: Parc Slip Memorial

What Three Words reference : ///ranks.fixed.rally

The site is easy to find just 15 minutes from M4 motorway at junction 46

The car park //////joystick.plod.painting
Google Maps (51.54538490015156, -3.6143532913911733) is free and there are toilets and a café nearby.

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" A column of water that lifts a hundred tons" Brunel Docks Briton Ferry.

Visit Date : August 2021

Isn't it strange and interesting that sometimes you take a more detailed look at something familiar that a whole host of history is revealed?

This happened to me recently as I passed over the Briton Ferry Bridge on the motorway from Port Talbot to Swansea.

I have passed this way what must have been hundreds of times without giving the view before a second thought but a recent article on the TV whetted my appetite to get a closer look, and I was not disappointed.

This is Briton Ferry docks, built in the 1850s.

This area was close to Ironworks and massive coal production so docks were built in lots of places around this coast. So what was special about this one well the first thing to catch my attention was that this was designed and built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel ***( an English civil engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history, one of the 19th-century engineering giants, and "one of the greatest figures of the Industrial Revolution, who changed the face of the English landscape with his groundbreaking designs and ingenious constructions. Brunel built dockyards, the Great Western Railway (GWR), a series of steamships including the first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship, and numerous important bridges and tunnels. His designs revolutionised public transport and modern engineering.*** (thanks to Wikipedia))

The dock was completed by Brunel's chief assistant, Robert Pearson Brereton in 1861 two years after Brunel's death in 1859.

The dock was originally called the Briton Ferry Floating dock but has been renamed as The Brunel Dock.

Some of the design for the dock was remarkable as it marked his experimental work on buoyant lock gates, and the move from wooden gates to Iron and this is thought to be the only surviving example of this work.

The power for this was housed in Brunel's tower which contains the hydraulic accumulator which powered the lock gates and cranes of the unique Briton Ferry floating dock.

The tower housed this accumulator, supplied by Sir William Armstrong. Inside, a weight pushed down on the water in a cylinder. The high-pressure water then operated the lock gate, cranes and other machinery. The weight gradually descended as the water was used. It was moved back up the tower by power from a stationary steam engine nearby.

The engineering savvy amongst you may well understand how this was done but for us normal folk the plaque on the tower states:-

" A column of water that lifts a hundred tons".

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Google Reference
51.626406, -3.828599
Google Search reference: Brunel Docks Briton Ferry

What Three Words reference : //////alien.comet.decreased

The site is easy to find leave M4 motorway at junction 41 Follow signs to Briton Ferry then A48 to the "McDonalds roundabout then left onto Brunel Way.

The car park ///eating.tester.shark (51.626114, -3.826099) is free but with only 4 places

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Carreg Cennen Castle

Visit Date : August 2021

WELSH: Castell Carreg Cennen meaning castle (on the) rock (above the) Cennen) is well named as this fortress is well above the outlying land high upon a limestone cliff.

The site has a long history and may well have also been the site of an Iron Age hillfort.

There is also some Roman history as Roman coins have been found in the area, although it is unlikely the Romans occupied this site on a permanent basis.

Legends of the original fortress goes back to the Dark Ages, held by Urien Rheged, Lord of Iskennen, and his son Owain, knights during the reign of King Arthur.

Stories claim that there is a warrior (perhaps one of the knights, or Arthur himself?) asleep beneath the castle, awaiting a call from the Welsh.

As with many Welsh castles, they will have been built, rebuilt and altered through the ages.

The first "castle" on the site was probably built by the Welsh Lord Rhys, Prince of Deheubarth, in the late 12th century, but was taken in 1277 by King Edward I.

The castle we see today replaced the demolished previous structure in the late 13th century by John Giffard and his son.

It was involved in many battles and was besieged during the rebellion of Owain Glyndwr in about 1403 and was considerably damaged.

Around 1461, the castle was deemed too much of a threat to the monarchy and was destroyed the following spring and is basically in the same state today.

Despite being in a ruinous state in the 18th century it started to attract artists (Turner sketched the castle in 1798).

In the 1960s Carreg Cennen Castle was acquired by the Morris family of Castell Farm, when Lord Cawdor's legal team made a mistake in the wording of the deeds and included the castle as part of the farm.

The image below is an interesting feature (at least to me) was this tower with the hole at the bottom. It was the outlet for the latrine.

Although today the Castle is maintained by CADW: (Welsh Historic Monuments) the castle is still privately owned and managed along with the farm and tea rooms by Margaret & Bernard Llewellyn and their Daughters.

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Google Reference 51.854408996393424, -3.935643592179748

Google Search reference: Carreg Cennen Castle

What Three Words reference : ///reason.winners.routs

The site is easy to find Leave north from Ammanford and turn left onto Ffordd Wern Ddu it is signposted from here.

The car park (51.85656999860168, -3.9376914809885473) is free with many spaces and overflow spaces. There are toilets and a "must visit" tea room and gift shop.

 

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Maen Llia

Visit Date: December 2019

This is a post from a visit I made to this site in 2019.

This standing stone is situated in Brecon.

As you approach Maen Llia, the megalith is in a large area of scrub and does not look so large but gets more and more overwhelming as you get closer and close up is it very impressive. The stone is actually 12 foot high and 9ft wide.

The stone is made of Calcreate which is a form of old red sandstone which is found some distance away.

The stone is likely to have been brought to this location by a glacier many thousands of years ago and then placed upright in its exact position during the Bronze Age.

The myth associated with this stone is that on mid-summers eve the Maen Llia walks to the river to drink.

It is said that this myth stems perhaps from the shadow getting longer as the sun goes down and stretches down to the river before sunset.

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Google Reference 51.860873062740495, -3.5636886724985617

Google Search reference: Maen Llia

What Three Words reference : ///compress.maple.display

The site is easy to find on Sarn Helen, in the Brecon Beacons.

Head north from Glynneath briefly on the A4019 and then the B4242 and Maen Llia is right next to the road, well marked and easily visible from the road.

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