Took a short walk in the Forest Fawr area of the beacons yesterday. Starting at the Forestry Car Park north of Ystradfellte, we planned a short horseshoe taking in the Neolithic Standing Stones of Maen Madoc and Maen Llia alongside the Roman Road, Sarn Helen.
The weather was fair, with strong, cold winds on the tops. First destination was Fan Llia.
Then we headed down into the valley to Maen Llia. From photos on the net, I thought this stone was around 4' tall. I was therefore pleasantly surprised to see it was more like 12'!
After that it was a short, sharp ascent to Fan Nedd. Fromt he summit there were great views of Fan Gyhirych and distant Fan Brycheiniog to the west.
And PenyFan to the East.
Then we headed south went 'offroad' towards the forest to see the second stone of the day.
Maen Madoc is the more famous of the two Neolithic stones in the area, although, in my opinion, not as impressive as Maen Llia. It also stands around 10' tall.
There are some faded inscriptions on the side. It might say 'Dai from Merthyr Woz Ere' but I think it's actually Roman. Pretty impressive stuff to be honest.
And then it was a short stroll back to the carpark with the rain still holding off, much to Tony's dismay!
I visited these stones as part of a history course that I did a couple of years ago. However I took a photo of me beside Maen Madoc by jumping over the fence (naughty me).
ReplyDeleteWonderful area, done some lovely wild camping around here.
Thanks for the comment Simon. I also jumped the fence - no harm done! I was more impressed by Maen Llia than Maen Madoc.
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