Nant Gwrtheryn

Today’s adventure took us to the car park above Nant Gwrthern a former granite quarry. It provided the cobble sets for Liverpool’s roads. The old quarry buildings are now used to teach the Welsh Language although I would not like to drive down the extremely precipitous slope to get there! These stones had Celtic designs carved into them and a poem in Welsh on the stone below which translated is


On a Quarry Path
On their knees, who are they
That come to work through the teeth of the wind?
Men tied to the bread of this rock
With their nails chiselled to it
Summer or Winter, the same yoke
Of stones on their shoulders
But they, on this celestial path
Bent, tripping to the peak
Of the mountain, they are the cornerstones
Of our walls – and us,
So far from the knife of the winds
Are the shavings of what they were.


Our destination lay behind the stones on Yr Eifel. Tre’r Ceri hill fort which is apparently one of the best preserved and most dramatic Iron Age Hill forts in Europe. The views from the top were tremendous in every direction. As you can see in the extra the walls were extremely thick and about 4 metres high with around 150 round houses still evident amongst the heather.


Thank you for the lovely responses to these holiday photos. They are much appreciated.