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<\/a>Brecon Beacons<\/p><\/div>\n
We stopped in Trawsfynydd and asked directions to Tomen-y-Mur<\/p>\n
Tomen-y-Mur, literally \u201cthe mound within the walls\u201d is a large, conical mound just north of town.\u00a0 It was originally a Roman fortress, built in timber in 77 AD to help in subduing local tribes, and rebuilt in stone when the political climate stabilized early in the second century.\u00a0 It was abandoned by the Romans in the third century, and not used again until Norman times.\u00a0 The area is considered to be the site of the legendary fortress of Mur-y-Castell, the home of Llew Llaw Gyffes and his wife Blodeuwedd in the Mabinogion.\u00a0 The site\u2019s association with the ancient legends was the reason for our visit.<\/p>\n
<\/a>G.L. Morgan with the mound of Tomen-y-Mur in the background<\/p><\/div>\n
Llew Llaw Gyffes was the nephewof the Welsh magician Gwydion.\u00a0 When Llew was cursed by his mother to have \u201cno wife of this world,\u201d Gwydion made him a wife out of flowers, whom he named Blodeuwedd.\u00a0 The couple lived together at Mur-y-Castell (which, as you can see, is a pretty bleak part of Wales!) until Blodeuwedd fell in love with Gronw when his hunting party took him near to the mound.\u00a0 Gronw and Blodeuwedd plotted to kill her husband, but were foiled when Llew transformed into an eagle and flew away.\u00a0 Sometime later, when he was healed of the wounds he had received from Gronw, Llew returned to his home and slew Gronw, while Gwydion transformed Blodeuwedd into an owl.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m currently working on a historical fiction version of this story, and was glad to have the opportunity to visit Mur-y-Castell to get a sense of the landscape.\u00a0 After this short stop, we continued on to Llanberis, at the foot of Snowdon, where we\u2019ll be staying for the next few days.\u00a0 After more than four hours in the car (the Polo is feeling very small!) it\u2019s nice to contemplate hiking tomorrow.\u00a0 Thanks, Dad, for all the driving!<\/p>\n
Directions:
\nTo reach Tomen-y-Mur, head north on the A470 north of Trawsfynydd.\u00a0 Pass the power station on your left, and a small chapel on your right.\u00a0 Just beyond the chapel there is a very small, one-track road that goes under a bridge.\u00a0 Follow this past a cottage to a parking lot; the site is clearly sign posted at this point.\u00a0 Use the stile that leads from the parking area into the field, then follow the path to the mound itself.\u00a0 Mind the sheep!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sunday, May 19, 2013 Dad and I drove north from Brynna, up through the Brecon Beacons toward Snowdonia National Park.\u00a0 The landscape varied from coniferous forests to barren, rounded mountains, to deciduous forests and more barrens. We stopped in Trawsfynydd … Continue reading