Sunday 30th May 2010 – Llanychaer

The weather was overcast but it wasn't raining and the forecast was good so we decided to go for a long walk to make up for yesterday's inactivity.
The walk started on the same path as the one on Friday but this time we turned left after cross the river. We were soon walking up the steep valley side through a profusion of white flowers and the smell of wild garlic. Shortly after reaching the top we came to to Llanllawer's dilapidated church and next to it, a holy well. In pre-Christian times this was a 'cursing well' where visitors could leave a bent pin to cement a curse or an ill omen. However, most pilgrims came seeking miraculous cures, especially for problems, a much more pleasant story.
Walking along the road we climbed and were rewarded with lovely views down to Fishguard and Goodwick and up the hill of Mynydd Dinas with its distinctive rocky outcrop. We passed three large standing stones built into a field wall whilst we were on our way to the 'Field of the Dead'. This is an alignment of seven standing stones, the longest in Wales, and it is very well hidden because there are no signs to it and we couldn't find it! However we saw other standing stones and large numbers of huge stones incorporated into field walls, laying around in fields or used as gate posts. It seems highly likely that there were many other standing stones, possibly in alignments, that were removed by farmers. They would have chosen the smaller ones, the easier ones to move and more useful as gateposts! They left the larger ones and ones that didn't get in the way. Of course, the stones may have all been just lying around but I can't help thinking that there would have been more and longer alignments and I would have dug them up if they were in my way when I was trying to plough the fields.
We continued to walk along the hillside until we met the road that took us down into Pontfaen. Here we found the Dyffryn Arms, known locally as 'Bessie's' after its landlady. It is a lovely old traditional pub. The only bar is the front room of the house with a hatch through which the drinks are dispensed. The beer comes direct from the barrel and is a very good pint of Bass. They don't serve food but were very happy for us to eat our sandwiches in their garden. The beer was so good that I had to have a second pint.
We crossed over the stream to walk back down the other side of the valley. This involved climbing on the road to the top of the valley where we came across Pontfaen church dedicated to St. Brynach. The very small church has an ancient origin, with two churchyard crosses dating to some time between the 6th and 9th centuries. It is thought that the site was used in pre-Christian times as the circular churchyard suggests that a prehistoric settlement may have occupied the area.
The walk then took us along the hill with lovely views up and down the valley and across to the area where we had walked in the morning. We descended into a tributary valley hoping to cross the stream, climb up the hill and then descend to the campsite. However the first footpath was totally overgrown and the second option didn't seem to exist, so we continued into Llanychaer and walked back along the road to the campsite.
Photos: The wonderful parlour of Bessie's; St. Brynach's church at Pontfaen.