Moel Ty Uchaf stone circle, with the valley of the Afon Dyfrdwy (River Dee) below
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The route (centre) with the Berwyn Mountains
The route and the main Berwyn Ridge
The route in close up, showing Llandrillo, the stone circle and Moel Pearce
I’ve featured the Berwyns in this blog before – they are remote, wild hills, though nothing like as rough and gnarly as the nearby Rhinogs. Chris and I (plus Border Collie ‘Mist’) had last been out this way in 2016 (see post #204), with another two trips in 2014 (see posts #162 and #163) so a return trip was long overdue – a new camera to try out was the final excuse needed (the image at the start of this post was taken using the new camera).
Setting out near Llandrillo ….
…. and gaining height on a good track
First views looking down on the inversion
The valley of the Afon Dyfrdwy looking north ….
…. and looking west
We had driven into thick mist (not talking about Collie ‘Mist’ this time as she’s far from being thick!) after passing through Ruthin, but I wasn’t dismayed – there was a strong ridge of high pressure across the area, and it was almost certain that we would leave the mist behind as we gained height. Sure enough, as we left the car behind in fog-bound Llandrillo, we popped out into clear conditions, with a great looking inversion below us in the valley of the Afon Dyfrdwy (River Dee).
Below Moel Ty Uchaf, about to head uphill
Border Collie ‘Mist’, waiting for the photographer as usual
At the stone circle
The main objective on this trip was the Moel Ty Uchaf stone circle, just a couple of kilometres out of Llandrillo. At 11 metres across, and with 41 stones, it isn’t the biggest stone circle in the UK, but the spectacular location overlooking the valley of the Dee makes up for that. The circle is sited on a small plateau at an altitude of 440 metres and has stood there for about 5000 years.
The circle (and dog!) – the original camera in action
Same camera, same dog, slightly different angle
I’m a big fan of Olympus cameras, and still have an old OM2 film camera, but my usual hill camera (used for most of the images in this post) is an Olympus TG-5, a tough, hard-as-nails camera that can be dropped, drowned and frozen and still bounce back. Although essentially a ‘point and shoot’ camera, the TG-5 is a great piece of kit that is capable of producing good quality images whilst surviving a rough day out in the mountains.
The view to the west using the new camera, showing the inversion
I’ve recently bought an Olympus OM-D E-10 Mk2, which is incredibly versatile and sophisticated compared with the TG-5 – you wouldn’t want to drop it in a puddle though! The image above was taken with the new camera and then edited with ‘Affinity’ Photo Editor. I’ve been editing my pics for the blog since the early days, but Affinity is much more powerful than previous editors I’ve used. I’m learning about RAW images and how to get the best out of them, but it’s still work in progress!
Onwards to Moel Pearce ….
…. with the Berwyn Ridge on the skyline
The stone circle made a good place for a lunch stop as well as a photo opportunity, but winter days are short and we didn’t stay too long. The plan was to head a little higher to Moel Pearce before taking a track down to the valley. Moel Pearce is a bit of a round lump of a hill, though it does just top the 600-metre mark, but we did have views of the main Berwyn Ridge in the distance, standing about 200 metres higher.
On the return route to the valley ….
…. with one last look back to the Berwyns
The final images show the return route – we didn’t see a soul all day, from leaving Llandrillo to arriving back. The valley was still fog-bound and gloomy, but the dog and humans had found a spot in the sun, and all I need to do now is to improve my photography so that I can share future trips! ‘Mist’, as usual, wasn’t much impressed with hanging around while I played with my new toy and would have been even less impressed if she had known that we still had a 1½ hour drive home before dinner time!
Llandrillo below in the mist – time to head for home
Text and images © Paul Shorrock
Paul Shorrock - One Man's Mountains AKA One Pillock's Hillocks 
Hello Paul
I have just spent several hours walking the Welsh hills thanks to you. And ‘Thank You’ is inadequate to express my humble gratitude. Short, sweet, entertaining, and some truly beautiful photo’s…I was there with you, Chris and Misty. So, for the rest of the month, I am probably going to be busy indulging in the rest of your walking tours.
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Hi Jay, thanks for dropping in, and for the kind words – it looks like we’ll be walking together for a while.
I’ve spotted another comment from you, so I’ll bob off and reply to that one. BFN
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Is your Moel Ty Mawr stone circle the same as Moel Ty Uchaf stone circle?
From my ‘exploration’, and as you have noted, there seem’s to be a confusion of names (or lack there-of?)…
Please excuse my antipodean ignorance… Us Aussies call a stone circle a ‘Fire Place’! Bigger the circle, bigger the fire…more Kangaroo’s, Koala’s, and Goanna’s to roast…
…and sautéd Funnel Web Spider. (Lamb shanks? Pork Rib’s?…minuscule!) Stare a Funnel Web in the eyes, while you wield a hefty axe (or for those of weak knee’s, a seriously high calibre assault rifle), and win…then you have dinner!
“Man-O-War” Box Jelly fish is a nice accoutretment…and as of ‘salad’….Tree Bark!
What it is this about ‘Pubs’ closing and locking their doors? Bloody barbarians. No wonder so many Europeans and Americans ‘migrate’ to Australia…
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Hi again Jay,
Yes, it’s the same stone circle – the map does show it as Moel Ty Uchaf but I’ve heard it also called Moel Ty Mawr. Search as I will, I can’t find the alternative name on the internet, so it must have been in a conversation with someone. So, the correct name will be Moel Ty Uchaf
Anyway, ‘Moel’ means a bare hill (it actually means bald), ‘Ty’ means house, ‘Uchaf’ means high and ‘Mawr’ means big. So, ‘Moel Ty Uchaf’ is the Bare Hill of the High House and ‘Moel Ty Mawr’ is the Bare Hill of the Big House.
If you fancy trying those names in Welsh they sound something like ‘Moil tee i-ckav’ and ‘Moil tee mawwr’ Spoiler alert – I’m not Welsh but a native Welsh speaker would understand.
Most of our stone circles are 5000-6000 years old, and some are big enough to make one hell of a fire pit! Their true origins and meanings are lost – probably a combination of stellar observatory, place of worship, community centre and motorway service area! Who knows – one thing for sure is that the understanding of astrology and mathematics of the people who built them is amazing.
As for our pubs …. Lordy, when I turned (legal) drinking age, the regulated pub opening hours were pathetic – I think opening time was 11am but they then had to close at 3pm before opening again at 5.30pm and finally closing at 10.30pm – I mean, just as people are starting to have a good time! The law was changed in 1988 and pubs can now stay open from 11am to 11pm (or longer if you know where to go 😉 )
The main reason we now find pub doors shut (and this is mainly in the rural areas) is that there isn’t a living to be made from being open all the time, so pub landlords shut the doors when there aren’t many customers – that’s some disappointment when you come off a hill in one of our rare hots spells, and the bloody pub is shut! Migrating to Oz might be the answer 😉
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