Today, Sunday, May
19, Dad and I drove north from Brynna, up through the Brecon Beacons toward Snowdonia National Park. The landscape varied from coniferous forests
to barren, rounded mountains, to deciduous forests and more barrens.
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| Brecon Beacons |
We stopped in Trawsfynydd
and asked directions to Tomen-y-Mur
Tomen-y-Mur, literally “the mound within the walls” is a
large, conical mound just north of town.
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.
It was abandoned by the Romans in the third century, and not used again until
Norman times. 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 Blodewedd in the Mabinogion. The site’s association with the ancient
legends was the reason for our visit.
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| CMG with the mound of Tomen-y-Mur in the background |
Llew Llaw Gyffes was the nephew of the Welsh magician
Gwydion. When Llew was cursed by his
mother to have “no wife of this world,” Gwydion made him a wife out of flowers,
whom he named Blodewedd. The couple
lived together at Mur-y-Castell (which, as you can see, is a pretty bleak part
of Wales!)
until Blodewedd fell in love with Gronw when his hunting party took him near to
the mound. Gronw and Blodewedd plotted
to kill her husband, but were foiled when Llew transformed into an eagle and
flew away. 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 Blodewedd into an owl.
I’m 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. Thanks, Dad,
for all the driving!
Directions:
To reach Tomen-y-Mur, head north on the A470 north of Trawsfynydd. Pass the power station on your left, and a
small chapel on your right. Just beyond
the chapel there is a very small, one-track road that goes under a bridge. Follow this past a cottage to a parking lot;
the site is clearly sign posted at this point.
Use the stile that leads from the parking area into the field, then
follow the path to the mound itself.
Mind the sheep!
Tomorrow: Snowdon. Wish us luck!
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