Henebion Cwm Tywyll

Two circular burial mounds stand west of Cwm Tywyll in Llandrillo, Denbighshire. They sit on a gentle slope above the valley, marked on Ordnance Survey maps simply as ‘Cairn’. Built by Bronze Age Celts, the ring cairns were raised to mark special places, for rituals or to honour the dead. Cadw has listed the site under SAM number ME145, using the Welsh term ‘carnedd gylchog’ in its records. The smaller ring is about four metres across, the larger six metres, both built from local stones. Unlike stone circles of later ages, these cairns form low, grass-covered mounds with a hollow centre. Their builders placed no standing stones around them, keeping the form plain and functional. The site lies on private farmland, yet remains clearly visible from the footpath. Visitors walk a farm track to reach the mounds, then follow a faint path up the slope. The view opens across the valley to distant hills on clear days. Sheep graze nearby, and the only sounds are the wind and birds. The place feels quiet and old, as it has for thousands of years.