Pontypool
3 Aug
Never underestimate the Welsh summer heat people! After travelling from home again, this time in my van, I stopped off in Pontypool to find the Gorsedd stone circle I had found out about online. On arrival I parked in a free car park that was for a leisure center, as well as the park. I gathered my water bottle and sunglasses before setting out on a walk around the edge of the park as there were not informative signs in the car park. I followed a path that ran alongside a beautiful river and got this amazing picture (if I do say so myself).
Following this path led to an informative sign so I could see where the stone circle was, and it was on the other side of the park.
As you can see on the map, I was not too far away from the stone circle, but I was also intrigued by the Italian gardens and the museum. Unfortunately, both were closed when I tried to visit so I will definitely be returning to experience those. I was quite lucky I took a picture of this map as it became difficult to find the right path to the stone circle, but I ended up walking past the bandstand and up the steep hill. This is where my warning about the heat comes in handy. I massively underestimated how far up this hill I had to walk and I was wearing jeans. Not a good idea when there is no wind and hardly any clouds. However, this walk was absolutely worth it as the view from the top of the hill was breathtaking, with the hills poking out from in between gaps in the trees.
Up on this hill is where the Gorsedd stone circle is located and it is made of medium sized stones.
This site was a very important one as it was the first location where an informative sign about the stone circle was present. However, the sign was in bad shape, with the Welsh on the sign not even being legible. This was the best photo I could get of it and I’ll put what it says on the sign (or what I can read of it) in the description of the image down below.
The Gorsedd Stone Circle was erected in 1923 prior to the National Eisteddfod held in the Park in 1924. The Eisteddfod is a celebration of Welsh literature, art and music and is rooted in the old bardic tradition. During the ceremony the Bard is appointed and prizes are given for outstanding contributions to Welsh culture.
The stone circle is known as the Circle of Refuge and the stones themselves are called sacred stones of testimony. The centre stone is known as the Stone of Presidency or the Altar of Gorsedd or the Perfection Stone. The layout of the stone circle is specified within a set of rules governing the ceremony.
A number of Bards are appointed throughout the celebration and each Bard has a distinctive colour suitable to his own order. For example, a poet will wear a robe of sky blue, a druid’s robe is white, an orate’s robe which signifies the growth and increase of learning and science is green. In addition, there are various other regalia including swords and standards which are part of the overall ceremony.
After walking back down the hill I followed a sign and ended up at some lakes, and afterwards I attempted to locate the grotto as signed on the map but I couldn’t find it as it was too far away and unfortunately I had to give up because I had to make my way to the first campsite of my travels in Abergavenny!
