Craig yr Aderyn
| Craig yr Aderyn | |
 Craig yr Aderyn |
|
  Craig yr Aderyn |
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| OS grid reference | SH647066 |
|---|---|
| Principal area | Gwynedd |
| Ceremonial county | Gwynedd |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Police | North Wales |
| Fire | North Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| EU Parliament | Wales |
Coordinates: 52°38′26″N 4°00′04″W / 52.6406°N 4.001°W
Craig yr Aderyn (English: Bird's Rock) is a hill rising to a height of 258 metres (846 ft) above sea level on the south bank of the River Dysynni near Llanfihangel-y-pennant in the county of Gwynedd, north-west Wales.[1]
The site is owned by the Snowdonia National Park Authority, lies entirely within the Craig yr Aderyn SSSI, and is named after the large number of birds, such as the great cormorant, that nest on the peak. It is 2 miles (3.2 km) from the Cardigan Bay coast.
Craig yr Aderyn is the site of an Iron Age hillfort, showing two phases of construction. The earlier phase comprises an upper fort enclosure of approximately 0.6 hectares, measuring 100 by 55 metres; the latter, a stone-walled enclosure of approximately 1.6 hectares, measuring 119 by 170 metres. The site has been excavated three times: in 1874, 1921 and 1967. Finds from the Roman period were discovered during the 1874 dig.[2]
According to local tradition, there were two castle watchtowers on the end of the rock and watchmen would raise red flags in case of danger.
The two prominent faces of the hill are known locally as 'Y Palis Mawr' and 'Y Palis Bach' (English: the large stockade and the small stockade).[3]
The ruins of Castell y Bere, built by the Princes of Gwynedd in the 13th century, are nearby.[2]
Cultural associations
The writer Susan Cooper leads her characters to "Bird Rock" in her book The Grey King from the The Dark Is Rising Sequence.
The naturalist and scientist Charles Darwin visited this site as a student at Cambridge. He apparently shot seabirds here, according to recollections of a friend, John Maurice Herbert.[4]
See also
- List of hillforts in Wales
- List of Scheduled prehistoric Monuments in Gwynedd (former Merionethshire)
References
- ↑ Craig yr Aderyn (Bird's Rock), Joint Nature Conservation Committee
- 1 2 "Craig-yr-aderyn, hillfort; Birds Rock". Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales. 8 November 2013. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
- ↑ Davies, William (1900). Casgliad o Lên Gwerin Meirion, yn "Cofnodion a chyfansoddiadau buddugol Eisteddfod Blaenau Ffestiniog 1898" (in Welsh). p. 153.
- ↑ Herbert, John Maurice. 2.6.1882. [Recollections of Darwin at Cambridge]. CUL-DAR112.B57-B76 (Darwin Online, http://darwin-online.org.uk/)