Bonus Roman fort

I'd known for years that there were remnants of Roman occupation in the vicinity of Trawsfynydd. I had never seen them. I am not in that area very often, and if I am, I sometimes have stuff to get on with. But I had seen it is really close to the power station which was race headquarters. So I figured I might go and have a look after the race! 

On the day of the race, some really heavy showers came down. I did not want to visit that fort in any of these. But when I left it was windy but dry. So I gave it a go! I parked on the layby on the other side of the road, and started on the path. Surprise surprise, it looked quite like a stream! But soon it looked like not a path at all. But I knew in what direction it was, so I didn't mind. To get to the fort you have to go through a copse, and it was stunningly beautiful! I hadn't expected that.

It doesn't look like this path attracts throngs of visitors

Would it have been raining? The path ducking underneath the old railway to Bala, which got flooded by the Tryweryn reservoir

Fairy woodland

On the other side of the copse it is just fields, and you can see the mound that is part of the fort from a bit of a distance, so I got there quite easily. Navigation-wise, that is; I was still seriously buffeted by the wind. And another rain shower came over, but luckily it wasn't a really heavy one.

I knew from having a bit of a Google what approximately to expect. You can see some banks of the old fort. The mound, Tomen y Mûr, is quite central, but might not have been part of the fort. It seems to be an 11th century motte, conveniently located in the same place. The map speaks of an amphitheatre, but I had the impression that it needs a specialist eye to see that. I sure didn't see it! It seems to have mainly been a wooden structure, and these often leave only subtle traces. 

When I was standing on the top of the mound I could only just remain upright; the wind was still that strong. I also had a look at a little stretch of wall that has been reconstructed, to give an idea of what this place will have looked like in the 2nd century CE. But then I was ready to go back to the car again. Home was beckoning, with food and hot drinks!

Looking back at the power station 

Looking at the piece of reconstructed wall, from the motte

The wall, with the motte in the background 

I was glad took the extra effort to go and have a look! It's not really a place you want to travel far for. There isn't that much to see. But just extending a visit in the area a bit to see this is quite rewarding. Especially as it is not just historically interesting, but also a beautiful landscape!