Plynlimon (central) - Royal Commission on the Ancient and ...

Uplands Initiative - Nant y Moch & Pumlimon Fawr / <strong>Plynlimon</strong> 2004In administrative terms the area is divided into five communities, within the old counties of Cardiganshireand Montgomeryshire. The northern part of the survey area is within the ‗Trefeurig‘ community. Thisincludes all of the Nant y Moch Reservoir area and the western slopes of <strong>Plynlimon</strong> and <strong>Plynlimon</strong> itself.The valley that runs south from here, following the course of the Afon Rheidol, falls within thecommunity of ‗Cwmrheidol‘, also known as the ‗Blaenrheidol‘ community. This community continuesdown to Ponterwyd Village. The area west of ‗Dinas‘, which includes the hills surrounding ‗DisgwylfaFawr‘ falls within the community of ‗Melindwr‘. All of these communities are within the old county ofCardiganshire. The area east of <strong>Plynlimon</strong> falls within the community of ‗Llangurig‘ and a small parttouching the community of ‗Llanidloes‘ at the north-eastern most point. These latter communities fallwithin the old county of Montgomeryshire.Topography (see Fig 2)As a whole the survey area may be described as a landscape with steeply sided rolling hills with a ruggedrocky terrain in the <strong>central</strong> area dominated by Pumlumon Fawr. The main river cutting through the areafrom north to south is the Afon Rheidol. The western banks of this river are characterised by very steeprocky slopes, whereas the eastern banks of this river have a fairly fertile rich plains area, which initiallygently slope upwards toward <strong>Plynlimon</strong>. The Afon Rheidol eventually converges with the Afon Castell,which borders the southern extent of the study area, running east to west. The river at the far east end ofthe area is the beginning of the River Wye.The survey area may be divided topographically into 16 zones. For ease of description, each of these areaswill be discussed in terms of topography individually.1. Drosgol2. Nant y Moch Reservoir3. Disgwylfa Fawr & Bryn Gwyn4. Dinas5. Esgair Gorlan6. Ponterwyd7. East bank of Afon Rheidol8. Bryn Beddau / Pumlumon Fach9. Pumlumon Fawr10. Drum Peithnant11. Eisteddfa Gurig12. Craig y March13. Llechwedd Hirgoed14. Esgair y Maen15. Bryn Daith16. Y FoelArea 1. Drosgol‗Drosgol‘ or ‗ Rough Place‘ is located at the north-west point of the survey area. It is characterised by astark rocky hill with natural terracing on its south-east facing slopes. Drosgol‘s summit reaches a height of550m O.D., topped by two Bronze Age cairns. The southern and eastern base of Drosgol are bordered bythe northern extremities of the Nant y Moch Reservoir. The base of the west-facing slope is cut by theNant y Barracs watercourse, which flows into the reservoir. The southern lower slopes of Drosgol arehome to the remains of forming lead mining activity and quarrying. Lead mining has also been an activitytoward the summit of Drosgol due to a natural fault line of galena that runs north-east to south-west. Assuch the line of this geological fault is punctuated along its length by several mine shafts and spoil heaps.At the north-east end of Drosgol is the ruins of a post medieval farmstead known as ‗Drosgol House‘. Asa whole, the environs of Drosgol is one of rough scrub, occasional marshy areas, heath covered slopeswith rocky crags. It is also a hill exposed to strong winds from the south and north-east, as such it lives upto its name as being a ‗Rough Place‘.Area 2. Nant y Moch ReservoirThe landscape area of ‗Nant y Moch‘ or ‗Pig Brook‘, is essentially the landscape that lies above andbeneath the Nant y Moch Reservoir. The surface water of the reservoir is generally at a height of approx.300m O.D. Before the flooding of the valley in the 1960‘s, the valley landscape was one of smallfarmsteads and settlements with abandoned lead mines and associated buildings, including a chapel. Now,15CAP Report No: 355