Last stop of the day is also the earliest in human history. We really wanted to see something that is more arhaic than the castles and mines that Wales is known for and Bryn Celli Ddu Burial Chamber seemed to fit the bill. It was close to our route, the access is relatively easy and it also looks nice in the photos. What we don’t expect is when we get in the parking lot to find a car with two young people deeply engaged in…well…NSFW activities. They dress quickly and we study the map trying to pinpoint where we are until everyone is decent.
Right in the parking lot is a burial chamber but it is more of a copy than an actual one so we try to locate the way to the actual burial chamber. We find a sign and that directs us back the road to a small entrance a few hundred of meters away.
The trail from here is quite scenic as it follows the edge of a clearing towards the burial tomb. The weather is also seemingly starting to worsen and we are afraid that we are going to get rained on so we quicken the pace to arrive at the tomb before the rain starts.
We pass multiple fields and most of them have sheep and lambs on them. It seems that this part of Wales is really big on sheepherding given the number of sheeps we see everywhere.
And then we arrive at the burial chamber. Bryn Celli Ddu is scenically located in the field and it seems quite large at least from the outside. It is one of the most famous passage tombs in Wales and it dates from around 4,000 BC. To our surprise the entrance is not barred so we could enter technically if we wanted.
And we really want to enter but first we explore all around looking at the tomb from all sides including the back where there is a small gap where we can see the inner chamber.
Now it is time to enter the inner chamber. The passage is relatively short but it seems longer when you crawl through it towards the burial chamber while it seems that you cannot turn around even if you tried.
Inside interestingly there are multiple artifacts but not ancient ones. It seems visitors are leaving shells and even musical instruments inside, maybe they are trying to commune with the older spirits?
And then the rain starts so we hurry back to the car where we arrive before the worse starts. However we still have an adventure as when we want to return to the mainland one bridge is closed and there are backups for more than an hour for the other one. We try for quite some time to get around the blockages but we escape the island only when the bridge reopens and luckily we are right next to entrance to the highway that goes over it. The return afterwards is easy with another surprise, positive this time, on the way as at one palace, outside, we see a flock of peacocks.
Back in Trefriw we are in a hurry again to find an open restaurant given the delay on the highway. Luckily the other restaurant recommended to us is still open and besides another group we are the only people inside. The other group is talking with the owners, during almost our entire meal. about the coronation. It seems it really is an important all-consuming topic here.
The food is quite good and quite satiated we return to our room to recuperate. Tomorrow it is the time to move south towards Cardiff, a long drive with a few stops on the way so we want to be in top shape for it.
