Maen Colman Stone

Trip No.197  Entry No.4  Date Added: 26th Sep 2026
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: Wales (Pembrokeshire)
Visited: Yes on 11th Sep 2026. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Capel Colman 1 (Maen Golman): There is a parking area just outside the church, which was busy with walkers; where the traffic was coming from going up and down this small lane left us wondering where it was going from and to. The stone is down the farm track south of St Colman's Church, an easy walk of a few hundred metres from the parking area.

The stone is tucked in the corner of a hedgerow, and only 3 of the sides area visible. The side with the inscribed cross is against the hedgerow, and despite trying to get underneath the hedge to take a closer look (someone had tried this, as you could see where they'd crawled under the hedge and flattened the grass on the other side), neither of us could view/photograph this face.

Sadly, the gothic-looking, with its very spooky/atmospheric graveyard, was very firmly locked; I would have like to have had a look inside.

Cilgerran Churchyard

Trip No.197  Entry No.2  Date Added: 25th Sep 2026
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: Wales (Pembrokeshire)
Visited: Yes on 11th Sep 2026. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Cilgerran Stone, St Llawddog's Church: We had trouble finding this church, as the main entrance into the church was from the single track, windy Church Lane with no parking places for visitors. However, from Camaes Street (the main road running through the village) there is a blue notice board for the church, with a lane running northwards towards the church. This led straight to the southern side of the churchyard, with immediate access to the Cilgerran Stone.

I took printed copy of Prof. Howard William's Archaedeath entry for this stone, plus the Coflein entry, with us to help look at all the features on the stone.

The church was open, but nothing of much note inside it. Opening the west door into the church, the porch was absolutely pitch black; thank goodness for a torch on my mobile phone, but then we found the lights. Nothing particular of note within.

Bridell Churchyard

Trip No.197  Entry No.1  Date Added: 24th Sep 2026
Site Type: Early Christian Sculptured Stone Country: Wales (Pembrokeshire)
Visited: Yes on 11th Sep 2026. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: St David's Church, Bridell (Ogam and cross inscribed stone): We parked outside the southern gates into the churchyard, and were shocked at how unkept the churchyard was, and wondered how we were ever going to find the inscribed stone with all the tall grass - and how I was going to get to photograph it.

As we walked up towards the church, the stone stood tall and narrow above the surrounding gravestones, so in the end it was easy to spot. Someone else had been there quite recently, and trodden down the long grass leading up to the stone, and also in places were I wanted to stand to photograph it, which was very helpful.

After photographing the stone, we walked round to the north side of the church, which presented a different view. The grass was well mown and there were recent graves with flowers on. The church was very firmly locked, so we were unable to look inside.

St Aidan's Church (Solva)

Trip No.195  Entry No.3  Date Added: 19th Sep 2026
Site Type: Early Christian Sculptured Stone Country: Wales (Pembrokeshire)
Visited: Yes on 8th Sep 2026. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: St Elvis 1 at St Aiden's Church, Solva. I didn't expect this somewhat 'modern' church to be on a busy main road, and we had to drive up and down the road a couple of times to find somewhere to park, then cross the busy main road where cars and heavy lorries passed by seemed to whizz by. Thankfully, there was a space in the small car park almost opposite the church at SM 79919 24389, with a crossing point adjacent. The church is on the southern side of High Street.

The stone is sited almost at the entrance to the northern porch, within plain sight of the road. I couldn't see any signs of anything inscribed on the stone until we were almost up to it. Glad to have stopped, but after the very rural locations we'd been visiting, his very urban environment came as a bit of a shock. The church itself was locked, so we were unable to visit and pay our respects.

Tremaenhir Standing Stones

Trip No.195  Entry No.2  Date Added: 19th Sep 2026
Site Type: Standing Stones Country: Wales (Pembrokeshire)
Visited: Yes on 8th Sep 2026. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Tremaenhir Standing Stone: We were driving down the lane near to this stone to reach our next destination. Neither of us remembered coming here before, but as soon as I saw the stone, it was very familiar. We last visited on 22nd August 2014, and not a thing has changed since our last visit, except the cottages on the small lane leading down to the stone were being refurbished, and builders vans lined the side of the lane (and blocked our exit!).

This time, the field gate was firmly closed, and I didn't like to let myself into the field, so contented myself with photographing it from the gate and the fence-line (although there was a small ditch between the fence and the grass verge, hidden by the tall grass and weeds, which I disappeared down and got a very wet sock!

Llanhowel Church

Trip No.195  Entry No.1  Date Added: 19th Sep 2026
Site Type: Early Christian Sculptured Stone Country: Wales (Pembrokeshire)
Visited: Yes on 8th Sep 2026. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: St David's Church, Llanhowel: A lovely little church in a peaceful location. We parked just outside the church and made our way up the path - before the gate was covered in moss, and was really slippery. The church inside is quite small, with the stone immediately to our right hand side against the west wall of the church, somewhat dominated by the adjacent organ against the southern wall of the church.

We were surprised to find such a small country church had a squinch. The church was very dark inside, with no lights that we could find, but photographed this as best we could, trying to imagine what it must have been like for the hermit to be enclosed in such a small space.

Again, the ogam script had been picked out in a pale chalk-like substance making it really stand out. No other stones that we could find, either inside the church, or outside.

Hogtivis Stone

Trip No.194  Entry No.7  Date Added: 18th Sep 2026
Site Type: Early Christian Sculptured Stone Country: Wales (Pembrokeshire)
Visited: Yes on 7th Sep 2026. My rating: Condition 2 Ambience 2 Access 4

Log Text: St Dogewell's Church, Well and St Dogwell's 1 Carved Stone: We last visited this site in 2014, when the churchyard was well tended and cared for, and the church, whilst boarded up, was still in good order. I was shocked at the deterioration in both. The churchyard was completely overgrown, and we had to pick our way over brambles and tall weeds to get to the Hogtivis Stone (now called St Dogwell's 1 by Coflein). The trees behind the stone were so tall that the branches came well over the stone, so it was completely in the shade, so the Ogam, whilst visible with the naked eye, was very difficult to photograph, even using the camera flash and a torch.

The church looks as if it on the verge of becoming completely derelict, which was so very sad, as my memories of it were of a charming, welcoming building standing in well-cared for grounds.

We did go and find the spring/well mentioned on the OS map. This is just to the east of the church. There may possibly have been a stone housing to the well, but there was a tumble of stones, heavily covered by ivy and brambles. There was a steady, strong stream of water emerging up into the well pool. This pool now appears to be feeding a large pond in the neighbouring vicarage garden.

Llanllawer Holy Well

Trip No.194  Entry No.7  Date Added: 17th Sep 2026
Site Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring Country: Wales (Pembrokeshire)
Visited: Yes on 7th Sep 2026. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Llanllawer Holy Well: We last visited this site in August 2014, so called again on our way up to the church to photograph the cross inscribed stones in the gatepost to the church, which we hadn't been aware of on our last visit. Nothing much has changed about this site. I didn't remember the drive up to the well, or using the very small layby at the junction of minor roads opposite, but as soon as I saw the well, I remembered having been here before.

The well was dry, and offerings had been left inside. I had to pick up several of The Song of Ffraed's cards that had been wedged between two stones in the archway into the well, but which had blown both into the well and across the field, before photographing the well.

I was surprised to read from the Dyfed Archaeological Trust report that "water flows from it throughout the winter or after heavy rain". That would have been nice to see, as I wondered where the outflow from the well went, although there had been a prolonged dry spell before our visit.

Ffynnon Wnda

Trip No.194  Entry No.5  Date Added: 16th Sep 2026
Site Type: Holy Well or Sacred Spring Country: Wales (Pembrokeshire)
Visited: Yes on 7th Sep 2026. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Ffynnon Wnda Holy Well: Coming from St Gwndaff's church, we followed the directions, but still had difficulty finding this well; we were put off by the proximity of the builder's vans and equipment left at the edge of the small copse, as we thought this was part of the garden of the house they were working on.

The directions said to return to the lane from the road, spot a copse opposite, and there is a wooden gate leading to the well. The copse was easy enough to see, but finding the gate? I eventually spotted an overgrown footpath (more a trail through the grass) leading into the copse and within a few steps had spotted the gate into the well enclosure.

A very charming spot, and would have been very peaceful if not for the noise from the building going on nearby.

Directions to the well can be found in the church if anyone else needs to find the well. Should be much easier when the leaves drop from the trees.

Llanwnda Cemetery Crossroads stone

Trip No.194  Entry No.5  Date Added: 16th Sep 2026
Site Type: Early Christian Sculptured Stone Country: Wales (Pembrokeshire)
Visited: Yes on 7th Sep 2026. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 5

Log Text: Llanwnda Cemetery Stone: After visiting St Gwndaff's Church and the Llanwnda Holy Holy Well, we drove back down the road to find this stone. Many thanks to h_fenton for his diagram, which enabled us to find the stone really easily.

It was obviously rubbish/bin collection day, but thankfully, everyone had piled their rubbish on the opposite side of the road to this stone, so I was able to take a close look at it, and to photograph it.

Just to the left (east) of the stone, there is a parking area at SM 93697 39205, probably for people who are visiting the cemetery.

St Nicholas Church Inscribed Stones

Trip No.194  Entry No.1  Date Added: 15th Sep 2026
Site Type: Early Christian Sculptured Stone Country: Wales (Pembrokeshire)
Visited: Yes on 7th Sep 2026. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: St Nicholas's Church, Tremarchog: First stop of the day, and a beautiful, peaceful spot. The houses, largely ancient, are built right up to the eastern end of the churchyard wall, vaguely reminiscent of a much smaller version of Hexham Abbey but with the same peaceful, cloistered feel.

The stones inside the church are easy to find, and to photograph. Andrew and I were both really interested in the Greater Dewisland Local Ministry Area Website for the church describes as a "Squinch"- "an arched covered area where the first hermit or saint might hve lived, in other words, this might have been the founder's cell".

Fynnon Drudion

Trip No.194  Entry No.2  Date Added: 15th Sep 2026
Site Type: Standing Stone (Menhir) Country: Wales (Pembrokeshire)
Visited: Yes on 9th Sep 2026. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: Ffynnon Druidon Standing Stone: This stone can be seen from the small, single track lane which runs just to the east of it. Whilst there were sheep in the adjacent field, the gate into this field had been left open, although the ground was extremely boggy, so we viewed it from a distance. A bonus to see this after having tried to see the Ffynnon Druidion Chambered Tomb just to the north; there was no trace of this, but very large lumps of stone were piled next to the gate into the field where the tomb had been.

St Tysiolio's Church (Llandysilio)

Trip No.197  Entry No.4  Date Added: 13th Sep 2026
Site Type: Early Christian Sculptured Stone Country: Wales (Pembrokeshire)
Visited: Yes. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: St Tysilio's Church, Llandysilio: Our last visit of our trip to Pembrokeshire, visited as it was enroute back home. We had three different attempts to find the church, trying different side roads - my sat nav couldn't find the church, and this village is a long and thin ribbon development, with similar road layouts going along. Anyway, we got there in the end. Found the stones easily enough, although the deep shade against the south wall made it a little tricky to photograph the stones. The church was locked, so we couldn't see inside.

Corbalengi Stone

Trip No.197  Entry No.3  Date Added: 11th Sep 2026
Site Type: Sculptured Stone Country: Wales (Ceredigion)
Visited: Yes on 11th Sep 2026. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Corbalengi Stone, Penbryn: Driving up from Cardigan, where we stopped for lunch, we found the location marked on the OS map, but could not see the stone at all. Parking the car near the cross-roads, looking at the map, Andrew got out of the car and walked over to the gate into the field we thought the stone was in. The gentleman from the house came out and asked if we were lost, so Andrew explained we were looking for the stone. The gentleman explained it was in the next field over, told us to park in his driveway and we were welcome to go and look at it.

What a treat! About 100m from the gate into the first field, the stone stands on a mound, with brilliant views over Aberporth Bay; shame about the caravan park immediately below. I took photos from all angles, then we trudged reluctantly back to the car. We didn't see any evidence at all of the defended enclosure located just to the west of the house - not a surprise, as it was originally spotted by cropmarks, but I looked anyway.

I looked for the gentleman to thank him, but he was no-where to be seen. Thank you very much for your generosity, sir!

St Dogmael's Abbey and Visitor Centre

Trip No.196  Entry No.3  Date Added: 11th Sep 2026
Site Type: Early Christian Sculptured Stone Country: Wales (Pembrokeshire)
Visited: Yes on 10th Sep 2026. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: St Dogmael's Abbey and Visitor Centre: We were given a very warm welcome by the staff in the cafe, who explained where the stones are kept ("the ogam stone in the church, the others in the small museum". The cafe, whilst small, had a vibrant, community atmosphere, with a knit-crochet-and-natter group taking place in one corner and groups of people enjoying large lunches. The coffee was lovely.

I was reluctant to use my flash to take images of the stones, but a lady sitting at a table at the entrance to the small display area told me not to worry. It turned out she was one of the staff, and she told me about The Blessing Stone not far away.

By the time we'd finished walking around the Abbey, then across to the church and back, we were both drenched, so headed back to the car and our holiday cottage to dry off, promising ourselves to return, if time allowed, tomorrow.

Pontfaen Church

Trip No.196  Entry No.1  Date Added: 10th Sep 2026
Site Type: Early Christian Sculptured Stone Country: Wales (Pembrokeshire)
Visited: Yes on 10th Sep 2026. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: St Brynach's Church, Pontfaen: Our first stop on a drizzly, grey morning, but well worth winding our way down the narrow lanes to the Cwm Gwaun valley, which is very pretty indeed.

Found the church easily enough, with a small layby just down the hill to the right hand side of the road, about 50m past the gate and driveway leading to the church. As soon as we got into the churchyard (again, the churchyard is above the level of the church), the stones were obvious. Although - someone had built a huge black marble surround to a family plot just in front of them, which virtually blocked our view of the smaller stone, and made it much more difficult to photograph.

The church is clearly very well cared for, and a showcase for some impressive Stations of the Cross plaques and some amazing ecclesiastical vestments. The church has a very Catholic feel, although it was a little difficult to tell which was the main denomination here, as these days, many churches host more than one faith.

By the time I finished photographing the stones, I was dripping wet, and we decided to head on further down the Cwm Gwaun valley to revisit the Pillar Stones.

The Pillar Stones

Trip No.196  Entry No.2  Date Added: 10th Sep 2026
Site Type: Early Christian Sculptured Stone Country: Wales (Pembrokeshire)
Visited: Saw from a distance on 10th Sep 2026

Log Text: The Pillar Stones, Llanychlwydog 1- 4: We visited this site back in August 2014, and were unsure as to whether this site was in the process of becoming a private house or not. As there was no-one there to ask, I did quickly photograph the stones and submit them to this site page.

As we were driving through Cwm Gwaun today, we decided to try and stop again and re-photograph the stones, but this time round, the property is very much a private residence, so permission needs to be sought before visiting. When double checking how to go about this, I came across "The History Couple's" blog which says that "we believe the churchyard may be able to be visited without permission", although as the stones are in the garden of the house, I'm unsure if this is accurate or not.

Carreg Coetan Arthur

Trip No.195  Entry No.4  Date Added: 9th Sep 2026
Site Type: Burial Chamber or Dolmen Country: Wales (Pembrokeshire)
Visited: Yes on 9th Sep 2026. My rating: Condition 4 Ambience 4 Access 4

Log Text: Carreg Coetan Arthur, Newport: We walked from the town centre, having avoided being run over by the numerous coaches, tractors and lorries passing by, with me squeezed in as close as possible to the houses sited alongside the very narrow (in some parts non-existent) pavements to avoid being hit) to find this beautiful little spot, bathed in bright, warm afternoon sunshine. Not quite the place I'd thought to find a chambered tomb of this size and importance, tucked at the edge of a small housing estate, within a small, but well tended plot of land. Andrew went back to the car for the camera, after a long, leisurely, and very enjoyable lunch, but got lost by taking the wrong turn out of the village (despite the excellent brown signs to this site!) but finally got to take my photographs. We did have the site all to ourselves, and took our time just to enjoy it.

Maenclochog Church

Trip No.195  Entry No.2  Date Added: 9th Sep 2026
Site Type: Early Christian Sculptured Stone Country: Wales (Pembrokeshire)
Visited: Visited (still working on) on 9th Sep 2026. My rating: Ambience 3 Access 4

Log Text: St Mary's Church, Maenclochog: Despite the church being in a busy village, and with information boards outside proclaiming the stones were inside the church,, the church was firmly locked and bolted. We tried all the doors, but a wasted journey. Other visitors may wish to contact the vicar or church warden before trying to see these stones.

St Edrin's Cross

Trip No.195  Entry No.1  Date Added: 9th Sep 2026
Site Type: Early Christian Sculptured Stone Country: Wales (Pembrokeshire)
Visited: Yes on 9th Sep 2026. My rating: Condition 3 Ambience 3 Access 3

Log Text: St Edrin's Church, Llanedren, Newton Cross: Up a very long, single track lane which appears to be seldom used. Arriving at the end of the track, which runs up from the farm at Newton Cross, it is very apparent this is now a private residence, which Coflein confirms it has been since 1987. We had hoped to spot the holy well, but this must be well inside the churchyard, but the grass "in the churchyard reputedly had miraculous powers as a cure for mad dogs" was growing lush and green". We didn't trespass in the grounds, but took some quick photographs.

All five of the early medieval carved stones that Coflein records as having been here are now located in Scolton Manor House Museum. I spoke to Kate, the Collections Manager, yesterday morning. She tells me that St Edren's 1 is on display in the library, but lies flat on the floor, not having had a frame to hold it. The others are in store rooms, and inaccessible to visitors.