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A VISIT
TO HINDWELL. We met up at the Four Stones {SO 246608} and started to dowse around them. Several of us found concentric circles of energy emanating from the stones into the field they are in, and wondered how these affected the people in the house next door, and the road that runs alongside the field and cuts into these rings. The stones are in a big valley, the Walton basin, with good horizons of hills in all directions. Using the technique Jon and I used in Scotland at the ring cairns, of sighting across the circle from one stone to another, I found that nearly all the major sun rises and sets can be seen from the ring, though with the high hills I could not say exact placings for this. These are big stones, around 10 tons each, and yet one has been stolen away and put in Old Radnor church, where it has been carved into a font...... an attempt to take the power of the stones into the “new” holy place? We dowsed to see where it had stood, and found that it had marked the north,which was interesting given that I had found the alignments earlier, even though it is not there, implying that the role of the missing stone was slightly different to the others??? Of course, 5,000 years ago there was no convenient star marking north, so maybe this stone did just that, here at this site. Mike also found a ley line here, going roughly north-south, towards Old Radnor. So then the group moved on to Hindwell, or at least to the lake/pond {SO255606} that is the centre of the enclosure, but sadly there is nothing to be seen from the road, and Ian Pegler, who had been before, said that there is nothing to see on the land which is a private farm, so we decided to move on to the first of the ancient churches. There is a book out with lots of ariel pictures of Hindwell, I will try to get the ISBN if anyone wants it. The old churches of the area had been brought to my attention by a fascinating article in The Cauldron, a pagan magazine I take, which listed and described around 15 churches around Old Radnor Forest. Four of them are Michael churches, built to contain the last welsh dragon, supposed to be hiding in the forest. Another interpretation of this is that the old religion was very strong here and the christian church had to really try to show its strength by taking over these ancient sites. Certainly Discoed, {SO 276648} the first one we went to had been there long before the christians came, as the 5,000 year old yew tree showed! This is some tree!!!! I enclose a postcard of it that I hope Maria can scan in , as it is so amazing. Look at the size of the church door to get an idea of scale. Instead of dowsing here, we ate our picnics, but then some of the group did dowse inside the church, and found blind springs and all sorts. Just outside the gate of the church is a lovely well, also very old and beautifully maintained. The Normans always knew a good thing when they saw it, so they built a motte and bailey here, next to the church,with an old crab-apple tree now the only sign left. As we left this place, we stopped to walk on a section {SO 270635} of Offas Dyke, a huge earthwork that was built to keep those pesky welsh out of saxon lands.This is still an impressive sight at this point , with a bank 20 ft high and a deep ditch next to it, though other stretches have nearly vanished under the plough. Right next to the dyke is Yew Tree cottage, with another beautiful old tree.
Next on our trip was Whitton, {SO 272674} where Alfred Watkins found a ley line, stretching up the valley to Bleddfa, and passing through several tumuli on the way. Another ancient yew, around 2,500 years old, is in the churchyard, with a very strong presence. Several of us found Watkins ley, about 8 feet wide and still strong, guiding our eyes toward Bleddfa, and also passing close to Nant y groes, where Dr John Dee had a house, and practised his arcane magicks! Again, some of the group went in the church to dowse, and I hope to squeeze a report on what they found out of Mike, to put in this and our WWDs newsletter. For me , the yews were the sites of power, and it was lovely to sit with them and get charged up by their energy. From here we went on to Old Radnor, {SO 250591}a major site in the valley, and with a great view of where the Hindwell enclosure is, though there are no visible marks, and also the Four Stones, which are on one edge of the enclosure. The church mound is huge, at least 100 ft across and 40 ft high, with the 12th century church on top. Inside is a gorgeous Green Man, carved on the wall opposite a lovely coiled dragon. These two are just down from the high altar, where several of us dowsed two blind springs, as well as various lines of energy. This is an amazing church, even to a heathen like me, full of antiquities and beauty. There is a nice bench outside where locals sit and watch that timeless view. Finally on to Llanfihangel nant Melan, {SO 181582} where the ring of 1,500 year old yews was planted round a stone circle, of which one stone remains, embedded in the base of a tree. The energy here is lovely, with the yews still holding a lot of power. As we arrived a churchwarden was leaving with a pile of yew logs in his arms, freshly trimmed from one of the trees, and he happily gave two of our group a piece each, on condition they signed the visitors book. This is a tiny church, but poky, as are all the sites in this mystical valley. We had a great day out, and I hope you have enjoyed reading about it, and may visit here yourself someday!!
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