Cefn Cul
Encyclopedia
Cefn Cul is a hill in the Fforest Fawr
sector of the Brecon Beacons National Park in the county of Powys
, south Wales
. It is a broad north-northeast to south-southwest aligned ridge whose summit reaches a height of 562m above sea level. The hill is bounded to the west by the upper valley of the River Tawe
though which the old Trecastle
road runs whilst to the east is the pass of Bwlch Bryn-rhudd over which the A4067 road
runs from the Cray
valley south to that of the Tawe.
laid down during the Devonian period. Whilst the regional dip
of the rock beds is to the south, locally they vary and a broad anticlinal
structure coincides with the hill. It is within the area designated in 2005 as Fforest Fawr Geopark
.
can be found just above the minor road to the west of Cefn Cul. Arguably the principal feature of the hill is the scatter of pillow mounds across its southern spur and over its lower eastern slopes above Cray Reservoir
. These were established in the nineteenth century for the production of rabbit fur and meat.
Fforest Fawr
Fforest Fawr is the name given to an extensive upland area in the county of Powys, Wales. Formerly known as the 'Great Forest of Brecknock' in English, it was a royal hunting area for several centuries but is now used primarily for sheep grazing, forestry, water catchment and recreation...
sector of the Brecon Beacons National Park in the county of Powys
Powys
Powys is a local-government county and preserved county in Wales.-Geography:Powys covers the historic counties of Montgomeryshire and Radnorshire, most of Brecknockshire , and a small part of Denbighshire — an area of 5,179 km², making it the largest county in Wales by land area.It is...
, south Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. It is a broad north-northeast to south-southwest aligned ridge whose summit reaches a height of 562m above sea level. The hill is bounded to the west by the upper valley of the River Tawe
River Tawe
The River Tawe is a river in South Wales. It flows in a principally south-westerly direction for some from its source below Moel Feity in the Old Red Sandstone hills of the western Brecon Beacons to the Bristol Channel at Swansea. Its main tributaries are the right bank Upper and Lower Clydach...
though which the old Trecastle
Trecastle
Trecastle is a village in Powys, Wales, on the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park.Trecastle is named after an early 12th century motte-and-bailey fortification , built by Bernard de Neufmarche and designed to protect Brecon from attack from the west...
road runs whilst to the east is the pass of Bwlch Bryn-rhudd over which the A4067 road
A4067 road
The A4067 road is an A road in Wales connecting Swansea with Sennybridge. It runs in a southwest to northeast direction beginning at Oystermouth Square in Mumbles, Swansea, and continuing from there to Swansea city centre, where there is a break in the route...
runs from the Cray
Cray
Cray Inc. is an American supercomputer manufacturer based in Seattle, Washington. The company's predecessor, Cray Research, Inc. , was founded in 1972 by computer designer Seymour Cray. Seymour Cray went on to form the spin-off Cray Computer Corporation , in 1989, which went bankrupt in 1995,...
valley south to that of the Tawe.
Geology
Cefn Cul is formed from sandstones and mudstones of the Senni Beds and Brownstones Formations of the Old Red SandstoneOld Red Sandstone
The Old Red Sandstone is a British rock formation of considerable importance to early paleontology. For convenience the short version of the term, 'ORS' is often used in literature on the subject.-Sedimentology:...
laid down during the Devonian period. Whilst the regional dip
Strike and dip
Strike and dip refer to the orientation or attitude of a geologic feature. The strike line of a bed, fault, or other planar feature is a line representing the intersection of that feature with a horizontal plane. On a geologic map, this is represented with a short straight line segment oriented...
of the rock beds is to the south, locally they vary and a broad anticlinal
Anticline
In structural geology, an anticline is a fold that is convex up and has its oldest beds at its core. The term is not to be confused with antiform, which is a purely descriptive term for any fold that is convex up. Therefore if age relationships In structural geology, an anticline is a fold that is...
structure coincides with the hill. It is within the area designated in 2005 as Fforest Fawr Geopark
Fforest Fawr Geopark
Fforest Fawr Geopark was the first Geopark to be designated in Wales having gained membership of both the European Geoparks Network and the UNESCO-assisted Global Network of National Geoparks in October 2005. The Geopark aims to promote and support sustainable tourism and other opportunities to...
.
Archaeology
An ancient cairn occurs near the southern end and a standing stoneStanding stone
Standing stones, orthostats, liths, or more commonly megaliths are solitary stones set vertically in the ground and come in many different varieties....
can be found just above the minor road to the west of Cefn Cul. Arguably the principal feature of the hill is the scatter of pillow mounds across its southern spur and over its lower eastern slopes above Cray Reservoir
Cray reservoir
Cray Reservoir is a storage reservoir located in the Brecon Beacons National Park for the water supply to the city of Swansea in South Wales and was built between 1898 and 1906 by Swansea Corporation....
. These were established in the nineteenth century for the production of rabbit fur and meat.