Barclodiad y Gawres
Photo via Wikimedia Commons — licence & author.
Decorated tomb above Cable Bay
This is a quick reference, not a full walked guide. The facts below — location, parking, grid reference and access — are maintained from our dataset, but we haven't published our own first-hand write-up of Barclodiad y Gawres yet. Know it well? Help us get it right.
A Neolithic passage tomb set dramatically on a low headland above the surf of Porth Trecastell (Cable Bay), holding some of the finest prehistoric art in Britain — stones carved with zigzags, spirals and chevrons. Its name means the 'apronful of the giantess'. The interior is gated to protect the carvings, but you can see them through the grille, and the coastal setting alone is worth the short walk. Free and open, it pairs perfectly with a swim or paddle at the bay just below.
Getting there
Barclodiad y Gawres is in Anglesey, Anglesey (Ynys Môn). It's roughly 22 min (6.9 miles) from Trearddur Bay , and within reach of Holyhead (27 min) and Caernarfon (31 min).
The nearest parking: Cable Bay (Porth Trecastell) car park on the A4080. Grid reference SH 333 706 — works on any OS map and doesn't need a phone signal.
Good to know
Interior is gated but the carved stones are visible through it; pair with a swim or paddle at the bay below.
On the map
View Barclodiad y Gawres on OpenStreetMap ↗, or open it in the Explore Wales trip planner to add it to a day out with drive times and offline maps.
Staying over?
Trearddur Bay makes a relaxed base for exploring the area — worth staying over to catch an early start or a golden-hour finish.
Browse places to stay near Trearddur Bay ↗ opens Booking.com — needs signalNearby places
Make Barclodiad y Gawres part of a day out
Add it to a trip in the free Explore Wales planner — chained drive times, weather, campsite suggestions, and offline maps for when the signal drops.