King Arthur’s Stone near Reynoldston on the Gower peninsular is only a few miles from the city of Swansea but it feels like a world and several millennia away. It sits on a peak towering above the north Gower coastline with commanding views. There is something deeply etherial about the area. I know nothing about things like ley lines but if someone were to tell me this place was riddled with them I wouldn’t doubt it.
We have many sites in South Wales associated with Arthurian legend but this place is one of the most picturesque and dramatic.
It got its name as the result of an old legend. It was said that on his way to the Battle of Camlan, Arthur felt a stone in his shoe. He removed it and threw it to one side, but such was the magic he possessed that as it travelled through the air it grew and grew until it became this vast boulder.
In reality, this is the cap stone of a collapsed Bronze Age burial chamber. There are loads of them dotted around the area suggesting that to the ancient Welsh, this was a place of spiritual importance.
There is also a wonderful custom or tradition associated with the stone according to Marie Trevelyan. It was believed that if a maiden wanted to know if her betrothed would be faithful to her, she should crawl on her hands and knees around the rock three times. If he then appeared to her he would always be true. If not he’d be off tomming at the drop of a hat. Just like the rest of them!
I have made a video on this very subject. The legends of the stone, not male infidelity. Please excuse the buffering sound but it is a very windy place.
If you enjoy stories on Welsh folklore you will love this book called “Legends and Folklore of Bridgend and the Vale“.
Plenty more videos full of nonsense on my YouTube channel.