St Lythans chambered long barrow, Vale of Glamorgan: A place to make a Halloween wish

Annunciata Elwes looks at the myths and legends surrounding St Lythans chambered long barrow.

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The megalithic St Lythans burial chamber.
The megalithic St Lythans burial chamber.
(Image credit: Alamy)

Whisper a wish here on Hallowe’en and it might come true. Another legend has the 14ft by 10ft capstone spinning three times on Midsummer’s Eve, then going with the other stones down to the river to bathe.

Whether or not you believe these stories, St Lythans chambered long barrow, a Neolithic tomb also known as Gwal-y-Filiast — or Greyhound Bitch’s Lair — is impressive and holds a certain atmosphere even in the 21st century.

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The pasture in which it stands, about a mile from Tinkinswood (a larger megalithic burial chamber), is known as the Accursed Field due to its lack of fertility. The cows that graze beside the barrow are unperturbed by such rumours.

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Annunciata Elwes
Annunciata Elwes

Annunciata is director of contemporary art gallery TIN MAN ART and an award-winning journalist specialising in art, culture and property. Previously, she was Country Life’s News & Property Editor. Before that, she worked at The Sunday Times Travel Magazine, researched for a historical biographer and co-founded a literary, art and music festival in Oxfordshire. Lancashire-born, she lives in Hampshire with a husband, two daughters and a mischievous pug.