A Discussion of the Craig-y-Ddinas' Arthurian Connections
By David Nash Ford

C R A I G   Y
D D I N A S
King Arthur sleeping in Glamorganshire

This imposing crag near Glyn-Neath in Mid Glamorgan is one of the favourite Welsh claimants to be the rock beneath which is hidden King Arthur's secret resting-place.

An old story is often told of a local man who had a secret cave revealed to him here by a mysterious stranger. Within, he was shown King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table sleeping soundly in full armour, awaiting the day when they would awake to rescue Britain from the Saxon scourge. Before them sat a large pile of gold and a pile of silver. The stranger allowed the Welshman to remove as much as he liked from one pile or another, but he must be careful of an overhead bell. If he were to accidentally ring it and wake the knights, he must immediately tell them to go back to sleep. The local man did indeed lose his balance under the weight of his treasure and struck the bell. At once a knight awoke and asked, "Is it day?" Remembering the stranger's words, the reply came "No, sleep on" and the soldiers returned to their slumbers. However, on a second visit the bell was struck again, the poor local man forgot his lines and was beaten black and blue!