Walking in the Preselis

The Preseli Mountains rise to a height of 540 metres above the Irish Sea. Their wild and haunting beauty has cast its spell over man since the Stone Age. From stone circles to massive tombs, like Pentre Ifan to ancient cairns and hill forts, like Carn Ingli, there are more prehistoric monuments per square mile in the Preselis than anywhere else in Wales outside Anglesey. Some, like the Iron Age fort of Castell Henllys, have been beautifully reconstructed, but most lie untouched in a landscape that probably hasn’t changed much for four thousand years.

Around 2500 BC, huge blocks of dolerite were transported some 200 miles from these hills to form the bluestone circle at Stonehenge. You can still see the place where they were quarried today. Hidden away in a fold in the hills is the beautiful Gwaun Valley, with its ancient oakwoods and water meadows, where they still celebrate the old New Year on January 13th.

Walking in the Preselis is not arduous. The 'Golden Way' along the main ridge is a gently undulating walk that follows a Bronze-age trade route to Ireland – and on a really clear day you can see the Wicklow Mountains across the sea.