The Preseli Hills and Mountains
With stunning scenery and ancient mystery, the Preseli Hills known locally as the Preseli Mountains, are a must-visit for intrepid walkers and curious minds alike.
Explore the Preselis
Wild landscape and ancient tales
Thirteen miles long with a peak of 536-meters the Preseli Hills are accessible whilst providing plenty of scope for exploration and discovery. This makes the hills an attractive spot for both beginner and experienced walkers and hikers. And for those with a passion for history, the Preseli Hills house a millennia-old mystery that can be uncovered as you walk its ancient paths and walkways. Cyclists are welcome along with walkers. With bike hire and bus services available from several different spots around the base of the hills. Or if you want a family day out and have little ones with you, then there are guided pony tours available, allowing for a fun experience for all ages whilst also being able to enjoy the scenery and story that the Preseli Hills has to offer.
Dramatic geography punctuated by history
The hills themselves are a tapestry of wild moor and grasslands that are dotted with the remnants of ruins and cairns that are prehistoric in their age. As you trek up and down its inclines and declines, you will travel through the ages of Iron and Bronze. Ascending through Iron age hill forts and traversing through Bronze age burial mounds you will find the Preseli Hills are frozen in time and offer a glimpse into an era of bygone mystery. Looking to the sky you will see buzzards and kites flying overhead, whilst among the outcrops and grasslands, wild ponies and sheep graze and wander.
Where to visit
The Golden Road
The most well-travelled route along the Preseli Hills is “The Golden Road”. Given its name, after it was used as an ancient highway for transporting gold mined on the east coast of Ireland to the south of England, The Golden Road is steeped in folklore and history. A Neolithic trail 8-miles long it dips and peaks over the spine of the hills, giving glorious views out onto the rolling countryside.
It's most famous traveller is perhaps the mythical King Arthur, who along with his band of Knights, is said to have battled the magical boar Twrch Trwyth along the road. Twrch Trwyth arrived in St. David’s whilst Arthur landed in Milford Haven before they met on The Golden Road for their chase and skirmish. This tale is the earliest recorded writing of Arthur, and you’ll feel the mythic energy of The Golden Road as you trace the steps of one of the first Arthurian legends.
Walking the Golden Road
Gors Fawr
Take a short detour to the south and you will find yourself in Gors Fawr. This area of grassland and gorse bush is home to the sixteen stone megalith that illustrates the area's connection to the Neolithic builders that used the rock that nature provided to construct monuments that have endured for millennia.
Pentre Ifan
To further connect yourself to this Neolithic era it is also worth a trip to Pentre Ifan. Head to Newport Pembrokeshire and follow the signs to Cilgwyn and the Gwaun Valley. Here you’ll find signposts directing you to the Pentre Ifan Burial Site (or Dolmen). These ruins are the remnants of the entrance to an ancient tomb that would have originally been covered by larger stones again. Peer through the entrance and you’ll see perfectly framed by the time-tested rock, the Preseli Hills themselves. It is a stark reminder of the ingenuity and determination of these monument builders as you realise that the stone that was used to build them was transported down from the very hills that you are looking at.
Foel Eryr Circular
If views are your thing, the Foel Eryr Circular on a clear day provides a stunning view of the landscape stretching for miles and miles as far as the eye can see. A 6-mile walk with a 300-meter ascent, this trek is worth the four-hour hike to experience a full panoramic view of the surrounding geography. On a clear day you can stretch your eyes across the Irish sea and reach the coast of Ireland, and then turn your head and see the peaks of Snowdon in the distance. A comfortable ascent offering a mountainous view.
Ancient Wonders
The Preseli Hill’s also offer themselves to the source of one of the ancient world’s most enthralling mysteries. Found at Carn Menyn, Carn Goedog, Carn Breseb and other sites throughout the hills is the source of the bluestones that were used in the construction of Stonehenge, some 150 miles away. The history and mystery of how these Neolithic builders transported and assembled these stones begin in the Preseli Hill’s.
These stones and their stories are what inspired the name for our resort here at Bluestone. At the right angle and with the right light, you may just catch a sheen of blue covering these timeless rocks. The magic and mystery of this place have seeped into these stones over thousands of years and will occasionally reveal themselves to the naked eye. Being in the presence of these ancient rocks, that appear as if they could have been placed at Stonehenge themselves and helped form one of the world’s most enduring and iconic mysteries is a rich reward at the end of your trek through these majestic hills.