Preseli Hills

Saturday 30th May
Preseli Hills

Walk distance 8km
Time 4 hours.

I left home early in the morning with the hope of making the best of the good weather. I travelled along the scarp side of the Brecon Beacons. A beautiful journey and really quiet until I reached Caenarfon, where there was traffic. Thankfully the cars and caravans were all going in the opposite direction, as it was the end of half term. With barely a stop I arrived four hours later, at a small car park, on the flank the Preseli hills near Crymych. I have never been to these hills and they dominated the previous days coastal walking, so I was keen to explore them.  Within 50 yards I was struck by the range of ferns clinging to the stone walls along the first track way.   As I entered the open access moorland I heard the delightful call of a cuckoo. I walked steeply up to the twin forts of Foeldrygarn.
 Gr. 157337.  The forts were completely tumbled down, but it was possible to gauge the size. The location was well chosen overlooking a vast area.

From the top I had my first glimpse of Cardigan bay. From the fort I then cut across the ground to the south west towards Carn Ferched. On a low plateau the ground became wet and spongy with sphagnum. The tell tale signs of cotton grass and cross leaved heath suggested the chance to see carnivorous plants.
I quickly found colonies of round leaved sundew, there sticky leaves glistening in the sun. Carn Ferched was small and unimpressive, not even waist high. However walking up to it my body shivered. This was something special. I held onto it and walked around it three times in the hope it would bring me luck. As I walked away two cuckoos calling from the wood flew past. One chasing the other. Then one perched on the cairn. So my luck was in.

I then continued west along the ridge, not as far as the high point, but to Carn Bica. The landscape became rocky with bizarrely balanced rocks and steeply angled crags. Carn Menyn is supposedly the source of the Stonehenge rocks. On the return I walked around each crag. I couldn't see any sign of quarrying. Many of the rocks are split into building block shapes but all looked natural. Id noticed the cries of young children in the distance and was surprised when a small boy appeared at my side asking if I knew where Beddarthur stone was. When his parents, brother and tiny dog caught up I tried to read the landscape and map to work out where it was. The mother wanted to go off in a different direction. I encouraged them to follow me, and after a mile found a small ring of standing stones. The stones were about a foot high, but like Carn Ferched there was something about the place that made this feel special. On Carn Bica I sheltered from the wind and enjoyed my lunch listening to the near constant calls of cuckoo, skylark and meadow pipit. The views are amazing.


 I could see Caenarfon bay on one side and Cardigan bay on the other. For the first time I saw the towers of Milford Haven. I can see why this place had some religious meaning. The rock formations reminded me of Dartmoor although these seem more dramatic. In them I could see figures and animals. A solitary man walked past and not seeing me seemed to do as many others probably do. He stood for a while in the centre of the circle, probably contemplating the history of the place.



Back to Carn Menyn I watched a wren appear and then disappear into a crevasse. It makes sense that their latin name is Troglodytes troglodytes.  

The walk was really enjoyable and after I then continued on to Fishguard to pick up supplies for the Youth Hostel at Pwll Deri. En - route I stopped at a quarry which may be the true source of Stonehenge. This was much closer to the coast and even today is worked. This was near the village of Crosswell at approximately GR 116362.
This was my first trip to the Peseli hills and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the walk.