Preseli - Preseli Mountains - Preseli Pembrokeshire

Preseli - Preseli Mountains - Preseli Pembrokeshire

The Preseli Hills, or as many locals believe, the Preseli Mountains are a range of hills in west Wales that are in the western part of the UK and form part of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. The range stretches from Newport (Trefdraeth) in the west to Crymych in the east, a distance of some 13 miles or 20 km. The Preseli area of Pembrokeshire contains many small towns, villages and farms and is predominately a rural Welsh speaking part of Wales. FelinFach is based in the heart of the Preseli area of Wales.

Main Towns and Villages in Preseli include.

• Towns: Crymych and Newport.
• Villages: Blaenffos, Boncath, Eglwyswrw, Maenclochog, Tegryn. 

Other All About Pembrokeshire Pages

Pembrokeshire Coast National Park

The National Park was established in 1952 and is the only one in the UK to have been designated primarily because of its spectacular coastline. The Preseli Hills are one of only two inland areas within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, the other being around the upper reaches of the Daugleddau river estuary.

Foel Cwm Cerwyn - Highest Point in Preseli Hills

The highest point in the Preseli Mountains at 1758 feet above sea level is Foel Cwmcerwyn. Whilst many will debate whether a hill is a mountain, or not, the standard UK definition is that to be a mountain it has to be over 600 metres or 2000 feet. Using this definition, the Preseli are a range of hills and not mountains with highest point being 1,758 feet above sea level. This highest point provides exceptional panoramic views to the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland, Eryri (Snowdonia) and the Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) in Wales and the Bristol Channel and West Country in England.

The Preseli Mountains have a long history of human habitation and activity. There is much evidence of this past, including prehistoric remains created in earth or stone. The Preseli Mountains were an important source of slate for a very long time and were extensively quarried. Whilst slate quarrying is no longer a major commercial activity in the Preseli Hills but there are present day reminders of these historical activities, for example at Rhos y Bwlch where the remnants of the quarries can still be seen.

King Arthur and the Preseli Bluestones

There are many notable ancient features, for example, Bedd Arthur, or Arthur's Grave, Carreg Coetan and Pentre Ifan in the area. Bedd Arthur is an ancient earthworks site sitting on top of the Preseli ridge overlooking the rocky outcrop of Carn Menyn and this area has often been suggested as a possible source for some of the Preseli Bluestones found at Stonehenge. The name Carn Menyn means 'Butter Rock'. The Preseli Hills are often associated with associated with the legendary King Arthur Arthur and Bedd Arthur is one of them. There are many others such as Carreg Coetan Arthur, a neolithic dolmen found near Newport in the west of the Preseli Hills. The hill fort, and the ongoing excavations there has been used as the location for an exercise in reconstruction archaeology, including experiments in prehistoric farming. Four roundhouses and a granary have been built back onto their original Iron Age foundations. Judging by the huge abundance of relics that remain - Neolithic burial chambers, Bronze Age cairns, stone circles, standing stones and Iron Age forts - these hills were well populated by Prehistoric man.

Preseli Bluestones

In 1922, a geologist was exploring the slopes of Carn menyn and discovered the source of the massive bluestones that make Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England.The Preseli Bluestones that make up much of the inner circle of Stonehenge are made from spotted dolerite. The only known place in Britain where this rock can be found is in the Preseli Hills. If the Preseli Bluestones really came from Pembrokeshire, how were they transported 180 miles from to Salisbury Plain? In 1995, a bluestone, already fully cut, was found at the bottom of the river near to Milford Haven. This gave credence to the theory that the bluestones were floated down the river Cleddau to Milford Haven, sailed around the south Wales coast and then up the Severn and Avon rivers towards Stonehenge may have some credibility. The last part of this journey would require the bluestones to have been dragged in some way from these rivers to Wiltshire. To date these questions, remain unanswered.

Pentre Ifan Burial Chamber

Maybe the most well-known Neolithic burial chamber in the Preseli Hills is Pentre Ifan, which stands on a hill overlooking Newport and outward towards the Irish sea beyond. Pentre Ifan is the name of an ancient manor in the community and parish of Nevern, Pembrokeshire, Wales.

It contains and gives its name to the largest and best preserved neolithic dolmen in Wales. It is a Neolithic burial chamber consisting of a massive capstone resting on the points of three tall pillars made of the same bluestone as those at Stonehenge.

Cwm Gwaun - Gwaun Valley

The river Gwaun runs from its source in the Preseli Hills to the sea at Abergwaun (Fishguard), a length of 10 miles. As it runs through Cwm Gwaun (Gwaun Valley) and the village of Pontfaen, a unique part of Pembrokeshire celebrates each New Year, not on 1st January but the 13th January, known as Hen Galan.

Whilst the rest of the UK switched to the Gregorian calendar in 1752 to celebrate New Year’s Eve on December 31, over 200 years later, the residents of Cwm Gwaun still hold their own New Year’s Eve celebrations in line with the Julian calendar, on the 13th of January each year!!!

Rebecca Riots

The Rebecca Riots of the period 1839 to 1843 in the counties of Cardiganshire, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire had strong links with the Preseli Hills. The farmers and peasants of the area were enraged when in 1839 a tollgate was built in Efail Wen. Following a meeting in a local farm in the Preseli Hills, Glynsaithmaen, it was decided to attack and destroy the tollgate. It is not known who called the meeting at Glynsaithmaen farm, and nobody knows who attended. A man called Thomas Rees, generally known as Twm Carnabwth, was a leader of the first "Rebecca Riots" in 1839. These Rebecca Riots continued sporadically under the leadership of other men for a number of years to 1843.

Thomas Rees (Twm Carnabwth) died aged 70 and his grave-stone stands in Bethel Chapel at Mynachlog-ddu, a small village on the south side of the Preseli Hills.

Newport Pembrokeshire

Newport is a coastal town in North Pembrokeshire and lies at the foot of Carn Ingli, the western most hill of the Preseli Hills range. It is also within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park and is one of the most beautiful parts of west Wales.

It has a very large beach, a beautiful harbour and is the location of the river Nevern estuary - a popular destination for bird watchers.  

Tafarn Sinc Rosebush (Rhos y Bwlch)

Tafarn Sinc is situated in the heart of the Preseli Hills in the inland area of the Pembrokeshire National Coastal Park. It is the highest licensed pub in Pembrokeshire located in the shadow of Foel Cwm Cerwyn in the rural hamlet of Rosebush.

Tafarn Sinc is now a community owned pub since 2017 and there are now ‘new shepherds’ running of the pub. However, the names of Edward Cropper, his wife Margaret and stepson Joseph Macaulay are commemorated on a red granite memorial stone erected nearby.

About FelinFach

      

Located in Pembrokeshire Wales, our ethos is defined in the three words...

NATURAL TRADITIONAL HANDMADE.

• Hand woven iconic Welsh blankets and Welsh tapestry blankets.
• Hand dyed yarn, dyed with natural dyes only - no exceptions!
• Handmade candles, candle accessories, Candle Making Workshops and soapery.
• Natural Dyeing Craft courses.
• Yarn shop, yarn bowls, project bags, tools and accessories for knitters and crafters.
• Welsh Gifts, souvenirs, made in Wales, handmade in Wales.

We are a proud supporter of Americymru, the Campaign for Wool, Global Welsh and Red Dragon America.

Last updated 29th December 2023