Preseli Mountains

The principal peak at 1,759 feet (536 m) above sea level is Foel Cwmcerwyn. There are 14 other peaks over 980 feet (300 m) of which three exceed 1,300 feet (400 m).[5]

Peak	Height	Image	Notes and features
Foel Cwmcerwyn	536 m (1,759 ft)		Highest peak; cairns; disused quarry
Cerrig Lladron	468 m (1,535 ft)		Bronze Age stone row
Foel Feddau	467 m (1,532 ft)
Carn Siân	402 m (1,319 ft)
Frenni Fawr	395 m (1,296 ft)		Tumuli; see also Blaenffos
Mynydd Bach	374 m (1,227 ft)
Foel Dyrch	368 m (1,207 ft)
Carn Menyn	365 m (1,198 ft)		Bluestones (on the far ridge)
Foel Drygarn	363 m (1,191 ft)		Hill fort (meaning: three cairns)
Crugiau Dwy	359 m (1,178 ft)		(meaning: Two barrows) Preseli transmitting station
Mynydd Carningli	347 m (1,138 ft)
Mynydd Castlebythe	347 m (1,138 ft)
Waun Mawn	339 m (1,112 ft)
Mynydd Cilciffeth	335 m (1,099 ft)
Mynydd Melyn	307 m (1,007 ft)

Villages and other settlements within the range include Blaenffos, Brynberian, Crosswell, Crymych, Cwm Gwaun, Dinas Cross, Glandy Cross, Mynachlog-ddu, New Inn, Pentre Galar, Puncheston, Maenclochog, Rosebush and Tafarn-y-Bwlch. The only town in the Preseli area is Newport, at the foot of the Carningli-Dinas upland in the northwest of the range.[5]

The Preselis provide hill grazing for much of the year and there is some forestry. As well as features of interest to geologists and archaeologists, the hills have a wide variety of bird, insect and plant life. There are three sites of special scientific interest (SSSIs): Carn Ingli and Waun Fawr (biological), and Cwm Dewi (geological). The Preseli transmitting station mast, erected in 1962, stands on Crugiau Dwy near the hamlet of Pentre Galar. To the south of Crugiau Dwy is the extensively quarried hill Carn Wen (Garnwen Quarry) which was still actively extracting igneous rock in 2018.[11]

The Preselis have Special Area of Conservation status; the citation states that the area is "... exceptional in Wales for the combination of upland and lowland features..." Numerous scarce plant and insect species exist in the hills.[12] For example, they are an important UK site for the rare Southern damselfly, Coenagrion mercuriale,[13] where efforts to restore habitat were underway in 2015[14] and reported in 2020 to have been a success.[15]

One major road, the A478, crosses the eastern end of the range, reaching a height of 248 metres (814 ft). Two B-class roads, intersecting at New Inn, cross the hills: the B4313 NW-SE, reaching 278 metres (912 ft) and the B4329 NE-SW, reaching 404 metres (1,325 ft) at Bwlch-gwynt (translation: windy gap). These, and a number of other minor roads and lanes, provide scenic routes popular with motoring, cycling and walking tourists. The A487 road skirts the western end of the range, near Newport.[7] Cattle grids prevent egress of grazing stock from unenclosed areas of the hills.

The Preselis are popular with walkers wishing to follow prehistoric trails,[16] with walks varying from easy to long-distance. The larger part of the hills is designated under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 as 'open country' thereby enabling walkers the 'freedom to roam' across unenclosed land, subject to certain restrictions. An east-west bridleway which runs the length of the main massif (known as Flemings' Way[17] or the Golden Road[1]), together with spurs to north and south, gives access to mountain bikers and horseriders.[18] There are cycle trails.[19] Paragliding is not permitted without the consent of the land owners, who in 2014 collectively agreed not to allow it.[20]

Castell Henllys reconstructed Iron Age fort

Castell Henllys, on the A487 road between Eglwyswrw and Felindre Farchog is a reconstructed Iron Age settlement, illustrating what life may have been like in those times.[21]

Carn Menyn bluestones

In 1923 the petrologist Herbert Henry Thomas proposed that bluestone from the hills corresponded to that used to build the inner circle of Stonehenge,[24] and later geologists suggested that Carn Menyn (formerly called Carn Meini) was one of the bluestone sources.[25] Recent geological work has shown this theory to be incorrect.[26] It is now thought that the bluestones at Stonehenge and fragments of bluestone found in the Stonehenge "debitage" have come from multiple sources on the northern flanks of the hills,[27] such as at Craig Rhos-y-felin.[28] Advanced details of a recent contribution to the puzzle of the precise origin of the Stonehenge bluestones were published by the BBC in November 2013.[29]

Others theorise that bluestone from the area was deposited close to Stonehenge by glaciation.[30] More detailed discussions on the bluestone topic can be found in the Stonehenge, Theories about Stonehenge and Carn Menyn articles.

Further investigations have pointed to a link between Waun Mawn (see below) and the Stonehenge bluestones.[31]

Bedd Arthur standing stones

Carreg Coetan burial chamber

Cerrig Lladron standing stone

The Preselis are rich in sacred and prehistoric sites,[9] many of which are marked on Ordnance Survey maps.[7] They include burial chambers, tumuli, hill forts, hut circles, stone circles, henges, standing stones and other prehistoric remains. These sites are spread across a number of communities that share parts of the Preseli range. Dyfed Archaeological Trust has produced extensive notes on the mountain range and surrounding features and villages.[9][17]

Some of the more notable are:

• Bedd Arthur (Neolithic hengiform standing stones)[32]
• Mynydd Carningli (hillfort, SSSI)[33]
• Carn Menyn (chambered cairn)
• Carreg Coetan Arthur (Neolithic dolmen)[34]
• Temple Druid (standing stone, cromlech)
• Pentre Ifan (burial chamber)

Others include:

• Banc Du (evidence of prehistoric settlement)
• Carn Alw (Neolithic settlement)[35]
• Carn Goedog (bluestones and standing stone)[36]
• Cerrig Lladron (Bronze Age stone row)[37]
• Foel Drygarn (hillfort)[38][39]
• Foel Cwmcerwyn (tumuli)
• Frenni Fach & Frenni Fawr (tumuli - see also Blaenffos)
• Glandy Cross (prehistoric remains)
• Glyn Gath (tumulus)
• Gors Fawr (stone circle)[40]
• Mynyedd Melyn (hut circle)[41]
• Parc-y-Meirw (standing stones)[42]
• Rhos fach (standing stones)[43]
• Tafarn y Bwlch (mountain pass and standing stones)[44]
• Tre-Fach (standing stone, prehistoric camp)
• Ty-Meini (standing stone, known as "The Lady Stone"[45])
• Waun Mawn (standing stones; dismantled[31] stone circle c.3400-3000 BC),[46][47] grid reference SN08393403[48]