Saturday 5th June 2010 - Rosebush

Bad weather is forecast for tomorrow so we decided to walk today when it was supposed to be wall-to-wall sunshine.
The Preseli Walkers' Bus only operates in July and August so we were unable to do the one way walk along the ridge of Mynydd Preseli on the ancient 'Golden Road' trade route used for over 3,500 years.
We drove Henrietta to the eastern end of Mynydd Preseli via Maenclochog, stopping on the way at Gors Fawr the only stone circle in the Preseli Hills and one of the few in Wales. We moved on to find a car park marked on the OS map just west of Crymych. At the place marked, there only seemed to be space for two cars but one hundred metres back there was a good sized lay-by with plenty of space for the motorhome and a few more cars. We parked there and headed up the footpath opposite to the open access land. On the way we passed a plaque to a successful campaign by the Reverend R. Parri Roberts and many other people of the Preselau. Soon after the Second World War, the War Office announced that it intended to use the area as a permanent military training area. This was very strongly fought against by the local people, including the 200 farmers who would have lost their houses and livelihoods.
Our first target was Foeldrygarn an Iron Age hill fort occupying a very impressive, high rocky outcrop. The steep climb and the remains of a series of defensive banks emphasised its power. The history of the site goes back even further with three magnificent Bronze Age cairns on the top of the hill. These were huge and consisted of an enormous number of stones with perhaps 10 burial chambers surrounding a central chamber. The panorama from here was absolutely beautiful and any tribe occupying this position, overlooking such a vast area and on the Golden Road trade route must have exerted great power.
Descending to the Golden Road we soon came to the Bluestone outcrop of Carn Menyn. This rock is very distinctive, any recent breaks exposing a strong blue colour and a crystalline structure. In 1923 Dr. Herbert Thomas of the Geological Survey discovered that most of Stonehenge's inner circle and inner horseshoe stones came from this outcrop. And thus started the great debate – were the stones moved by a glacier in the last Ice Age or were they transported by the Bronze Age Beaker people across land, sea and rivers? It is easy to see that the required size and shape of stones could simply be chosen from those laying around, no quarrying was required. And there are still plenty available should you wish to build a new henge.
We walked on to Beddarthur, a “boat shaped” (if you have a good imagination) set of low standing stones. This is allegedly the burial place of King Arthur, a claim that has as much credence as that of Glastonbury Abbey. However it is another sign of the importance of the area to the ancient peoples. We sat on the rocky outcrop above Beddarthur and eat our picnic whilst admiring the views and enjoying the lovely bird song, especially skylarks and the cuckoo. We have heard and seen more cuckoos in this area than ever before. We were enjoying the peace and quiet until a mischievous sheep crept right up behind us and let out a very loud bleat, making us both jump out of our skins. We watched the sun shining all around us but Mynydd Preseli had its own weather system, resulting in almost constant cloud cover with gaps only appearing occasionally to light up the land that we had just left. Still, it was very pleasantly warm and made for excellent walking. We walked back on a track very slightly north in order to visit the rocky outcrops and cairns on that route.
We took a more minor road on the way back, passing closer to the bottom of Mynydd Preseli with lovely views up to it and stopping at a small farm to buy a dozen free-range eggs.
Photos: View from Foeldrygarn Iron Age Hill Fort looking towards Foel Cwmcerwyn; The Bluestone outcrop of Carn Menyn from where it is thought that the Stonehenge stones were collected; Freshly cut Bluestone shows its blue colour; View over Beddarthur towards Foeldrygarn Hill Fort.