Walking the Golden Road: Ancient Tracks Across the Preseli Hills

First published as Tracks of gold in our March/April 2026 edition, Jade Braham’s feature follows the high ground of the Preseli Hills from Bwlch Gwynt towards Foel Drygarn. It is a landscape of open moorland, rocky tors and long views, but the ground underfoot quickly makes clear that this is no gentle promenade.

Wind presses across the ridge, boggy ground catches at each step and loose stone makes the climbs demand attention. From the first summit the sea shines in the distance, while cloud and sunlight repeatedly change the scale and colour of the hills. The effort brings one question to the surface: how did earlier generations cross and live within this landscape?

The route commonly called the Golden Road follows the spine of the Preselis. Its age and original purpose have prompted plenty of theories, but the surviving archaeology is reason enough to walk slowly. Cairns, earthworks, standing stones and the remains of a great hillfort place traces of human activity all along the journey.

Near the western end, Foel Eryr rises above the surrounding country. The National Park Authority continues to feature a public walk here, pairing the open landscape with stories and legends of the Preseli Hills. Further east, Jade pauses at Foel Feddau, where a Bronze Age cairn sits within the wide sweep of the ridge.

An ancient route across Preseli

These upland monuments lend the walk its distinctive atmosphere. They are not displayed behind museum glass or separated from the landscape that shaped them. Instead they appear among grass, heather and stone, asking walkers to imagine the people who carried materials uphill and chose these exposed places for remembrance.

Legend is woven through the same ground. Looking towards Foel Cwmcerwyn and Pantmaenog, the article recalls the tale of the giant boar Twrch Trwyth from the Mabinogion. At Cerrigmarchogion, rock formations have long been associated in local storytelling with Arthur’s fallen knights. The stories do not replace the archaeology, but they show how each generation has found new meaning in the hills.

The trail continues towards Carn Bica and Bedd Arthur, a low arrangement of stones traditionally known as Arthur’s grave. Its true origins are older and less certain than the name suggests, yet the quiet site remains one of the most evocative points on the route.

Around Carn Menyn, broken dolerite outcrops add another layer to the Preseli story. Research has connected rock from this part of Pembrokeshire with Stonehenge’s bluestones, although the precise quarry sites, dates and method of transport remain matters for archaeological study rather than simple certainty.

Legends, stones and Foel Drygarn

The eastern climax is Foel Drygarn. The hillfort encloses three earlier Bronze Age burial cairns and the traces of many roundhouse platforms. Standing within its ramparts, with the Preseli landscape falling away on every side, it is possible to see why the site held such importance over a long span of time.

Jade’s final memory is not of a monument but of a family explaining the fort to their children. It is a fitting end to a route where knowledge has always travelled through people as well as paths, and where archaeology, landscape and story remain closely connected.

Early autumn is a rewarding time to revisit the feature: the hills are beginning to turn, the light sits lower and the long-distance views can be magnificent. This is exposed upland country, however, so walkers should check the forecast, carry an appropriate map, wear suitable footwear and follow the countryside code. Conditions can change quickly and wet ground may be difficult.

This Flashback Friday feature is republished from West Wales Life & Style, March/April 2026, pages 53–60. The expired event promotion and unrelated advertising captured with the original pages have been removed, while claims that remain archaeologically debated have been qualified. Current walking information was checked against the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority in September 2026.