Bluestone Country - The Preseli Hills

The Preseli Hills are located in Pembrokeshire, in the South West of Wales, and have the reputation of being the source of the legends of Merlin and King Arthur. The Welsh legends called the 'Mabinogion' come from here as does 'Annwn', the Welsh fairyland. Legend has it that Merlin transported stones from here to Stonehenge for the construction of Camelot and King Arthur's Round Table. Of the seven circles that go to make up Stonehenge, the 5th circle and inner horseshoe are constructed from stones known as 'Bluestones' which originated in the Preseli Hills.

If you stand on top of the ancient Preseli Hills, source of the "bluestone" of Stonehenge, you will see spread about you one of Wales and Great Britain's most beautiful and magical landscapes. Wild and mysterious, roamed by sheep and welsh ponies, these hills provide a superb terrain for walking, horse riding, cycling and bird watching alike.

Whether these stones arrived there by the movement of ice-age glacial flows, magically transferred by Merlin or transported by man from an existing stone circle in Preseli, has over the centuries been the subject of continuing academic discussion. Of the 45 remaining Preseli Bluestones at Stonehenge, 9 remain standing in the 5th circle and 7 in the horseshoe. In ancient times stones were considered to be holy and magical objects, homes of spirits and the Gods. It is natural therefore that this unusual and beautiful stone should have been used in the building of Stonehenge, this Island's greatest megalithic structure; the very root of all our architecture.

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 walked by Prehistoric man. The bluestone that makes up much of the inner circle of Stonehenge was hewn and transported 180 miles from Preseli to Salisbury Plain.

Carn Ingli - Mount of Angels

346m. Preseli, Pembrokeshire

Reputedly a place where angels communicate, certainly a place beautiful enough to tempt them from their celestial home. With such beautiful views and an abundance of wildlife, this is a perfect location for a day out walking or bird watching. Carn Ingli rises to more than 1100 feet above sea level with Newport Town nestling on the lower slopes. From the summit there are spectacular views of the Bluestone Country including the Preseli Hills, Nevern estuary, Newport Town, Dinas Head, Fishguard and on a clear day even the mountain ranges of mid-Wales and a glimpse of Ireland.

Gwaun Valley - The Secret Valley Cwm Gwaun - Y Dyffryn Cudd

A beautiful, dramatic valley at the heart of Bluestone Country. Flanked with ancient bluebell woodlands and laced with tumbling streams. Home to buzzards, shy otters, dippers, herons and king fishers, this is a superb location for bird watching and walking.

The banks of the River Gwaun are the haunt of otters and herons, and in the local pub, the Dyffryn Arms, an ideal place to stop for refreshment while out walking or bird watching, where Welsh is the language of choice. The 20th century is still struggling to make headway in the Gwaun Valley, let alone the 21st - for instance, residents of the valley still celebrate New Year on January 13, after the Julian calendar which was abandoned by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 in favour of the Gregorian calendar which the rest of us now use.