Pembrokeshire Wales - Music and Ancient History

Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, Gors Fawr, Rhosygilwen Mansion

Apr 17, 2007

Pembrokeshire is rich in pre-historic sites, ancient woodlands and sandy beaches. Stay in a Victorian mansion with its own concert hall featuring top-class UK musicians

Tucked away in a quite corner in the county of Ceredigion is an enchanted castle. Well, it’s not really a castle and it’s not enchanted. In reality it is a beautiful Victorian mansion with more than a touch of the Gothic about it. It’s name is Rhosygilwen and it has stood here for over three hundred years.

Wales - Pembrokeshire - A restful holiday at Rhosygilwen

People come here for various reasons. Some use it as a retreat - an escape from the demands of city life. Others to enjoy a comfortable base from which to explore this rather remote part of Wales - a place steeped in myth and legend where the remains of ancient societies are scattered across the landscape.

Rhosygilwen sits in its own fifty-five acres of land and the nearest village, Cilgerran, is two miles away - an hour and a half walk from the house along a sign-posted narrow path through thick woods. This is a perfect taster to what lies ahead during your stay. As you walk, the occasional abandoned old house appears from under a cover of climbing plants and creepers. There is a road from the house to the village which is easier walking and takes half the time to reach. Try to save this for the journey back to the house. The woods are a much better introduction.

You will need a car to explore the region. Or you can hire a guide. Possibly the latter would be better for your first foray, then you can extend your explorations as you wish.

The Gors Fawr stone circle, near the village of Crymych, is tiny in comparison with Stonehenge, which is roped off because of the masses of tourists who visit. Here you can have a stone circle all to yourself. Not as big but you can touch the stones. People often say , when they lean against them, they can feel some kind of warmth or energy. Gors Fawr, the only complete stone circle in Wales, is built from blue stone quarried from the nearby Preseli mountains. The same blue stone was used for the inner circle of Stonehenge - though how they got those monumental stones from Wales to Wiltshire is another story and possibly one that nobody knows for sure.

Even older than Gors Fawr is the hugely magnificent burial chamber of Pentre Ifan which dates from at least 4000 B.C. and is probably the finest of its kind in the country. It is beautifully situated on a hilltop overlooking Fishguard Bay. The huge capstone, said to weigh 40 tons, sits on three tall, pointed stones and looks as if a strong wind might bring it down. Don’t worry, it will probably still be intact in another six thousand years.

For something different but equally historic in a different way, Ty Canol woods is worth a visit. This is one of the few remaining ancient woodlands in Wales, with trees over 8,000 years old. And some of them look it too. Gnarled and stunted with tangled branches knitting together in intricate patterns hover over rocky outcrops covered with hundreds of species of lichen, many of which are rare. There’s a pre-historic cave amongst some of the bigger rocks, in which a 19th-century graffiti artist carved his initials. The woods are located within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.

Spend a day at a beautiful beach and visit a lovely old church at the same time by making your way to Mwnt, four miles north of Cardigan. A tiny whitewashed church sits on a hill looking down onto a delightful sandy cove which is reached by a staircase. It has a clean sandy beach and is perfect for children. The church dates from the 13th or 14th century, nobody seems quite sure, and was a resting place for pilgrims as they made their way to the shrine at St. Davids. (The 6th-century St.Davids Cathedral is a must.)

Back ‘home’ to Rhosygilwen. As the sun goes down and long shadows drift across the facade, would a tall, handsome Mr. Rochester open the large wooden front door? You never know. Anything could happen in this enchanted part of the world.

The copyright of the article Pembrokeshire Wales - Music and Ancient History in Historical Travel is owned by Cathy Smith. Permission to republish Pembrokeshire Wales - Music and Ancient History in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.