An unexpected discovery waiting in Pembrokeshire

A walk through the Pembrokeshire countryside is guaranteed to bring you views of rolling green hills and wildlife thriving in abundance.

You’re sure to wind your way down coastal paths and cross lush fields full of wandering animals. But giant stones towering above you might be the last thing you'd expect to see.

Carreg Coetan Arthur and Pentre Ifan stand only a few miles apart and are a mystery just waiting to be discovered.

Dating back 5000 years, Carreg Coetan Arthur and Pentre Ifan are old-timers.

When castles were being built and Welsh revolutions were sweeping the land, these burial sites had already seen millenniums go by.

Old stones with very different lives

For all that time, these chambers have had two very different lives.

Tucked away at the end of a residential street, Carreg Coetan Arthur has had plenty of time to sit by itself and meditate on the world growing up around it.

A sense of peace and enlightenment radiates from the very stones themselves.

Pentre Ifan, however, stands watch over the countryside, neatly framing the Preseli Hills rolling away in the distance.

Standing beside Pentre Ifan, it becomes obvious why this spot was chosen for the ceremonial stones.

Hills rising up behind you, vast fields falling away beneath you, the Pembrokeshire countryside requires you to be still a moment and absorb the truly wonderful area.

In some ways, we haven’t changed at all as a human race when it comes to comprehending beauty.

Both are bound to fill you with questions.

Who was buried here? How did people during the Neolithic period, 5000 years ago, move such heavy stones?

Let your imagination wander, perhaps even King Arthur himself may have been laid to rest in this very spot.

The chambers were dedicated to only a single person so whoever it was, they must have been incredibly special.

History hopping along the Pembrokeshire coast

The sites won’t take long to explore, so tying them in with a longer walk is a lovely way to explore times of old while still spending a day out.

Carreg Samson isn’t too far away either and if you have a car, you can spend the day burial site hopping through all three.

Finish the walk off in Newport, where you can be sure something to eat and a warm drink are waiting for you.