Preseli Hills
Pentre Ifan and Tycanol Wood
The finest Neolithic burial chamber in Wales, and an ancient oak wood nearby that has never been cleared, full of lichen and twisted trees.
- Distance
- 2.8 mi / 4.5 km
- Time
- 1 hr 35
- Ascent
- 150 m
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Shape
- Circular
Where it is
The circle shows the general area, not the exact start. Use the directions link below to get to the car park itself. Contours and paths shown are OpenTopoMap, drawn from OpenStreetMap data.
The route
From the burial chamber, field paths and lanes lead to Tycanol Wood and back. The wood itself has rough paths through it and is worth wandering.
Worth knowing
- The capstone at Pentre Ifan weighs around sixteen tonnes and balances on three uprights. It has stood for 5,500 years.
- Tycanol is one of the best lichen sites in Britain, with several hundred species recorded.
- The wood floor is uneven with roots and rock. Boots.
What you’ll see
The burial chamber, ancient oaks, lichen-covered rock and the Preselis rising behind.
Background
Pentre Ifan is around 5,500 years old and would originally have been covered by an earth mound, long since eroded away.