Carn Menyn

Carn Menyn is a group of jagged rock outcrops high on the Preseli ridge in Pembrokeshire. The name means ‘butter rock’ in Welsh, though it is sometimes called Carn Meini. The tors are made of spotted dolerite, a hard stone that stands in sharp ridges across the hilltop. Nearby lies Bedd Arthur, an ancient stone setting on the same ridge. From here the land falls away in every direction, with views across Cardigan Bay to the Llŷn Peninsula. Carn Menyn has long been linked to Stonehenge because many of its bluestones may have come from this spot. In the 19th century Sir Andrew Ramsay first suggested the idea. In the 1920s H H Thomas proved that Preseli bluestones reached Stonehenge. Later work by Timothy Darvill and Geoff Wainwright in 2005 pointed again to Carn Menyn as the main source. Yet other studies, including those by Williams-Thorpe’s team from the Open University, argue that nearby Carn Goedog supplied most of the spotted dolerites. A low stone bank marks an enclosure on the upper outcrop, only about 3 500 square metres in size. Scattered among the tors are half-finished pillars that look as if they were levered out long ago. Some may be prehistoric, others may have been taken by farmers in the last three centuries for gateposts and lintels. Two small chapels and many local houses still show the same grey stone in their walls. The ridge remains remote, yet its rock has travelled far.