Pen y Castell, Kenfig Hill

Pen y Castell stands on a low ridge above the village of Kenfig Hill in Bridgend county, Wales. It is one of the smaller Iron Age hillforts, built when local tribes raised earthen ramparts and timber palisades to guard their homes. The site is registered by Cadw, Wales’s historic environment service, under the number GM240. Roughly 300 hillforts appear on Cadw’s list, though archaeologists believe up to 570 once dotted the Welsh landscape. Most were raised between 200 BC and AD 43, before Roman armies reached this part of Britain.

The fort’s purpose was defence: a refuge for families and a base for warriors before the Roman conquest. After the legions arrived, some forts were rebuilt and reused; Dinorben in north Wales is one well-known example. Pen y Castell itself is smaller than the largest Iron Age hillforts, such as Tre'r Ceiri in Gwynedd, which covers about 2.5 hectares and is the biggest in north-west Europe. Llanymynech holds the record for sheer size, with an area of 57 hectares.

Visitors walk along grassy ramparts that still curve around the hilltop. Inside the enclosure lie the remains of round houses where Iron Age people once lived. From the summit there are wide views across the Vale of Glamorgan and towards the Bristol Channel. The site is quiet, with only the wind and occasional birdsong breaking the stillness.