Pen y Garn

About Pen y Garn

Rising above the historic lead mines of Cwmystwyth, this Pumlumon outlier offers a quieter alternative to the range’s higher tops. The terrain is typical of Mid Wales—broad, grassy, and often boggy—culminating in a massive Bronze Age cairn. From the summit, you can trace the Ystwyth valley west towards the Cardigan Bay coast.

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Did You Know?

• •The name is Welsh, with 'Pen' meaning head or top and 'y Garn' referring to the cairn; it translates literally as 'top of the cairn'.
• •The summit is crowned by a remarkably large Bronze Age burial cairn, which measures approximately 20 metres in diameter and remains a dominant landmark in the Pumlumon range.
• •The hill overlooks the 'Arch', a stone monument built in 1810 by Thomas Johnes to mark the golden jubilee of King George III; the road passing through it was once a primary route for drovers.
• •From the 611-metre crest, walkers can look directly down into the industrial scars of the Cwmystwyth mines, where lead and silver have been extracted since the Bronze Age.
• •Given the local reputation for peat hags and hidden bogs, the summit’s massive pile of dry stones is often viewed less as a prehistoric monument and more as a much-needed island of solid ground.