The Celtic Way is a long-distance walk from West Wales, through South Wales and into

Wessex la, Regnum Occidentalium Saxonum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of the West Saxons , common_name = Wessex , image_map = Southern British Isles 9th century.svg , map_caption = S ...

and the West of England in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. The route is and visits more than one hundred pre-historic sites through its route.

The route

The route runs from Pembrokeshire eastward through South Wales to

Chepstow Chepstow ( cy, Cas-gwent) is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the tidal River Wye, about above its confluence with the River Severn, and adjoining the wester ...

where it enters the county of

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

and carries on through

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

to its destination at Stonehenge. There is the option of continuing to

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

and

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

and Cornwall. A guide to the route was published in 1998: ''The Celtic Way: A long distance walk through western Britain'' by Val Saunders Evans, Cheshire: Sigma Leisure. The route links sites of importance in Celtic Britain and

prehistory Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use ...

. Its central focus is Stonehenge. Key sites along the route include the following: in Pembrokeshire: Ynys Meicel, Goodwick SSI footpath, Tre-llan holy well, Carn Ingli,

Pentre Ifan Pentre Ifan (literally "Evan's Village") is the name of an ancient manor in the community and parish of Nevern, Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is from Cardigan, Ceredigion, and east of Newport, Pembrokeshire. Pentre Ifan contains and gives i ...

, Gors Fawr stone circle; in

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as ...

: Gwal y Filiast burial chamber, Castell Mawr, Merlin's Hill, Llanegwad, Dryslwyn Castle, Gron Gaer Hillfort, Dinefawr Castle, Carn Goch Hillfort; the Black Mountain from the Carmarthenshire and Powys border going into Glamorgan: the Carmarthenshire 'Fans' - Fan Brycheiniog ridge, Fan Hir, the Myddfai lakes, Llyn y Fan Fach and Fawr associated with the physicians of Myddfai, Cerrig Duon stone circle, waterfalls at Scwd yr Eira and Sgwd Gwladys, and the heights of

Sarn Helen Sarn Helen refers to several stretches of Roman road in Wales. The route, which follows a meandering course through central Wales, connects Aberconwy in the north with Carmarthen in the west. Despite its length, academic debate continues as t ...

. The route continues through the

Vale of Glamorgan The Vale of Glamorgan ( cy, Bro Morgannwg ), often referred to as The Vale, is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It borders Bridgend County Borough to the west, Cardiff to the east, Rhondda Cynon Taf to the north, and the Bristol ...

, including two significant burial chambers:

Tinkinswood Tinkinswood or its full name Tinkinswood Burial Chamber ( cy, Siambr Gladdu Tinkinswood), also known as Castell Carreg, Llech-y-Filiast and Maes-y-Filiast, is a megalithic burial chamber, built around 6,000 years ago, during the Neolithic period, ...

and St Lythans, both of which raise interesting archaeoastronomical questions. High level walking above the post-industrial coastal plain runs eastward over the Garth Mountain, Caerphilly Mountain, Twmbarlwm, and over Gray Hill to Wentwood before coming down to the Bristol Channel where the route crosses the Severn Bridge walkway then links with established footpaths in England to the Wiltshire Avon on its way to Windmill Hill, Avebury, Silbury Hill, West Kennet Long Barrow and through this designated Heritage Landscape to Stonehenge. From here it is possible to walk across the Hillforts of Wessex to

Glastonbury Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbur ...

. There is a continuation from Somerset down to Penwith in Cornwall, and St Michael's Mount, following routes across

Exmoor National Park Exmoor is loosely defined as an area of hilly open moorland in west Somerset and north Devon in South West England. It is named after the River Exe, the source of which is situated in the centre of the area, two miles north-west of Simonsbath. ...

, the Celtic Way Exmoor Option and over Dartmoor. The final section runs from Stonehenge to the Dorset Coast to set the scene for a walking route linking with France at Mont St Michel. In 2013 the route was being revised and updated.

References

External links

Thecelticway.org
- an archive giving access to the route sections as downloads
Walkcelt.com
- information on the progress of the revision to route
The Celtic Way
- a long-distance walk through western Britain {{Transport in Gloucestershire Long-distance footpaths in the United Kingdom Long-distance footpaths in Wales Footpaths in Gloucestershire Footpaths in Wiltshire