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

Wessex The Kingdom of the West Saxons, also known as the Kingdom of Wessex, was an Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy, kingdom in the south of Great Britain, from around 519 until Alfred the Great declared himself as King of the Anglo-Saxons in 886. The Anglo-Sa ...

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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the 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 South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...

Chepstow Chepstow () 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 western end of the ...

where it enters the county of

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

and carries on through

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

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

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

and

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

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

. Its central focus is

Stonehenge Stonehenge is a prehistoric Megalith, megalithic structure on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, west of Amesbury. It consists of an outer ring of vertical sarsen standing stones, each around high, wide, and weighing around 25 tons, to ...

. Key sites along the route include the following: in

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and otherwise by the sea. Haverfordwest is the largest town and ...

: Ynys Meicel, Goodwick SSI footpath, Tre-llan holy well, Carn Ingli, Pentre Ifan, Gors Fawr stone circle; in

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire (; or informally ') is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. ...

: 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. The route continues through the

Vale of Glamorgan The Vale of Glamorgan ( ), locally referred to as ''The Vale'', is a Principal areas of Wales, county borough in the South East Wales, south-east of Wales. It borders Bridgend County Borough to the west, Cardiff to the east, Rhondda Cynon Taf t ...

, including two significant burial chambers: Tinkinswood 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 had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury is less than across the River ...

. There is a continuation from Somerset down to Penwith in Cornwall, and

St Michael's Mount St Michael's Mount (, meaning "Hoarfrost, hoar rock in woodland") is a tidal island in Mount's Bay near Penzance, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The island is a Civil parishes in England, civil parish and is linked to the town of Marazion ...

, following routes across Exmoor National Park, 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