Sarn Helen refers to several stretches of

Roman road Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. The route, which follows a meandering course through central Wales, connects Aberconwy in the

north North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

with

Carmarthen Carmarthen (, ; , 'Merlin's fort' or possibly 'Sea-town fort') is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community (Wales), community in Wales, lying on the River Towy north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. At the 2021 United Kingdom cen ...

in the

west West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...

. Despite its length, academic debate continues as to the precise course of the Roman road. Many sections are now used by the modern road network while other parts are still traceable. However, there are sizeable stretches that have been lost and are unidentifiable. The route is named after Saint Elen of

Caernarfon Caernarfon (; ) is a List of place names with royal patronage in the United Kingdom, royal town, Community (Wales), community and port in Gwynedd, Wales. It has a population of 9,852 (with Caeathro). It lies along the A487 road, on the easter ...

, a Celtic saint, whose story is told in '' The Dream of Macsen Wledig'', part of the ''

Mabinogion The ''Mabinogion'' () is a collection of the earliest Welsh prose stories, compiled in Middle Welsh in the 12th–13th centuries from earlier oral traditions. There are two main source manuscripts, created –1410, as well as a few earlier frag ...

''. She is said to have ordered the construction of roads in Wales during the late 4th century.

Route

Aberconwy–Carmarthen

In the north the route is believed to follow the western bank of the

river Conwy The River Conwy (; ) is a river in north Wales. From its source to its discharge in Conwy Bay it is long and drains an area of 678 square km. "Conwy" was formerly anglicised as "Conway." The name 'Conwy' derives from the old Welsh words ''c ...

from Canovium, a fort at

Caerhun Caerhun () is a scattered rural Community (Wales), community, and former Community (Wales), civil parish, on the west bank of the River Conwy. It lies to the south of Henryd and the north of Dolgarrog, in Conwy County Borough, Wales, and inclu ...

, passing through Trefriw, then leading on to

Betws-y-Coed Betws-y-Coed () is a village and community (Wales), community in Conwy County Borough, Wales. The village is located near the confluence of the River Conwy and the River Llugwy and is on the eastern edge of Snowdonia. The population of the co ...

, with a branch leading to

Caer Llugwy Caer Llugwy, or Bryn-y-Gefeiliau, is the site of a Roman fort in a loop of the Afon Llugwy near Capel Curig in Conwy, Wales. It is notable in that there has been little development in the surrounding landscape: the valley in which it is situat ...

near Capel Curig. The route then passed through

Dolwyddelan Dolwyddelan ( ; ; ) is a village and Community (Wales), community in Conwy County Borough, Wales. The community occupies most of the valley of the Afon Lledr, and contains the settlements of Dolwyddelan, Pentre Bont, Blaenau Dolwyddelan, and Po ...

, running through the Cwm Penamnen valley and past the higher parts of

Cwm Penmachno Cwm Penmachno (historically called Tre-Gynwal) is a village at the head of River Machno, Cwm Machno in North Wales. History The village was built in the 1860s as a quarry settlement. The Penmachno quarry lay immediately south and above the se ...

. The route then leads on past Llan Ffestiniog to the Roman fort of Tomen y Mur, near

Trawsfynydd Trawsfynydd (; Welsh language, Welsh for ) is a linear village in Gwynedd, Wales, near Llyn Trawsfynydd reservoir, and adjacent to the A470 road, A470 north of Bronaber and Dolgellau and 10 km (6 miles) south of Blaenau Ffestiniog. It als ...

before continuing south towards

Dolgellau Dolgellau (; ) is a town and Community (Wales), community in Gwynedd, north-west Wales, lying on the River Wnion, a tributary of the River Mawddach. It was the traditional county town of the Historic counties of Wales, historic county of Merion ...

. South of Dolgellau the route passes over Waen Llefenni into Cwm yr Hengae to Aberllefenni. Part of the

narrow-gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curv ...

Corris Railway between Aberllefenni and Maespoeth Junction may run along the line of the Sarn. A minor road running along the east bank of the Afon Dulas near Esgairgeiliog, Powys might be Roman in origin. Although potentially the Roman road remained on the west bank of the Dulas between Corris and Ffridd Gate. Sarn Helen might have crossed the Afon Dyfi at a ford or ferry near Cefn Caer, a small Roman fort at Pennal in southern

Gwynedd Gwynedd () is a county in the north-west of Wales. It borders Anglesey across the Menai Strait to the north, Conwy, Denbighshire, and Powys to the east, Ceredigion over the Dyfi estuary to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The ci ...

. In

Ceredigion Ceredigion (), historically Cardiganshire (, ), is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the West Wales, west of Wales. It borders Gwynedd across the River Dyfi, Dyfi estuary to the north, Powys to the east, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire t ...

part of a B-road at Bronant is Roman, and six miles south is a long stretch through the hamlet of Stag's Head. The road is identifiable at Llanio, where there was a small Roman fort named Bremia. The route then heads southeast towards the

Dolaucothi Gold Mines The Dolaucothi Gold Mines (; ) (), also known as the Ogofau Gold Mine, are ancient Roman surface and underground mines located in the valley of the River Cothi, near Pumsaint, Carmarthenshire, Wales. The gold mines are located within the ...

near

Pumsaint Pumsaint is a village in Carmarthenshire, Wales, halfway between Llanwrda and Lampeter on the A482 in the valley of the Afon Cothi. It forms part of the extensive estate of Dolaucothi, which is owned by the National Trust. The name is W ...

, Carmarthenshire, before passing the substantial Roman fort of

Luentinum Luentinum or Loventium refers to the Roman fort at Pumsaint, Carmarthenshire. The site lies either side of the A482 in Pumsaint and was in use from the mid 70s AD to around 120 AD. It may have had particular functions associated with the adjacen ...

before finally reaching its historical end at

Alabum The rectangular enclosure that defined this Roman fort was built in the 70s AD as part of the campaign to integrate southern Wales into the Roman province of Britannia Superior. It lay on a key road, now known as the Sarn Helen (RR69), from the ...

(modern-day

Llandovery Llandovery (; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It lies on the River Tywi and at the junction of the A40 road, A40 and A483 road, A483 roads, about north-east of Carmarthen, north of Swansea and w ...

). The Roman encampment was on Llanfair Hill. In the 12th century, the

Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; ; ) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and locals of West Francia. The Norse settlements in West Franc ...

reused part of the site and its earthworks to build the mediaeval church of

St Mary's Church, Llanfair-ar-y-bryn St Mary's Church is a Church in Wales place of worship near Llandovery, Carmarthenshire, Wales. It was formerly the parish church of Llanfair-ar-y-bryn but was replaced in that function by a new church in a more central location. The present bui ...

. The fort stood at the junction of Roman roads, linking the Dolaucothi gold mines to Moridunum (

) and Y Gaer near

Brecon Brecon (; ; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the county town of Breck ...

Neath–Brecon

A further section of Roman road leading north-eastwards from

Neath Neath (; ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community situated in the Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a population of 19,2 ...

(') to Banwen at the southern edge of the

Brecon Beacons National Park Brecon Beacons National Park, officially named Bannau Brycheiniog National Park (), is a National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Wales. It is named after the Brecon Beacons (), the mountain range at its centre. The national park ...

is also known as Sarn Helen. It continues north-eastwards through the park to the north-west of Ystradfellte, beneath Fan Frynych, and then across

Mynydd Illtud Mynydd Illtud is an extensive area of common land near Libanus, Powys, Wales, located in the Brecon Beacons National Park and some three miles south-west of Brecon. The common is an undulating plateau lying between above sea level. Its highest ...

en route to the Roman fort of y Gaer (').

Outdoor pursuits

Cycle route

A long-distance mountain bike route named the Sarn Helen Trail follows parts of the road's course. The trail, which was devised in 1996, runs between

Conwy Conwy (, ), previously known in English as Conway, is a walled market town, community and the administrative centre of Conwy County Borough in North Wales. The walled town and castle stand on the west bank of the River Conwy, facing Deganwy ...

on the North Wales coast and Worms Head on the

Gower Peninsula The Gower Peninsula (), or simply Gower (), is a peninsula in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is the most westerly part of the historic county of Glamorgan, and is now within the City and County of Swansea. It projects towards th ...

Fell running

The road gives its name to the annual Sarn Helen Hill Race that starts and finishes in

Lampeter Lampeter (; (formal); ''Llambed'' (colloquial)) is a town, community and electoral ward in Ceredigion, Wales, at the confluence of the Afon Dulas with the River Teifi. It is the third largest urban area in Ceredigion, after Aberystwyth and C ...

in mid-Wales. The multi-terrain race, founded in 1980, takes place in May each year. It claims to combine "the speed of road racing with the rigours of cross country and fell running over a challenging picturesque course".

In popular culture

"Sarn Helen" is the title of a song by Welsh band Super Furry Animals, appearing on their

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic languages, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales by about 18% of the population, by some in England, and in (the Welsh c ...

album '' Mwng''. It is also the title of a 1997 sequence of poems by English poet John Wilkinson and a 2023 travel book by Tom Bullough, who walked the route in 2020.

References

Bibliography

External links

www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Sarn HelenSarn Helen page on Long Distance Walkers Association site

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