Craig Rhosyfelin

DISTANCE/DURATION: 0.6 miles (1.0 km) 30 minutes
CHARACTER: 300m minor road walking, steep hill. Reasonably level walk in field along public footpath, uneven ground, no stiles.
LOOK OUT FOR: Craig Rhosyfelin crag, source of at least one  of the bluestones at Stonehenge
CAUTION: Access is by a narrow, single track road with few passing places. Approach from the west via Brynberian to avoid the deep ford and steep, twisting section of road in the valley. Please use the designated roadside parking area and do not park in gateways or passing places. Please keep to the public footpath, access to the rock outcrop is by permission of the landowner. Please keep dogs on leads as livestock graze this land.

This craggy outcrop of stone lies within a deep secluded valley. It is here that at least one of the famous bluestones were quarried and later taken to Stonehenge – most probably by land on sleds hauled by oxen.

The rock outcrop can be viewed from the road or nearby public footpath. Please keep to the public footpath, access to the rock outrcop is by permission of the landowner.

The footpath continues up the valley to bridge the stream. The land is privately owned and the landowner has a Management Agreement with the National Park Authority to ensure that the special landscape and nature conservation qualities of this unspoilt valley can be preserved.

To achieve this we rely on the continuation of traditional farming practices here, namely grazing and occasional winter burning of gorse. Hardy Welsh mountain ponies are used to maintain the patchwork of habitats, which includes open grassland, heathland and scrub.

These, in turn, support important species like the rare marsh fritillary butterfly and plants such as the whorled caraway and pale dogviolet, which have declined greatly elsewhere.