Heather on the Preseli Hills

Everybody comes to Pembrokeshire for the coast, which leaves the hills to whoever bothers. In August and September they flower — bell heather first, then ling — and the ridge above Crymych and Rosebush turns purple for a few weeks.

The ridge. An ancient trackway runs the length of the Preselis, past Bronze Age cairns, standing stones and the outcrops at Carn Menyn where the Stonehenge bluestones were quarried and taken 150 miles east. Walking it, you are on one of the oldest routes in Britain, and there is a fair chance of having it to yourself.

Where to walk. Foel Cwmcerwyn is the highest point in Pembrokeshire at 536m and gives you Ireland, the Gower and Snowdonia on a clear day. Carn Ingli above Newport is the better short walk — an Iron Age hillfort on a rocky summit with the estuary below.

The honest bit. These hills are open, unmarked and get weather in from the Atlantic before anywhere else. Cloud drops onto the ridge quickly and there are no walls or fences to navigate by, so take a map and compass rather than relying on a phone. The ground is boggy in the cols even in August, and off the main paths the heather is deep and hard going.

Ponies and sheep graze the whole range, so dogs on leads. More on the archaeology in the Preseli bluestones guide.