Please note, the majority of properties on the trail are now private residences,

please respect their privacy.

Castle Ditches

Castle Ditches is one of the most important prehistoric monuments in the Llancarfan area and provides the earliest substantial evidence of settlement in the valley. The hillfort occupies the western end of an east–west ridge, less than a kilometre east of the present village, in a commanding position above the Nant Llancarfan valley. It is a univallate Iron Age hillfort, probably dating from around 800 BC to AD 74, enclosing approximately 4.2 hectares. Its natural position was carefully exploited: the ground falls steeply on three sides, while the more accessible eastern approach was protected by a substantial rampart and ditch. The main entrance is on the southern side.

Archaeological investigation has shown that the ramparts were constructed using clay and rubble, with evidence of a dry-stone revetment. Finds from the site, including Roman pottery, indicate that occupation continued beyond the Iron Age into the Romano-British period, and there is evidence suggesting that the wider area may have remained occupied into the early medieval period. Excavations and archaeological studies have also produced evidence for cattle, sheep or goats and pigs, giving an insight into the farming economy of the people who lived here. Castle Ditches is now a Scheduled Monument (GM071) and is an important reminder that Llancarfan's history stretches back many centuries before the establishment of the medieval village and its famous church and monastery.