A prominent section of road some 6m wide stretching for c.500m from the ford on the River Teifi at Penddolfawr to the now open ground but once woodland known as Coed Troed y Rhiw (Yr Allt Goch) (NPRN: 405566) and known as Llain y Cwm (`Valley Lane') in the 18th century. This road once led to the start of the celebrated `Monks Trod' an ancient road across the Cambrian mountains, from the Teifi Basin to the upper Wye Valley. Its full length seems likely to have run south of the Teifi Lakes into the head of Cwm Egnant, passing down this valley and along the north side of Cwm Mwyro to Penddolfawr (the section studied here) and then on to Strata Florida.

For most of the course of the section studied, the edges of the road do not match; that is to say, the upper eastern edge has been cut into the hillside and its `hedge' mostly consists of a straggle of trees and bushes of various ages (some of a relatively old age) and a few patches of casual stone revetment. By contrast, the lower, western edge of this terraced road is now defined by a true hedge bank which has again been rebuilt in stone along stretches, particularly towards the farm at Penddolfawr. Such stretches of terraced road, the product of a `cut and fill' method of construction are visible along the moorland course of the `Monks' Trod' further east.

This feature was recorded by RCAHMW in 2006 as part of a wider study of the Troed y Rhiw area (NPRN: 405578).

Louise Barker, RCAHMW & Andrew Fleming, June 2007.

Sources:
Fleming, A. & Barker, L. 2008 Monks and Local Communities: The Late-medieval Landscape of Troed y Rhiw, Caron Uwch Clawdd, Ceredigion. Medieval Archaeology 52, 261-290