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First World War Practice Trenches, Penally Range is a post-medieval military earthwork constructed during the First World War on the Pembrokeshire peninsula in Wales. The trenches were dug into terrain underlain by Dinantian limestone and associated sandstone and argillaceous rocks, creating defensive lines across the challenging local geology. These practice trenches served a critical function in training troops for the conditions they would face in the Western Front, allowing soldiers to develop skills in trench warfare, fortification and movement under fire before deployment to France and Belgium.
The site occupies a significant defensive position on Penally Range, commanding views across the surrounding landscape. The hard limestone bedrock and softer sedimentary layers would have presented substantial difficulties for the work parties tasked with constructing the entrenchments, requiring considerable labour and engineering effort to achieve the necessary depth and stability.
The trenches remain substantially visible today as linear earthwork scars across the moorland. They are protected as a scheduled monument by Cadw, the Welsh heritage service, and represent an important survival of Britain's military infrastructure from the Great War. The site offers insight into the practical preparation of soldiers and the demands of trench construction in difficult terrain.
First World War Practice Trenches, Penally Range is a scheduled monument protected by Cadw under reference PE483. View the official record →
First World War Practice Trenches, Penally Range is a post-medieval military earthwork constructed during the First World War on the Pembrokeshire peninsula in Wales. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Cadw under reference PE483.
First World War Practice Trenches, Penally Range dates from the post medieval/modern period, and is classified as a practice trench. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
First World War Practice Trenches, Penally Range is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Cadw — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Wales. The official designation reference is PE483.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Sculptured Stone Cross in Church (0.8 km), Whitewell (1.9 km), The Old Palace, Lydstep (2.6 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 13 strands of First World War Practice Trenches, Penally Range's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
First World War Practice Trenches, Penally Range stands on Dinantian Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Mississippian. The rock here is limestone with subordinate sandstone and argillaceous rocks.