Penarth’s clifftops and seafront came alive with ancient ritual and modern celebration last Sunday as the town marked Hen Galan, the traditional Old Welsh New Year, with its annual Penrolio and Mari Lwyd festivities.
The event blended deep-rooted Welsh folklore with contemporary community spirit, featuring a giant rolling head, mid-winter sea swimming, a silent disco on the beach and the appearance of the Mari Lwyd.
A large crowd gathered on the clifftops to hear a retelling of stories from the Mabinogion, focusing on the Welsh giant Bendigeidfran. According to legend, after battle the giant’s head was cut off, yet continued to live on for decades, hosting feasts and offering friendship.
Just after 1pm, the procession set off from the clifftops, led by the Mari Lwyd — the traditional horse’s skull on a pole draped in a white sheet and a giant wicker head of Bendigeidfran. Children rolled the head down the hillside to the beach while singing the Penrolio song: “Dyn ni wedi rolio pen Bendigeidfran, rolio i Lundain!”
This year’s Bendigeidfran head was created by Penarth-based maker Lewis Prosser.
On reaching the seafront, the procession was welcomed by The Dawnstalkers, Penarth’s early-morning sea-swimming group. The group hosted an open-air silent disco beside their public sauna project, handing out headphones as revellers danced on the beach. Dawnstalkers regulars Grant and Heather then carried the giant’s head into the sea for a symbolic January swim.
Festivities continued along the seafront as the Mari Lwyd visited local venues including Romeo’s Italian Restaurant, Sid’s Restaurant and Bar and Coffee Co, singing traditional verses asking for hospitality and wishing staff and diners a happy New Year.
The procession ended at Penarth Pier Pavilion, where the traditional pwnco took place playful Welsh-language verses sung back and forth between the Mari Lwyd party and those inside. After spirited resistance, the Mari Lwyd was finally admitted for further singing and refreshments.
The celebration was led by singer Richard Parry, who has been involved in Mari Lwyd traditions since creating a procession at Amgueddfa Cymru in 2015.
Richard said, “In the Mari Lwyd celebration Wales holds a very deep source of cultural knowledge about hospitality and hosting. The horse goes, with a band of singers, from door to door looking for warmth, food, song and friendship. Although the precise history is unclear and cloudy, like a misty Welsh winter’s night, what is clear today is that the heart of the Mari Lwyd is about people negotiating genuine hospitality through singing, teasing and the love of language. There are lots of teasing jokes, but the door opens to warmth, friendship and singing. This tells us something about where Wales has come from, and how it wants to live. Combined with the Penrolio, where we roll Bendigeidfran’s head, this mid-winter annual gathering is a celebration of friendship and community. The giant Bendigeidfran is described as being the best friend that you could ever hope for. We need people like that today in our towns and villages, and symbols like the Mari Lwyd who take us in confidence to our neighbour’s doors for food and celebration.”
Chair of Penarth Civic Society, Dan Brown said, “2026 is being promoted across the town as “Penarth Year of Community Connections and Collaborations” so events like this where communities come together are important. We’re pleased how well attended this year’s Penrolio and Mari Lwyd has been, and with the lovely spirit of community that it brings to the town life.”
Next year’s Penrolio and Mari Lwyd celebration will take place on Sunday, January 10, 2027.
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