Length: 18.0 km (11.2 mi), with options to shorten
Ascent/Descent: 657/380m
Net Walking Time: 5 hour
Toughness: 6 out of 10
09.30 Start at the Train Station, group
passes the café at the Bus Station at 09.40.
Return buses from Brynmawr: xx.57 to 17.57 (33
mins journey, Line 78) or the rare Line A3 at 13.02 or 17.31 (50
mins journey).
The Clydach, a short and fast river on the boundary of the Brecon
Beacons National Park, flows off the southern slopes of the Mynydd Llangatwg
through a wooded valley to the Usk River. For about 3 km the valley forms the
Clydach Gorge/Cwm Clydach, containing waterfalls, cascades, fast-flowing waters
and a few caves as well as some ancient beechwoods. The gorge is not only
little-visited, but – despite the presence of the A465 Heads of the Valleys
dual-carriageway, which also travels along the valley – also wild, dramatic and
unspoilt.
The valley was a centre of early industry and
remnants of limestone quarries, mines, an ironworks and several tramroad
inclines are either passed or walked along, while a dismantled railway line
provides an airy high-level walk route in the upper valley.
The steepness of the terrain and the narrow rock walls prevent a continuous
path along the gorge, but three out-and-backs along good paths into the gorge,
to waterfalls or caves, are described.
In the Lower Clydach Valley, you follow the rushing river closely through
woods, then leave the Clydach to follow the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal
for a while, before heading to Abergavenny through lush pastures with views
across the Usk Valley to the Black Mountains.
Walk Options
Take the 9.45 bus up to Brynmawr and walk the route downhill (4 out of 10).
The three out-and-back routes into the Clydach
Gorge can be omitted, they are (from west to east):
· Upper Clydach Falls and Ogof Clogwyn, 580m distance, 40m ascent;
· Devil’s Bridge and Pwll-y-Cwn, 540m distance, 70m ascent;
· Lower Clydach Falls, from 600m to 960m distance, negligible ascent.
Bus Lines A3 (Abergavenny
– Brynmawr, Mon-Sat, 3 buses a day) and 78 (Merthyr Tydfil –
Abergavenny, Mon-Sat, hourly) travel along the Clydach Valley, calling
on the A465 outside Clydach, in Clydach (not the 78), Gilwern and Govilon,
enabling shorter versions of the route.
Lunch: Picnic.
Tea: The Hobby Horse, (possibly closed on Mondays), The
Gwesty, The
Talisman (open all day, right by the bus station), Conscious Coffi
Bar.
For walk directions, maps, height profiles and gpx/kml
files click here. T=swc.371
2 comments:
2 departures last night, 1 more today, so down to n=6, one of those dropping his car high up the route, racing back to meet us on the Mon & Brec near Gilwern. The meadows up the Usk Valley were hard work indeed, but not due to mud or standing water, but rather for the icy wind blasting in our faces. Up to Gilwern and onto the canal towpath, then dropping down to the Clydach riverside path. The lower valley had plenty of blue bluebells (we had also seen loads of white ones earlier), but were vastly outperformed by the wild garlic. A sea of it and much of it in flower, a tremendous stretch. Soon we passed a waterfall or two, cascades and rapids as well, then crossed the A465 on a fancy corten steel footbridge.
We then did the out-and-backs 1 and 2 to the waterfalls, but not the third. Why not?
After having started in sunshine and only enduring a few minutes worth of rain up to then, a first proper shower had started just before our lunche stop at the Devil's Bridge. The driver soon after left, taking 1 walker with him, and the rain changed to sleet then hail then back to rain, followed by some sunshine.
The remaining 4 got to Brynmawr at 14.30, which just left time for a drink at The Talisman before the 14.57 bus. W=sun-with-spots-of-rain-then-rain-sleet-hail-then-sun
Hi Thomas
Thank you very much for organising another great trip to the Brecon Beacons and to all of you for your great company.
Donal
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