Length: 24.7 km (15.4 mi) [shorter and longer walks possible]
Ascent/Descent: 871/836m
Net Walking Time: ca. 6 ½ hours
Toughness: 8 out of 10
09.15 Hereford Bus (Line 23) from Abergavenny Bus
Station Stand 4, arrives Penbidwal before Pandy Inn 09.29.
Return
buses from Llanvihangel Crucorney, opp. Skirrid Inn: 17.01, 19.01.
This route at the south easterly end of the Black Mountains area in the
Brecon Beacons National Park starts with a steep ascent onto an Iron Age
hillfort site and on to Hatterrall Hill, and then follows Offa’s Dyke Path and
the Beacons Way across Hatterrall Hill and the largely heathery – but in parts
boggy – open moorland of the dramatic Hatterrall Ridge with fine panoramic
views from this natural boundary of a ridge up along the wild, lonely and
beautiful Vale of Ewyas (the valley of the River Honddu and the easternmost
valley of The Black Mountains) and across the South Wales mountain ranges to
the west, and over the plains of the Welsh/English borderlands to the east, on
a good day all the way to The Cotswolds and the Malvern Hills.
A dramatic descent at the start of the return leads down into the Vale of Ewyas with a bird’s eye view of the fascinating ruins of Llanthony Priory, the remnants of one of Wales’s great medieval buildings, and to lunch at its cellar bar or a nearby pub.
The return down the glacial valley between steep ridges offers fantastic views to the Sugar Loaf and Skirrid mountains near Abergavenny, some old oak woodlands, river meadows and plenty of waterways streaming down the hillsides. A memorable highlight is Cwmyoy village, both for the ascent of the superb viewpoint of a crag above the village and for the renowned crooked church, bent and twisted due to the still active landslide on which it was built.
A Shortcut just before lunch cuts 3.2
km/2.0 mi and 121m ascent.
Another Shortcut cuts the climb up the hill
looming over Cwmyoy village, cutting 740m and 43m ascent.
A Shortcut mid-afternoon cuts 360m
and 63m ascent.
An Extension over the superb viewpoint of Twyn-y-Gaer
(hillfort) adds 2.0 km/1.2 mi and 196m ascent.
Lunch in Llanthony: Llanthony
Priory Hotel Cellar Bar (open all day, food 12.00-14.00, 12.5
km/7.8 mi into the walk); The Half Moon Inn
(13.0 km/8.1 mi into the walk); Llanthony Treats (13.1 km/8.1 mi into the
walk).
Tea: The Queen’s Head
in Cwmyoy, (2.4 km/1.5 mi from the end of the walk); The Skirrid Mountain
Inn in Llanvihangel Crucorney, opposite the bus stop.
Open all day. Wales’s oldest Inn.
For summary, walk directions, map, height
profile, photos and gpx/kml files click here. T=swc.335
1 comment:
Compared to yesterday, we had 2 departures, 1 arrival, 2 taking a rest day and 1 missing the bus, ie n=8 on the walk.
We skipped the first muddy field by following a road around it and slowly ascended the ridge. The higher we got, the more it became clear that the highest bits were strafed by fast moving clouds, driven by a strong wind. For about 20 to 30 minutes, the Upper Vale of Ewyas was bathed in sunshine though which we could see under the firm band of cloud nearer to us, very beautiful Indeed. As we neared the highest point of the route, we lost what views we had had and were in the clouds, but they were not bearing enough moisture to make it feel like rain or even just drizzle.
There had been quite some traffic of walkers on the ridge path, almost as many as wild ponies up there. We eventually turned left for the descent to Llanthony Priory, quickly breaking out of the clouds with the valley now steeply below. Quite magical this. En route to the priory we encountered loads more walkers and later plenty more, often in batches. It transpired that our route was (in reverse) part of the LDWA Challenge Event: they had a 30 mile loop on (our route but from/to Abergavenny) and a more southerly 20 mile loop, to combine for their 50 mile challenge. Lunch in the cellar bar, after which the sun had taken over and lotion needed to be applied.
The wettest 18 months in history, combined with Old Red Sandstone topsoil and livestock in pastures make for a challenging ground for walking, as we found in the many pastures to come. This was partly hard work, with the plentiful stream crossings offering opportunities to temporarily get rid of the mud though.
The skies were heavy with brooding clouds again as we scaled the crag above Cwmyoy for some splendid views, after which the leaning and bent church was studied in detail.
We were aware by now that we had a fighting chance to catch the 17.01 bus, especially if we followed the valley road rather than going through more pastures, so that's what we did. Almost all of us made the bus, helped by a slight delay.
W=low-clouds-with-strong-wind-then-sunny-then-cloudy-again
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