Walking the short version of the full walk today…
Length: 16.5 km (10.3 mi), with options to shorten or
lengthen
Ascent/Descent: 741m
Net Walking Time: ca. 5 hours
Toughness: 6 out of 10
Meet at 09.30 at Crickhowell Square Bus Stop
Return to London:
Buses from Crickhowell to Abergavenny: 14.42,
16.42, 18.06, 18.54 and 20.44 (15 mins journey plus
10 mins walk).
Train Connections to London with those buses: 16.06, 18.04, 18.36, 20.40 and 21.08
(with some luck). There is a pub at Abergavenny Station.
From the centre of the rightly popular town of Crickhowell, within
minutes you rise up steeply (with an 12% average gradient) for 3 km – mainly
through pastures – to the excellent viewpoint that is the eponymous Iron Age
hillfort site of Crug Hywel (or Table Mountain), which gives its name to
the town and towers above the Usk Valley. You ascend further up the flank of
the main mountain range above the town to Pen Cerrig-calch, the first of
three high tops along the ridge. Continue to the slightly higher second top, Pen
Allt-mawr, where we leave the main walk’s route and return along the
westerly escarpment with very fine views, off the mountain down the Darren nose,
before dropping down to town through the ancient woodland of the Cwm Cumbeth,
with the bubbling Cumbeth Brook never far away. The route finishes through the
heart of Crickhowell past most of its tea options.
Walk Options:
A Very Short Walk leads back down to town from the
Table Mountain, on a westerly loop along the Beacons Way and down the wooded
Cwm Cumbeth (7.5 km/4.6 mi, 389m ascent, 4/10).
A Short Walk leads in a westerly loop from either Pen
Cerrig-calch and down the lower part of the wooded Cwm Cumbeth (11.5 km/7.2 mi,
658m ascent, 5/10).
Longer Walks – check the webpage and the pdf for the Main Walk
and Extensions of it.
Lunch: Picnic.
Tea: Plenty of options in
Crickhowell, see the pdf for details.
For summary, walk directions, map, height
profile, photos and gpx/kml files click here.
#2026-09-28T09:30 t=swc.333.a
2 comments:
1 still ill and departing early unplanned, plus 2 others departing early planned, i.e. n=7 on the walk. We got up to Table Mountain just after 11, in glorious sunshine, and topped out at Pen Cerrig-calch. Our lunch stop was at Pen Allt-Mawr, in the storm shelter (there was a chilly breeze about), just after noon. 1 had already sped ahead though, intent on walking the XXL version (31.5 km with 1127m ascent).
We then followed the rim of the escarpment back to the Darren and grass paths through the gorse and bracken-filled slopes then through pastures back to Crick. There for 15.00, currently awaiting the 16.42 to AberG.
[1 punter left his walking poles at the lunch spot and had to walk back when he realised, 25 minutes extra walking; the XXL walker is still out of course]
W=sunny-start-then-with-some-clouds
Forgot to mention that, after Saturday, today again we encountered a group of those modern day outdoor hooligans: e-mountain bikers. On the ridge between the 2 Pens, many miles away from any bridleway or byway, on an engineered hardcore path that they and their brethren will ruin in no time.
They knew they shouldn't be there, but their motto was "we don't care" (expressed in not so friendly language when challenged).
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