Black Mountains part 2
I really have been slipping up on these blogs. When I started them I was writing an entry every day but that didn't last long. Now I'm having difficulty just finishing the trip report from my walking weekend in the Black Mountains last month. So let's try and get it done with the second days walk. I had been staying at the Capel-y-Ffin youth hostel and decided that my walk on this day would start and finish from this hostel. (That is something I'd never done before in all my previous walking in the Black Mountains. Actually I'd never stayed more than one day at a time there.) So on the crisp Saturday morning I took the footpath that goes through the hostel, which I've never actually taken before, passing the stables of the Black Mountains Holidays horse riding centre I rounded the hostel and emerged onto the hillside. Turning left I headed up the hill to join the bridle path that skirts the side of Darren Lwyd. Rounding the end of the hill I descended the slope past Pen-y-Maes and down onto the road. A short walk took me to Capel-y-Ffin, which I passed turning right off the road at the first farm heading up the track to Y Fferm. There were no footpath signs anywhere around here and I was unsure whether I would soon be hearing from an irate farmer, but my map did indicate a path, even if my map is now rather old.
Once out on open country I headed straight up the hillside turning slightly right when the hill steepened climbing up to join the bridle path. This is the path I had taken the day before and with hindsight I wished I had joined that path at it's start at The Grange. The alternative route was muddier and steeper, but that's life! Climbing the path I found that this day was going to prove much colder than the previous for the mud underfoot was mostly still frozen solid. Passing over the summit of the path on top of the ridge I descended into the Grwyne Fawr valley plunging into the Mynydd Du Forest. On reaching the valley road I crossed the river over a footbridge and climbed the hillside through the forest on the opposite side. Here I admit I made a mistake (another one!). I wanted to walk up Pen y Gadair Fawr and had intended on walking up the hill to the north of the forest. The best way would have been to stay in the forest and follow the tracks up the hillside, but I didn't do that. When I saw what I was doing I descended the steep hill back to the river, emerging from the forest and began the long tedious climb up the hill. If I ever do this walk again I'll have to try staying on the forest track.
The summit of Pen y Gadair Fawr was very cold and windy, such was the whole day, but at least it has a proper top unlike Waun Fach. Speaking of which that was where I headed to next. Crossing the quagmire to Waun Fach was fun since it was all frozen on the surface but if you got the wrong bit of frozen mud your foot went straight through. The summit of Waun Fach itself is also infamous for being a bit of a mud pit. The point on the plateau that most people take to be the summit is a big lump of rock surrounded by a huge mud pool. The first time I was up here was at Easter time in 2002 and I was unable to get to the rock because of the mud. The next time was after the hot summer later that year and the mud was by now bone-dry so I was able to reach the rock. This time I was also able to reach the rock but this time because the mud was frozen. A rather depressing hill, Waun Fach is much less interesting than Pen y Gadair Fawr but it's a hill that just happens to be the highest point in the Black Mountains.
Descending north I passed over Pen y Manllwyn and traversed the col over a wire fence. I was now on the northern extremities of the Black Mountains looking out over the wide Wye Valley. The views were stunning but the wind was also very strong and would get stronger. Passing the trig point on Rhos Dirion I noticed that the ice of earlier in the day was melting. It was convenient while it lasted for crossing the bog fields near Waun Fach. Traversing the next wide col I ascended Lord Hereford's Knob or as I prefer to call it, Twmpa. On my very first day in the Black Mountains all those years ago I went to the top of this hill with it's stunning views across the Wye Valley. I have returned many times since and each time my breath has been taken away by the views. I was now in very familiar territory as I have walked in this area many times .
Descending the path from Twmpa I felt like I was in my element; it was such a joy. The path is a little eroded in places but it still brought back the memories of all those previous times in the Black Mountains. The col is known as the Gospel Pass and has a road passing through it with a car park that I have used many times in the past. Ahead of me was the rising bulk of Hay Bluff, a prominent feature that can be seen from a long way off. It was quite a battle getting to the top, but it's not steep, it was the severity of the wind that was making it difficult. Eventually I reached the trig point and headed south towards the Offa's Dyke path. Immediately the wind dropped as I moved away from the edge of the bluff; away from the exposed edge the wind was much more agreeable. The rest of the walk was now simply a pleasure; it was an easy stroll along the Offa's Dyke path on a section that I have walked many times before including on that first time in the Black Mountains.
When I reached the crossing of paths where I'd joined the Offa's Dyke path the day before I turned right and started descending the hillside on the same path I'd taken then. I was now walking down my favourite path back to Capel y Ffin in failing light as the day was coming to it's early February end. This path is always a pleasure and I don't know when I'll be walking on it again so it was with some regret when I reached Capel y Ffin and said goodbye to the "End of the Rainbow". The ideal start and finish point for this walk had been Capel y Ffin but I had started it from the hostel which was a couple of miles up the road so with aching limbs I struggled up the hill onto the bridle path and back to the hostel.
It had been a very pleasurable two days of walking in an area that contained a lot of memories for me. I now had one more day in the area but that would not be spent walking, I spent it in Hay-on-Wye, the Town of Books, somewhere I just have to visit at least once a year, if not twice. Even though I don't walk in this area much these days I still have to visit Hay-on-Wye, so maybe I might return to the Black Mountains again soon. I hope so.
Once out on open country I headed straight up the hillside turning slightly right when the hill steepened climbing up to join the bridle path. This is the path I had taken the day before and with hindsight I wished I had joined that path at it's start at The Grange. The alternative route was muddier and steeper, but that's life! Climbing the path I found that this day was going to prove much colder than the previous for the mud underfoot was mostly still frozen solid. Passing over the summit of the path on top of the ridge I descended into the Grwyne Fawr valley plunging into the Mynydd Du Forest. On reaching the valley road I crossed the river over a footbridge and climbed the hillside through the forest on the opposite side. Here I admit I made a mistake (another one!). I wanted to walk up Pen y Gadair Fawr and had intended on walking up the hill to the north of the forest. The best way would have been to stay in the forest and follow the tracks up the hillside, but I didn't do that. When I saw what I was doing I descended the steep hill back to the river, emerging from the forest and began the long tedious climb up the hill. If I ever do this walk again I'll have to try staying on the forest track.
The summit of Pen y Gadair Fawr was very cold and windy, such was the whole day, but at least it has a proper top unlike Waun Fach. Speaking of which that was where I headed to next. Crossing the quagmire to Waun Fach was fun since it was all frozen on the surface but if you got the wrong bit of frozen mud your foot went straight through. The summit of Waun Fach itself is also infamous for being a bit of a mud pit. The point on the plateau that most people take to be the summit is a big lump of rock surrounded by a huge mud pool. The first time I was up here was at Easter time in 2002 and I was unable to get to the rock because of the mud. The next time was after the hot summer later that year and the mud was by now bone-dry so I was able to reach the rock. This time I was also able to reach the rock but this time because the mud was frozen. A rather depressing hill, Waun Fach is much less interesting than Pen y Gadair Fawr but it's a hill that just happens to be the highest point in the Black Mountains.
Descending north I passed over Pen y Manllwyn and traversed the col over a wire fence. I was now on the northern extremities of the Black Mountains looking out over the wide Wye Valley. The views were stunning but the wind was also very strong and would get stronger. Passing the trig point on Rhos Dirion I noticed that the ice of earlier in the day was melting. It was convenient while it lasted for crossing the bog fields near Waun Fach. Traversing the next wide col I ascended Lord Hereford's Knob or as I prefer to call it, Twmpa. On my very first day in the Black Mountains all those years ago I went to the top of this hill with it's stunning views across the Wye Valley. I have returned many times since and each time my breath has been taken away by the views. I was now in very familiar territory as I have walked in this area many times .
Descending the path from Twmpa I felt like I was in my element; it was such a joy. The path is a little eroded in places but it still brought back the memories of all those previous times in the Black Mountains. The col is known as the Gospel Pass and has a road passing through it with a car park that I have used many times in the past. Ahead of me was the rising bulk of Hay Bluff, a prominent feature that can be seen from a long way off. It was quite a battle getting to the top, but it's not steep, it was the severity of the wind that was making it difficult. Eventually I reached the trig point and headed south towards the Offa's Dyke path. Immediately the wind dropped as I moved away from the edge of the bluff; away from the exposed edge the wind was much more agreeable. The rest of the walk was now simply a pleasure; it was an easy stroll along the Offa's Dyke path on a section that I have walked many times before including on that first time in the Black Mountains.
When I reached the crossing of paths where I'd joined the Offa's Dyke path the day before I turned right and started descending the hillside on the same path I'd taken then. I was now walking down my favourite path back to Capel y Ffin in failing light as the day was coming to it's early February end. This path is always a pleasure and I don't know when I'll be walking on it again so it was with some regret when I reached Capel y Ffin and said goodbye to the "End of the Rainbow". The ideal start and finish point for this walk had been Capel y Ffin but I had started it from the hostel which was a couple of miles up the road so with aching limbs I struggled up the hill onto the bridle path and back to the hostel.
It had been a very pleasurable two days of walking in an area that contained a lot of memories for me. I now had one more day in the area but that would not be spent walking, I spent it in Hay-on-Wye, the Town of Books, somewhere I just have to visit at least once a year, if not twice. Even though I don't walk in this area much these days I still have to visit Hay-on-Wye, so maybe I might return to the Black Mountains again soon. I hope so.
posted by David Keates at 10:43 am
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home