The Black Mountains
August 2000
Having enjoyed in 1999 a day on Tryfan and the
Glyders we all fancied another walk with a bit of
"height". We would have loved to pay another visit
to Snowdonia but it would have been a very long day
for all of us, but especially Mick who is always
willing to act as chauffeur. So we decided a trip
to Crickhowell and the Black Mountains would be an
acceptable alternative. It would also be an hour or
so quicker to reach than the mountains of North
Wales.
So bright and early Mick,
Larry, Ray, Peter and I left leafy
Warwickshire for the moorland and rocky tops
of the Black Mountains. As usual Mick made
good time and within 2 hours we had arrived in
Crickhowell, parked and were seated in the
local bakery/café for pre-walk sustenance,
which was very acceptable, and finalised plans
for the day. Larry, Peter and Ray had all
completed a challenge walk in this area so
they were quite knowledgeable of the terrain,
so I was hoping for any easy day
navigating.Toiling up"Table Mountain".
Having returned to the
"Mick Mobile" for rucksacks etc. we walked
north to the first "hill" called Crug Hywel,
which is probably better known as Table
Mountain. If anyone has travelled along the
A40 between Abergavenny and Crickhowell they
are likely to have seen this flat top
"mountain" on their right a mile or two before
reaching Crickhowell.
Although it was a "pull" up the hill I did not find it too difficult, as I was aided by my two walking poles, which helped to make the ascent easier. However, Table Mountain is
only a subsidiary top to
the main peak of this ridge, Pen Cerrg-calch,
which at 2299 feet high is the 6th highest
peak in the Black Mountains Range. Although it
may not seem that high it certainly made me
feel a little breathless by the time I reached
the top and rested for mid morning
refreshments, water and a Snickers. As we
looked south clouds, that had been threatening
all morning, moved slowly north-east and we
all hoped that they would give us a "wide
berth" as we all preferred not to have to use
our wet weather gear. Fortunately the clouds
seemed to have responded to our pleas and
by-passed us as we admired the scenery from
the mountain top. The views were superb with
the valley of the River Usk to the south and
to the east, north and west more valleys with
mountains ascending from them.
It really was beautiful,
if you enjoy such breathtaking views. However,
we could not linger here too long. We intended
to continue north-west for about ½ a mile
before turning north to Pen Alltr-mawr which
at 2119 feet high would be the northern most
point of our trek.
Walking along the eastern side of the ridge between these two high points the good views continued and Larry, Peter and Ray gave Mick and me more details of the Black Mountain Roundabout Challenge Walk. However, in view of the "ups" I’m inclined to pass on this challenge.
On reaching Pen
Alltr-mawr we lingered awhile taking in the
last views from our lofty position before
descending south west off the mountain to the
next stop, the public house at Cwmdu. However,
before getting there we had a very tricky
descent with a boulder field across our route.
Yet again I was pleased to have the extra
stability of the walking poles. Mick and Peter
also had theirs and all three of us found it
easier than both Ray and Larry who were minus
these aids. Because of this we took different
routes of the mountain but all met up together
about ¼ mile or so from the hostelry where we
had lunch.
When we arrived at the
pub there was only one other customer plus the
publican, who acted as both barman and cook.
However, he was very efficient and within a
very short time not only had we savoured pints
of beer but steak and kidney pies with all the
trimmings were on plates in front of us;
except for Peter who is a vegetarian. However,
he was obviously pleased with the quality of
the non-meat feast he received. The only
problem now, having eaten and supped, was
moving from the cosiness of the bar to our
next objective, the village of Bwlch located a
mile or so away on the A40.
The reason for visiting
Bwlch was because Larry and Peter had stayed
there when they had taken part in the Black
Mountain Roundabout Challenge Walk. Besides
enjoying the walk they, especially Larry, had
enjoyed the two hostelries located in the
village, and Larry thought that one of them
might be open all afternoon. So without
further ado we said farewell to mine host and
were soon heading westwards, and a little bit
to the south, to Bwlch. Alas, Larry was out of
luck. Both pubs were closed. So we headed
south along the busy A40 and then the B4560,
‘twas downhill all the way, to the River Usk.
We had originally intended to cross the river and continue to the Mommouthshire and Brecon Canal and follow this eastward back to Crickhowell. However, the river and path on the south bank of the Usk looked interesting so we decided to
follow this and meet up
with the canal a mile or so further on.
Unlikely as it may seem I was leading the way
on this stretch. As I had my walking poles I
was the "stinging nettle chopper downer in
chief" which was a very important task as most
of us were in shorts. I was merrily chopping
down the stinging vegetation when behind I
heard a couple of shouts. It seemed my
excessive chopping had disturbed the local
insect population and in their annoyance had
decided to have nibbles at both Ray and Mick.
In fact nibble is an understatement. A couple
of days later I saw Ray’s wound and, although
Larry and I are not medical experts, we
thought, from the size and the inflammation,
it could have been made by a hornet or a wasp
with a very high calibre sting. I still get
the blame for disturbing the vegetation.
Soon after this we saw a
beautiful heron on a rock in the river. Very
impressive and almost made up for the
itchiness Ray and Mick were enduring. After
this we left the river and via a lane strolled
to the canal, which we followed for three to
four miles. The canal banks were generally
overgrown, although the towpath was in good
order, and the "going" was a lot easier than
walking by the Usk. In fact it felt like
walking along a river. This was further
enhanced by the fact that we did not pass one
lock and having looked at the map of the area
it looks as if the stretch, all the way to
Abergavenny and even beyond is devoid of
locks. However, because of the problems that
this
could cause if the canal
needed draining, at a number of bridges, where
the canal narrowed, there were vertical slots
in the banks, opposite to each other, and
nearby planks that could be slotted in to make
temporary dams if the need arose. Without them
it would have been a huge task to empty 10
miles plus of canal if a repair was required,
and a huge task to refill afterwards.
This part of the walk was a little bit of a route march. Canal towpaths are great for walking fast along and in an hour or so we were back in Crickhowell, and back to the car for our journey home. I estimated, with a little help from the GPS, that we had walked about 17 miles. Needless to say a stop was made on the way home so Larry could replenish his internal liquid levels, which he did without too much encouragement.
Although it was a "pull" up the hill I did not find it too difficult, as I was aided by my two walking poles, which helped to make the ascent easier. However, Table Mountain is
Walking along the eastern side of the ridge between these two high points the good views continued and Larry, Peter and Ray gave Mick and me more details of the Black Mountain Roundabout Challenge Walk. However, in view of the "ups" I’m inclined to pass on this challenge.
We had originally intended to cross the river and continue to the Mommouthshire and Brecon Canal and follow this eastward back to Crickhowell. However, the river and path on the south bank of the Usk looked interesting so we decided to
This part of the walk was a little bit of a route march. Canal towpaths are great for walking fast along and in an hour or so we were back in Crickhowell, and back to the car for our journey home. I estimated, with a little help from the GPS, that we had walked about 17 miles. Needless to say a stop was made on the way home so Larry could replenish his internal liquid levels, which he did without too much encouragement.