A wet wild camp in the Brecon Beacons

7/8.5.14
Walking with; Nathan

  Although my Granny has lived in the area for over twenty years my experience of walking in this area is pretty limited, although I enjoyed my trip there this time last year http://www.comewalkwithmeuk.co.uk/2013/05/south-wales-wanderings.html. We were well aware that the forecast was pretty poor so were pleasantly surprised to arrive at the remote parking spot on Gospel Pass (the highest road pass in Wales) with hints of blue sky still peeking out from the cloud. The Pass is apparently named after the 12th Century crusaders who preached and raised funds on the pass. It's a desolate spot but an iconic one within the park.
  We set off onto Twmpa or Lord Hereford's Knob and tramped across the marshy land watching the Wild Ponies and foals and crossing our fingers that the weather would continue to hold. We were looking for a protected spot to camp given the forecast and eventually came to the conclusion that although it meant some more mileage if we could cross the valley and make our way up to the Mynydd Du forest we'd be liely to be able to find a sheltered and protected spot. We passed the Capel-Y-Ffin monastery, now a riding centre, and after a short, steep switchbacked scramble made our way over to the forest where after some searching we found a patch of pine needles flat and wide enough to accommodate my tent and Nathan's bivvi! After tea we had a quick night nav before the conditions started to move towards inclemency and we retreated to our respective shelters!
   Breakfast done, tent packed and then the rain started! It stayed with us for most of the day as we made our way along the forest edge before dropping down to the valley floor and coming across the beautiful ruined abbey at Llanthony. The abbey is an abandoned Augustinian Priory founded in 1100 on the site of the ruined chapel of Wales's patron saint, St David. It's a beautiful spot and well worth a wander around. Leaving the abbey we headed up on to the Hatterall Hill ridge and followed the six odd km ridge back to Hay Bluff and eventually the car! The conditions were grim. The rain was persistent, the wind gusted brutally and continually threatened to knock us off our feet and the path was mired in bog and water. It was reminiscent of The Pennine Way, miles of boggy marsh with the real feeling of something potentially nasty, but the flagged path providing a degree of security. The Beacons weren't shown at their best in these conditions, but I've seen more than enough to justify a return visit in the not too distant future!

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South Wales wanderings

7/8.5.13
Walking with; Ruthy

Some of my earliest walking memories are of family outings to the Brecon Beacons where my Grandparents lived (and Grandmother still does). The names are evocative to me; The Sugar Loaf, The Table Mountain, The Blorenge and in my mind they have grown into epic mountain days, and so it was, that with Ruth having to visit Abergavenny for work the Wednesday after a Bank Holiday we thought we could stay with Granny in Crickhowell and I could relive a few childhood memories.
Tuesday felt as if Summer had arrived. We rolled into Hay-on-Wye in glorious sunshine, there was blossom on the trees, primroses and daffodils were still in flower and the fields were full of young lambs. Hay is the self proclaimed book capital of the world and with 30+ shops covering every conceivable specialism, it was easy to wile away a couple of hours and head back to the car with a bootfull of new reads. We headed out of Hay and onto the Offa's Dyke Path (which I am still hoping to do this year, time permitting) and had soon left the town behind for a world of forget-me-nots, celandines, goosegrass and primroses. We crossed the Dulas Brook, back into England, and the tiny hamlet of Cusop which found notoriety as the home of Herbert Rowse Armstrong, the only English solicitor ever to be hanged for murder! More country lanes lined with Cow Parsley and early bluebells took us back into Hay still bathed in beautiful sunshine.
Wednesday morning and the sunshine of the previous day had disappeared. The cloud hung low and drizzle was in the air as I emerged replete from another Full  English at The Kings Arms in Abergavenny. Undaunted I made my way through the narrow lanes and past the Sugar Loaf vineyards to the car park at Mynydd Llanwenarth where the cloud was lifting to provide spectacular views. I headed off North West and dropped into a valley below the Western ridge where I heard, and then saw, my first Cuckoo of the year. The climb up the ridge was long and blowy but undemanding and the views of the Beacons and surrounding countryside were spectacular. I now have longer legs than I did on my first ascent so it wasn't quite such an arduous adventure, but the 360 degree views from the summit are well earned and well worth the effort. It was a gentle descent back to the car park drinking in the views and skirting the edge of St Mary's Vale and once I was back I looked back at the cone like summit through the same eyes I did 30 years before and felt as if I'd had a proper adventure once more!

Mynydd Llangattwg and Craig y Cilau

8.4.12

Walking with; Ruthy

Easter Sunday and what better way to burn off the chocolate based calories than a walk up Llangattock Mountain! We parked the car near the Brecon and Monmouthshire canal and were soon walking down narrow country lanes towards the imposing gritstone escarpment of Mynydd Llangattwg or Llangattock Mountain. The area has been extensively quarried and the initial route followed the old tramlines used to bring limestone down the mountain to be put on canal boats for onward travel. After passing a couple of delightful farmhouses and a lot of bluebells and celandines we arrived at the foot of the first of two short, sharp and very steep climbs up the old tramway. Whilst it was difficult to concentrate on much except putting one foot in front of the other it was possible to see holes in the stone where the tram rails had been screwed into the rock and towards the top of the first incline were the very ruined remains of one of the old brakehouses, an office with a view! We continued our ascent up the second incline to reach the escarpment and a flat trail that followed the contours towards the fantastic natural amphitheatre of the Craig Y Cilau Nature Reserve.

The reserve sits in one of largest upland limestone cliffs in South Wales and is home to Lesser Horseshoe bats who have a winter roost in one of the caves, a species of Whitebeam that is found nowhere else in the world and the Osof Agen Allwedd cave system which for many years was considered the largest in the UK. We saw a couple of Ravens circling the crags and there was clear evidence of the cave systems everywhere. We descended from the amphitheatre following a very rocky path through woodland before emerging at Waun Ddu or Black Bog an SSSI where we saw a Wheatear and had to concentrate hard in order to keep our feet dry. There was also a Buzzard circling overhead as we climbed away from the bog and crossed the minor road into more woodland before emerging in the middle of a field full of lambing Ewes, some of them literally in the process of giving birth! Trying to cause the expectant mothers as little distress as possible we continued across the field and followed a Hawthorn edged path down through more farmland before emerging back onto the canal. All that was then required was a gentle stroll downhill past the square stone chapel to The Horseshoe Inn and a pint of "Brain's".

To view the full album please click on the link below;

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