Thursday, 24 July 2025

Cambrian Way rerun: Chartist Cave to the Brecon Beacons Youth Hostel

Tuesday 20th May 2025

Before this walk I spent the night in the Chartist Cave, Ogof Fawr, which was not a pleasant experience as I had trouble sleeping and made me want to reduce the nights I was sleeping out as I prefer to sleep in a proper bed. It was a fabulous location and I spent a lovely evening there in warm, sunny weather and the following morning it was soon just as warm when I set off along the Cambrian Way again trying to avoid my mistakes of last year when I first attempted to do the trail. However, soon after the Chartist Cave the Cambrian Way comes off the clear path and it is difficult to keep precisely to the sketchy paths that cross the moorland, passing Garn Fawr cairn and heading west. Eventually I successfully crossed the moor and onto a wide quarry road where I turned right and followed it to the edge of a conifer plantation where a track skirts the wood with many fallen trees blocking my way. I was feeling very tired and in need of a drink, so when I reached a stream I stopped to have a rest and a long drink of water while gazing at the calming views ahead of meinto the valley of Dyffryn Crawnon while behind me were the exposed rocks of Cwar yr Hendre limestone quarry. Last year the weather had been poor at this point with low cloud but now I enjoyed blue skies and warm sunshine.

After a long rest I set off again beside the stream between a field and the quarry until I eventually emerged onto pathless grassland where navigation had been difficult last year due to low cloud and this year, despite much better weather, I still had difficulty keeping to the trail until I surmounted a rise and had a view across the head of Cwm Callan of a faint path, merely an indentation in the grass, heading towards the ridge west of Bryniau Gleision. A tedious, exhausting slog across the grassy hillside brought me onto the ridge that undulated with views to my right into Glyn Collwn and down Taybont Reservoir over terrain that was no better than what I had seen the year before due to scarring from off-road vehicles. I ploughed on passing the trig point on Pant y Creigiau and steeply down to the Torpantau Pass where I crossed a road and headed up a path that had been very wet last year, but was now dry and eventually brought me to the Nant Bwrefwr and the clear path of the Beacons Way. The path uphill was torture in the hot weather and my weakened state, sweating buckets and struggling to keep going, so when the gradient finally, mercifully eased I stopped to have my lunch. The weather from this point on cooled as clouds began to build overhead, which made my pictures less spectacular, but made walking easier for me. When I set off again I followed the eastern edge of Craig y Fan Ddu until upon reaching Blaen Caerfanell I turned left onto a sketchier path that led me across the hilltop to a cairn and then turned north until on the edge of the escarpment awesome views were suddenly revealed down Cwm Oergwm. 


Sunnier weather away from the hills and dappled sunshine in the valley made this a stunning sight that had me gazing in awe, while taking many pictures until eventually I turned towards the Brecon Beacons where dark clouds lingered above Pen y Fan. Slowly, I made my way around the escarpment edge heading towards Fan y Big, however, the Cambrian Way avoids the top, which I was more than happy to do, crossing the slopes on a gradual descent to reach Bwlch ar y Fan. The Cambrian Way now climbs Cribyn, which I did last year, but now I elected to follow the Beacons Way around the southern slopes slowly climbing to the col and beginning the ascent of Pen y Fan. I took my time on this, stopping frequently for a rest while the dark clouds above me dropped their rain. The cloud cover and light rain made this climb much easier than it would have been if the hot weather had persisted, to which I was thankful, but it didn’t seem to have had any effect on the large numbers of people who are attracted to this particular mountain for no apparent reason. I didn’t stop on Pen y Fan, but kept going to the neighbouring top of Corn Du and down the other side, ignoring the Cambrian Way’s diversion to the Tommy Jones obelisk by keeping to the main path that descends the broad grassy slope that eventually led me down to the Storey Arms. 


On the descent I reflected that it would be a while before I climbed anything higher than Pen y Fan and was astonished when I tried to work out when that would be. The Cambrian Mountains have nothing higher so I would have to wait until I entered Eryri, that is Snowdonia, and Cadair Idris, which is just seven metres higher. However, I had a lot of walking ahead of me before I would get that far, so it would not be for another ten days but, in fact, bad weather intervened when I got there so I didn’t do Cadair Idris, which means I didn’t climb a mountain that is higher than Pen y Fan until Yr Wyddfa, better known as Snowdon, more than two weeks later. This left me feeling happy for being tired as I had clearly just climbed a major obstacle on the Cambrian Way and it was all going to be relatively easier for the next couple of weeks. At the Storey Arms I turned right to follow the Taff Trail along a track that gradually descended into Glyn Tarell until I eventually reached the Brecon Beacons Youth Hostel. This was a very tiring day, which had started with my being very tired, so I never had a chance. Last year I had walked even further and even that was less than the recommended length of this stage, which is probably the most strenuous of the whole trail. I had gone to excessive lengths to prepare for the Cambrian Way this year after my experiences last year, so I was worried that it didn’t seem to have helped. On my first two days on the Cambrian Way I was excited to be on the trail with almost three more weeks of this, but the next two days had proven to be extremely strenuous and knocked my enthusiasm, so I was now thinking, “Not another two and a half weeks of this!”

Thursday, 17 July 2025

Cambrian Way rerun: Blaenavon to Chartist Cave

Monday 19th May 2025

After two days on the Cambrian Way covering much longer distances than recommended I was feeling very tired, however, things would now get even tougher. On those two days I had enjoyed the luxury of walking with a light rucksack while returning to my accommodation in Newport every night, but now I left Newport behind and with all my camping gear on my back I caught a bus to Blaenavon and set off up the hill to the Foxhunter car park to rejoin the Cambrian Way. From there, I made my way along a good path across gentle gradients and soon I was at the rocky cap, adorned with a trig point that sits at the top of Blorenge. The day had started overcast but the clouds were now beginning to clear and reveal the same fabulous weather that I had enjoyed on the previous two days. When I was on Blorenge last year, on my first attempt at the Cambrian Way, the weather had been much worse with low cloud, soon turning to rain and little or no view, but now I had great views in all directions, most strikingly up the Usk Valley, while the distinctive top of Sugar Loaf lurked on the other side. On the edge of the escarpment the town of Abergavenny was revealed with the peculiarly shaped hill of the Skirrid, Ysgyryd Fawr, beyond, while the Black Mountains in the distance hid in the haze. The official route of the Cambrian Way descends the escarpment steeply down the bracken-covered north-eastern slopes, but my old knees and heavy rucksack encouraged me to take an easier descent south until I reached a track that led me through gorgeous woodland to the Punchbowl, a fabulous tree-lined cirque on the side of the hill where I stopped for lunch sitting beside the lake.


After eating I continued along the path climbing out of the bowl to meet the Cambrian Way and then turned right down Cwm Craf past a bank of small bluebells that gazed across the valley at the Sugar Loaf. The descent continued through a wooded dell to the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal where the path continues to descend through a tunnel underneath the canal and some buildings. The Cambrian Way now crosses the River Usk and enters Abergavenny to end the third stage before setting off into the Black Mountains on the fourth stage and then emerges back out again on the fifth stage just a few miles up the Usk Valley. I did those two stages of the Cambrian Way last year so, although I have great affection for the Black Mountains having been walking over them for over twenty-five years, I had no problem with missing out those stages this time. If you look at the route of the Cambrian Way across Wales the loop through the Black Mountains seems unnecessary and those two days I had just saved will be better spent later in the trail to have a rest. After walking through the tunnel I turned left onto the canal to walk along the towpath for a pleasant walk in the dappled sunshine under the trees that lined the canal. 


Far sooner than expected I came away from the canal onto a quiet road slowly climbing the hillside under a hot sun until mercifully I finally reached the top of the road where I turned right to follow the contour around the side of the hill with great views across the valley over the town of Crickhowell to the Black Mountains beyond. I was reminded of the route I should have taken on the Cambrian Way into the Black Mountains over Sugar Loaf and out again over Table Mountain, although I was glad that I had missed out the ridiculously steep climb that the Cambrian Way takes up to this terraced path. The road I did take up may have been tiring, but it was nothing like as bad as the path I should have taken. After being rejoined by the Cambrian Way my path deteriorated as I skirted around the side of the hill with mesmerising views ahead of me of the limestones cliffs of Craig y Cilau that loomed to my left while the hawthorn bushes covering the slopes to my right were filled with white flowers. Where the path turned right around the hillside were many small openings into the hills where a maze of subterranean passages can be explored by those properly equipped and with the necessary experience. Last year I had a look into the mouth of some of these, but I was unable to find the main entrance into Eglwys Faen, so this year I had done some research and now I was able to find it and venture into its dark interior, but I didn’t go far into the main chamber, preferring to just gaze in wonder at the unexplored depths.


Returning outside where it was much warmer I resumed my walk along the path that now began to descend but at a junction I turned left when I should have turned right. I had consulted my Cicerone guidebook and read “bearing left”, so either there is a misprint or I misread it. I had followed the correct route last year, but this route was much rougher, narrow and rocky with several fallen trees. Eventually I rejoined the correct path and soon I reached Waun Ddu, the black marsh, which was so dry this year I was able to walk across the middle of it, while last year it was too wet. On the other side I climbed up to a farmer’s track and then down to a busy road with cars thundering past at speed. My Cicerone guidebook recommends taking a path through the bracken above the road, which I tried to follow last year, but it just led me into difficulties, so this time I just walked beside the road for almost two miles until at a T-junction I headed straight onto the open, featureless moorland. With the skies clearing I had a tiring walk following a faint path across the moor, passing a trig point until finally I reached Ogof Fawr, a small cave that had been used by the Chartist movement two hundred years ago to store weapons. I used it to sleep, which was a novel experience for me that I just couldn’t resist, even though I hadn’t planned to sleep inside the cave. This was my first proper day on the Cambrian Way, with a heavy rucksack and was how it would be for almost the next three weeks. I had a great evening at the Chartist Cave in fabulous weather with extensive views north towards the Black Mountains and towards the setting sun was my next day’s destination: the Brecon Beacons.