The Black Mountains

Thursday 4th April 2002

The day after my expedition across the misty terrain of the Black Mountain I went across to the other side of the Brecon Beacons to do a walk in the Black Mountains (not to be confused with the Black Mountain). Although I had previously already done quite a bit of walking in the Black Mountains, this had all been based around the Vale of Ewyas on the eastern edge. The Black Mountains don’t cover a huge area, but I’d still not ventured across to the western edge or been up to the highest point in the Black Mountains: Waun Fach. After poor weather on my previous day's walk it was great to have glorious weather for this one. Even so if you’d been with me that day you’d have seen the worst of me, as well as the best.

The previous year I had bought a Jarrold/Ordnance Survey pathfinder guide to the Brecon Beacons and Glamorgan. However, in practice the book wasn’t much use to me as the walks described were too short for the sort of walking that I like to do. This walk was not far off one of the walks described in the book, but it still varied widely. I parked near Castell Dinas, just off the A479, as in the book, and nipped up to the top of the hill that has been used as both an Iron Age hill fort and a Norman Castle. I don’t remember much about Castell Dinas so either the top wasn’t inspiring or later events in the day were more impressive. On dropping down the steep, western slopes I reached a lane where I turned left to follow it along the bottom of the valley and before too long took a path that led me up onto the open moorland climbing to a cairn at the bottom of a saddle. Turning left at this cairn I climbed up the steep, boggy hill hating every moment of the energy sapping slog under the unrelenting sun.

I wouldn’t have been a nice companion at this point as I moaned about the mud, the steep gradient and the sweat that was pouring off me. Eventually, and I’m sure to the relief of the fictitious person walking beside me who was having to endure my complaints, I reached the summit of Waun Fach, the highest point in the Black Mountains. What I found did not lighten my mood. At the top of Waun Fach is a large concrete lump in the middle of a huge expanse of mud, and at this time of year it was impossible to get to the lump without getting your feet covered in mud. Six months later I returned to Waun Fach to find that the summer had set the mud and I was then easily able to reach the concrete lump. On a subsequent visit I speculated on whether the actual highest point is a slight grassy rise a dozen metres away from the lump of concrete, but it makes little difference on such an uninspiring top.

The guidebook suggested going north at this point but I felt like I’d only just started (I believe it was barely noon) so I made a decision that radically changed my feelings about the walk. Instead of following the path north I dropped down the pathless hillside west of the summit and suddenly I was a completely different person. Skipping down the hill in glorious sunshine I was at my happiest and immensely enjoying the descent. Unfortunately my descent was soon over as I reached Grwyne Fawr Reservoir and after crossing the dam I climbed the grassy hillside opposite to the top of the ridge. Without knowing it I had stumbled on a secret about myself that I didn’t previously know: I love crossing pathless hills making up my own route as I go. The freedom and exhilaration is immense, especially when done in brilliant weather, as I am doing whatever I want without relying on paths that other people have already forged. I’m going my own way, and there is no better feeling. Those moments on walks are when I am at my most relaxed and happy.

Once at the top of the central ridge of the Black Mountains I headed towards Rhos Dirion but I didn’t reach the trig point at the top as I took a big shortcut around to the top of the Grwyne Fawr valley (looked at logically, climbing to the top of the ridge only to come back down again makes no sense, but that’s life, I was going where I felt like going!). On the other side of the broad col I left the path that leads back up to the top of Waun Fach and followed a path around the top of Cwm y Nant which enabled me to rejoin the route of my guidebook that was dropping down the hill from Waun Fach. This provided me with a great walk along the exhilarating and undulating ridge of Y Grib. I have a fond memory of sitting on this ridge and looking at the tremendous views that it affords, on both sides and ahead to Mynydd Troed, to the Usk valley and to the main Brecon Beacons range in the far distance. I have a favourite viewpoint in the Black Mountains on the ascent from Capel-y-ffin in the Vale of Ewyas. When on this ridge I thought: I have a new favourite viewpoint. Tragically I have not been along this ridge again in the ten years since. This ridge thrillingly led me all the way down to my car at the foot of Castell Dinas and ended a great walk in great weather that reaffirmed why I love hill walking so much.