Saturday 10th August 2024
A month after walking the first three days of the Cambrian Way I came back to Abergavenny to complete the rest of the trail all the way to Conwy on the north coast of Wales. The weather was better than it had been when I’d left the town, it wasn’t raining, though it did seem to have just stopped and it was forecast to improve, however it was very warm and humid which didn’t help with climbing hills. After passing through the town of Abergavenny I found the spot that I had reached on the Cambrian Way less than four weeks earlier, beside the war memorial in the centre of town. From there I set off past several churches slowly climbing the hill out of the town and immediately regretted packing so much food as my rucksack felt very heavy. I had enough food to last many days and it really wasn’t necessary but that couldn’t be helped now and at least the weight would go down as I ate and I must learn from my mistake in the future. The road eventually gave way to a footpath through fields and then into woodland where the gradient eased slightly, only briefly, but it was enough to encourage me to stop and lighten my load by having something to eat. The gradient soon resumed as I climbed out of the woodland into an area of bracken where I should have had extensive views around me, but low cloud meant I couldn’t see the hill of Blorenge across the valley or anywhere else except for Abergavenny in the valley behind me. This sharp climb felt cruel for the start of my first day on the trail, but this was meant to be my fourth day on the Cambrian Way by which time I ought to have been able to have taken it in my stride.
I was climbing Sugar Loaf, a hill that I had previously climbed in the year 2000, which is such a long time ago I have little memory of it. A large part of the reason I have never been back is that Sugar Loaf is an isolated hill, separated from all others, so it has been difficult for me to justify tagging it onto another walk, even though that was what I was now doing. I was looking forward to returning to the top after all these years. A welcome, cooling breeze followed me up the increasingly steep hill as I approached the conical peak until mercifully the gradient eased and I arrived at the trig point that marks the highest point. Unfortunately there was no view of the surrounding area due to low cloud so I didn’t stay long and soon headed down the northern slopes. If I’d had a view I would have seen the town of Crickhowel below and Table Mountain, which overlooks it, with both of them traversed by the Cambrian Way, but I would not pass that way until the end of the next day as the trail first takes a wide detour north through the Black Mountains, which is an area I have a lot of affection for so I didn’t mind the diversion. My descent took me through heather in flower, which I always love to see at this time of the year, with the distinctive peak of Skirrid to my right, while in the far distance ahead of me shrouded in clouds were the grassy ridges of the Black Mountains.
Eventually head high bracken replaced the heather as I made my way down to the bottom of the valley and slowly up the other side as the sky began to clear. By the time I reached the top of the ridge the sun was out and I had fabulous views across the Black Mountains, even though it was very windy. A long, gradual climb along the ridge brought me to the top of Garn Wen, which I had previously traversed in 2022 coming the other way, with bracken now giving way to heather as the climb continued to the trig point on Bâl Mawr, the highest point on the trail so far, and just beyond as the ridge narrowed it ascended again to cross the two thousand feet mark for the first time on the Cambrian Way. The highest point on the ridge is at Chwarel y Fan, which I had previously crossed in 2020, but by this time on the walk I was feeling very tired and thirsty having had little opportunity to replenish my water bottles since leaving Abergavenny.
At the pass marked by the Blacksmith’s Anvil stone I turned right off the ridge and mercifully out of the wind descending into the beautiful Vale of Ewyas on a wonderfully rocky path that zigzags down the steepest slopes to reach the Grange Trekking Centre where there is camping available. I could or maybe should have stayed there, but since it was only 4.30 in the afternoon I decided to keep going. I had been able to fill my water bottle from a stream above the Grange so I ignored the opportunity to stop and continued down to the bottom of the valley in Capel-y-ffin. The fourth stage of the Cambrian Way ends at this point but I kept going and soon I was climbing steeply up the hillside in the warm sunny weather and regretted my decision to keep going. The climb up the hill above Capel-y-ffin was excruciating and I had to stop frequently to rest as I slowly dragged myself up the hill while the views down the Vale of Ewyas rewarded my hard won efforts. I really should have turned back and enquired at the Grange, but instead I fought through the agony and eventually reached the cairn that marks the end of the Darren Lwyd ridge and the best of the views down the valley.
From then on the walking was much easier as the gradient eased and I slowly made my way along the ridge and towards Twmpa. I am very fond of the Black Mountains because my first ever mountain walk twenty-five years ago was in this area and included this very ridge between Twmpa and Capel-y-finn. It was great to be back but I was too weary to really appreciate it or the stunning views across the Wye Valley when I finally reached the summit of Twmpa. I couldn’t stop there as I had no water left, so I turned south and descended towards the valley of Nant Bwch until the infant stream was able to supply me with enough water. This was a terribly exhausting end to a gruelling day where I should have been better prepared and perhaps planned to stop at the Grange. The compensation was the amazing views of the Black Mountains and the Vale of Ewyas afforded to me by the good weather.
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