Southern Black Mountains

Thursday 29th August 2019

During my holiday in Wales I was going back to the places where some of my earliest and most memorable walks have been done, and one such walk was in the Black Mountains in 2002. On that occasion I parked at the end of a narrow lane off the A479 at Pengenffordd, but now I stopped in the car park that is beside the Dragon’s Back Inn on the main road, and paid a small fee for the pleasure. I set off along the tree-lined lane behind the car park heading south-east following the route of the walk that I did seventeen years ago. The weather back then was good, but that was not the case now as the heatwave that I had enjoyed over the weekend was a distant memory so the day before while it often rained I spent my time browsing the second-hand bookshops of Hay-on-Wye. After a short walk along a road I came off and climbed up a lane that took me to the edge of the open hillside just as the sun started to break through the clouds and I was hopeful that this was a sign of a greater improvement in the overcast weather, but it was not to be as almost immediately it started raining. So it was that I toiled up the hill through rain and bracken to plunge into the clouds and reach the top of the ridge at the low point between Pen Trumau and Mynydd Llysiau. In 2002 I had turned left at this point to pass over Pen Trumau and head towards Waun Fach, but now I turned right to walk to the top of Mynydd Llysiau.

I must have walked along this ridge before but I can’t remember when, and with the rain having stopped I quite enjoyed it especially on the climb to where the ridge is narrow even though I still had low clouds. On the other side of Mynydd Llysiau the ridge broadens and as I descended the clouds cleared and the wind picked up so that while crossing the broad saddle and up to the top of Pen Twyn Glas I was being viciously buffeted by the winds. Rain is not a problem as you can put waterproofs on and keep walking, however if it is windy then that rain can blow horizontally into your face and through your waterproofs. Even if it’s not raining it can be difficult to walk in really strong winds and I have encountered enough windy days on mountains to not want to go walking against the wind. I had planned to turn right at Pen Twyn Glas to head over Pen Allt-mawr, but in view of the strong winds and poor weather I veered left along the ridge that descends over Tal Trwynau. My decision was justified by the resumption of the rain, but now I was sheltered by the higher ridge to my right as I descended the heather covered ridge passing the remains of quarry workings until eventually I reached the edge of a conifer plantation.

At this point I was reluctant to keep going on the walk as the strong wind had knocked all the enthusiasm out of me, but soon after I had started walking again the rain stopped and the sun came out, which greatly improved my outlook and encouraged me to keep going and climb the ridge across the valley that terminates on Crug Mawr. After crossing the valley I took a path past Blaenau up the lovely Nant y ffin valley now with stunning views behind me in the sunshine towards the ridge that terminates on Pen Cerrig-calch. It was very pleasant walking up that path and made up for my earlier despondency as I made my way up to the top of the ridge that runs along the edge of the Mynydd Du Forest to the southern tip of the Black Mountains. I don’t think I have ever been up Crug Mawr before, at the end of this ridge, and I didn’t now as I turned left and followed the edge of the plantation with heather covered slopes to my left and the highest peaks of the Black Mountains ahead of me on the horizon. Over the Grwyne Fawr valley to my right I could see the southern ends of the easternmost ridges of the Black Mountains that terminate on Bal Mawr and Hatterrall Hill, and it all looked fabulous in the sunshine.

However it wasn’t long before the clouds enveloped the skies once more and with them the winds picked up as I slowly made my way along the ridge gradually gaining height as I passed over Pen Twyn Mawr and by the time I reached Pen y Gadair Fawr the winds were very strong and cold. This distinctively shaped peak deserves to be the highest point in the Black Mountains, but that honour is taken by the nearby, wide, boggy plateau of Waun Fach. A good footpath has now been built that eased my passage through the bogs between the two peaks and up to the boggy summit of Waun Fach where I remember previously at the summit was a large block of concrete in the middle of a broad bog. That is now gone leaving a more undefined summit beside junction of paths where there is a small, square rock with O.S. written on it. Continuing along the path on the north-east ridge I descended to the shallow peak of Pen y Manllwyn and just beyond I came upon the route, once more, of my 2002 walk that had descended to Grwyne Fawr Reservoir and back round via Rhos Dirion. To my left was an undulating ridge that is simply called Y Grib, the ridge, that I remembered being an utter delight when I descended it in 2002, and was my primary target for this walk.

The weather was now deteriorating with each step so I was not making this descent in as good a weather as I had enjoyed before, but nevertheless it was fabulous to sail down the ridge keeping to the crest all the way down to the final rise up to the remains of Castell Dinas that overlooks the Dragon’s Back Inn and my car. This walk was not the same as the memorable walk that I did in 2002, but instead I had tried to also conjure up memories of other walks that I have done in the Black Mountains, although ultimately the poor weather did me no favours as I wasn’t seeing the area at its best, but I should be grateful that I did have some sunshine on the walk. Sadly this was the last walk during my holiday in the Brecon Beacons National Park before heading north, but I could have easily spent the whole fortnight in the park and enjoyed every moment. The Brecon Beacons National Park was the scene of most of my earliest hill walks and has shaped my experiences ever since, and so I have great memories and fondness for this area that has been rekindled on my memorial tour. I hope it is not too long before I return to the Brecon Beacons and resume my love affair with this fabulous area.

The Waterfalls Walk

Tuesday 27th August 2019

I love walking through wooded gorges with steep sides beside a narrow river as it meanders along the bottom in amongst dappled sunlight. These places are usually completely wild and totally given over to nature allowing it to fill every corner with abundant vegetation in the damp atmosphere. Apart from the vitally important footpath that enables me to walk through these landscapes there is wild nature everywhere, completely unspoilt by the ruinous hand of man. They are magical places that I adore wherever I have encountered them from the Ingleton Waterfalls in the Yorkshire Dales to the narrow glens that flow out of the Ochil Hills in Scotland. The start of my love affair must have happened in 2000, early in my walking career, when I first came to the Waterfall Country in the Brecon Beacons National Park. I returned in 2003 for a slightly longer route around this stunning area and for my twentieth anniversary tour of Wales I wanted to retrace my steps of that second walk to return to the scenery that sparked my love of wooded gorges. Since all other waterfall walks that I had done since have been measured against this one, this is, for me, the original Waterfalls Walk. I started in the same place as on all my previous visits, in the village of Pontneddfechan and parked near the Angel Inn.

Initially I enjoyed a wide path beside the river through dappled sunlight despite wet conditions underfoot following overnight rain. Previously this walk has been a wet weather alternative and although there had been some rain at the start of the day this had largely cleared by the time I started walking and during the day the weather would gradually improve. I was already enamoured with the experience as I walked through the narrow glen with trees overshadowing everything and the sun making a brief appearance peeking through the leaves before hiding behind clouds until the afternoon. After turning the corner into the side valley of the Afon Pyrddin I discovered just how muddy and slippery the path was when I slipped over onto my knee, as if I didn’t already have enough problems with my knees. Brushing myself off I now more carefully made my way towards the first of the great waterfalls on this walk: Sgwd Gwladus. This tall, slender fall is majestic and beautiful and has a special place in my heart remembering the times when I have explored all around the amphitheatre in which it sits getting up close and personal with the Lady Falls.

This time I didn’t get so intimate and was happy to just gaze in awe from afar and take a load of pictures before returning to the Nedd Fechan to continue along the riverside path as it weaves a course up the hillside that is narrow and at times satisfyingly tricky with steep drops to the ravine below. Eventually the path descends to the horseshoe waterfalls with many more falls coming in rapid succession culminating in the thunderous Sgŵd Ddwli. There were so many waterfalls they all seemed to merge into one in memory although the stunning wooded scenery provided me with the perfect backdrop of sylvan beauty that matches any mountaintop any day. When safe to do so I dropped down onto the river bed and took many pictures looking up and down the river towards the falls and over the top of them as I absorbed myself in the surroundings thoroughly enjoying myself. Eventually I reached the car park at Pont Melin-fach where I took the signposted path that takes a rough undulating route along the eastern bank of the river and although there are not so many stunning waterfalls on this section I really enjoyed the walking along a challenging and exhausting path.

At Pont Rhyd-y-cnau I finally left the Nedd Fechan behind to take a heavily eroded track up out of the valley, onto the road at the top of the ridge and down the hill on the other side to the caves of Porth yr Ogof. I have no desire to venture into dark, claustrophobic caves and am most happy when I have sky above my head, but I did go down to the mouth of the cave and peered into its vast, dark, waterlogged depths before climbing back up top to have my lunch. With the sun now beginning to come out I headed south and investigated the opening where the river emerges from the cave system before I once more resumed my trek beside the river on a relatively easy path in gorgeous sunshine and idyllic scenery. Eventually I reached the big waterfall of Sgŵd Clun-gwyn, which is larger than anything I had seen on the Nedd Fechan, and was justly drawing in the crowds, although getting a good view of it was not easy. Continuing south beside the Afon Mellte I saw a sign warning of a dangerous path, which just drew me on along the narrow and wet route that did not seem to me particularly difficult compared with any other paths that I have been on.

This path brought me to another big, wide waterfall, Sgŵd Isaf Clun-gwyn, which I had remembered having difficulty accessing on previous visits to the area, but now it was clustered with many people, and the crowds continued around the third waterfall on the river, Sgŵd Pannwr, brought out by the good weather and a bank holiday. I was unable to continue walking beside the river so at this point I had to climb steeply up the side of the valley completely wearing myself out in the warm weather. There was now just one waterfall left on the walk, and this one is, if not the greatest on the walk, it is certainly the most exciting. Descending steeply back down into a side valley, to the Afon Hepste, I came before the great Sgwd yr Eira, and carefully made my way over wet rocks to the foot of the waterfall and walked behind it. It is a fabulous feeling to stand behind a waterfall and to have the glorious sight of water falling in torrent just a short distance in front of me. I took many pictures, despite the sun not shining, before taking the path on the other side of the river steeply up the bank to the top where I realised the sun had come out again so I descended back down and took even more pictures.

Eventually I tore myself away and finally climbed back up the steep hillside and happily took the path that slowly led me all the way to the Dinas Rock car park and passing through Pontneddfechan returned to my car. It is astonishing that it has taken me sixteen years to do this walk again when there are walks in the Lake District that I have done countless times, again and again, even though this is a fabulous walk. The walks that I am doing on this holiday are so iconic they have totally shaped the way I now approach walking and my perception of what makes a great walk. This walk is without doubt a great walk, if not one of the greatest. It is, most definitely, the waterfall walk.