We took a drive over to the Black Mountains on Saturday, winding westward through the Beacons to Capel-y-ffin in the Vale of Ewyas, famous for the remains of
Lanthony Priory. Alan was nursing a skiing injury, so we had planned a fairly easy 8 miles along the Bal Mawr ridge and then drop down to follow a path back to Capel-y ffin. The return leg traversed the hill, about half way between the ridge and the valley floor and gave a very different view of the surroundings.
It was my 40th a couple of days before, so I was trying out my birthday present, a new pair of
Pacerpoles and giving the Z55 another outing.
It was a beautiful, sunny frosty morning and we set off out of Capel-y-ffin past a monastry and a half constructed chapel built by the rather eccentric
Father Ignatius in the late 1800's. I found out later that
Eric Gill, artist and type designer (famous for his typeface, Gill Sans) spent some time there in the 30's.
The path zig zagged up past a pony trekking centre then onto the hill proper. After a brief flat section (with acres of perfect wild camping spots), we crossed a stream and then slogged up to the ridge, arriving at the Blacksmiths Anvil stone.
The Pacerpoles were very impressive during the climbing, powering you upwards with noticably reduced effort. We tied the handles together and slung them over our shoulders straps when we were on the flat, drawing them like a pair of ninja swords for the descents. I read about this method of carrying the poles in the excellent instruction sheet from Pacer.
The views were amazing and I shot a panorama, swinging from East to West, out towards Hay Bluff and Lord Herefords Knob (how cool is it to have a mountain named after your old boy) and then West towards Pen Cerrig-calch. Sugar Loaf was also visible to the South, as you can see in the photo below.
We trundled along the ridge and stopped for a sandwich and brew-up, trying out our little alcohol stove. I don't take a flask in winter, but a brew-up is always a bit of fun if the conditions are favourable.
After lunch, we dropped back down into the valley, which was still in shadow and therefore still hard with frost - just as well as the path would have been pretty muddy.
We talked a lot about our coast to coast walk in June, planning routes across Snowdonia, discussing the food we will take and the gear that would be suitable for 200+ mile expedition. As I mentioned, I am 40 this year and Al hits the big half century, so we both have a lot to celebrate. Rather than having a typical mid life crisis involving Las Vegas and red sports cars, we decided to walk from Snowdonia to Gower over three weeks, sort of following the route I have mentioned in previous posts. Al and I don't see each other very often as we both have businesses and kids, so time is in short supply, so when we do get a chance to steal a Saturday or Sunday in the hills, it gives us a chance to discuss the details of the trip.
On the way back, we explored an old ruin of a farmhouse and found some regurgitated owl pellets containing fur, bones, claws and teeth - I have seen these in books but never broken one apart myself.
The poles and pack worked well, I still need to work out how I am going to carry water as the bladder/tube combo is pretty difficult to manage when backpacking. My
Montane Sportwool experiment is still going well, lets just say that I am testing the limits of merino's anti odour properties (more next post).
We didn't have a chance to have a pint on the way back as Al had an evening out planned, which was a shame as we drove past the
Skirrid Inn on the way home, which has featured in the TV show, Most Haunted. It's ancient and has a wonderful view of
The Skirrid (Ysgyryd Fawr), or the Holy Mountain, one of the three decent hills that circle Abergavenny, the others being Blorenge and Sugar Loaf.
A couple of weekends ago, Al and I went up to Cotswolds in Cardiff to shop for the shoes we plan to use on our C2C this summer.
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