Talgarth, Black Mountains

DISTANCE 40.8km (25.4 miles) CLIMBING 1,075m (3,527ft) TIME 2hrs 30mins to 4hrs 30mins

Start/ inish Talgarth car park (grid ref SO 153/337, postcode LD3 0PE)

Route summary A great day’s riding on a variety of trails, which range from undulating singletrack to big grassy climbs and technical

descents illed with rocks

1

Turn left on the High Street. Take the first right and go right at the end, on a dead-end street. Keep ahead, through a gate, on what becomes a singletrack bridleway parallel to the main road. At the end, turn right to cross the A479.

2

Join the road ahead and follow it to a T-junction. Turn left, for 200m. Ignore the first bridleway on the right. Go through a gate to join the second, just beyond. Keep right at the fork to join a higher track around the hillside. Go through a gate, into a farmyard, and turn right to climb a grassy bank. 3

Keep ahead along the hillside (not up or down), crossing a minor road and climbing steeply through a wood. After exiting the trees, keep ahead/left by some outbuildings. Continue uphill, bearing left to a track crossing at the top. Turn right here. Head along the ridgetop for 1.8km, then bear left at the fork, leaving the wall.

4

Continue down a technical rocky descent, to a road. Follow the tarmac right, to the main road at Bwlch. Go right on this. When it bears left, turn right onto a minor road (‘Pennorth/Beacons Farm Shop’). At the right-hand bend, join the bridleway to the left of the cattle grid. 5

Follow the Three Rivers Ride across Allt yr Esgair, with a wall on your right. Descend through three gates, keeping ahead/ left to a road (there’s a technical section at the end). Go left on the tarmac, into Pennorth. Keep ahead/left. When the trees end, turn right on a track, then immediately join a bridleway. Follow this along the treeline, to the corner of a road. Go right. 6

Turn left at the T-junction in Tal-y-llyn, to Llanfihangel Tal-y-llyn. Go right on the B-road after the church, through Llangors. At the brown sign for Gilfach Climbing Centre, turn left. Shortly after the centre, go right, through a gate, onto a steep right of way (you’ll probably have to push up).

7

Turn left on the track from earlier. Cross the minor road. After 1.2km, turn left, down the hillside – the path is di"cult to find but it follows a wall, beside some trees. Go right on the road, then immediately ahead/left on a wide bridleway.

8

Turn right at the junction by a house and continue for over 1km. At the T-junction (where you were earlier), go left, to a farmhouse. Keep ahead on a restricted byway beside the barn as the road bears right. Descend to the B4560, then turn right, back into Talgarth. The car park is over the roundabout.

LOCATION DETAILS

The Black Mountains dominate the north-east of the Brecon Beacons National Park. This route is on the western edge of the range and, while the Old Red Sandstone hills drain well, the trails at the bottom can su!er in the wet.

GETTING THERE

Talgarth lies north-east of Brecon, at the foot of the Black Mountains, where the A479 (from the south), A470 (from the north-west and south-west) and A438 (from the north-east) converge. The car park is at the southern end of town, o! the A479 and B4560 roundabout.

MAPS & BOOKS

OrdnanceSurveyLandranger161: TheBlackMountains. WalesMountainBiking by Tom Hutton (Vertebrate Graphics).

FACILITIES

The Tower Hotel in Talgarth has a good restaurant, bar and rooms (01874 711253, www. towerhoteltalgarth.co.uk). Also in Talgarth is the Strand Cafe and Castle Fish & Chips. Down the road in Bwlch is the New Inn & Beacons Backpackers (01874 730215), plus Beacons Farm Shop (cafe). There are pubs in Llanfihangel and Llangorse too. Drover Cycles in Hay-on-Wye o!ers bike hire and demos (01497 822419, www.drovercycles.co.uk). Visit www.visittalgarth.co.uk for more info.