Brecon Beacons Bryn Arw & Sugar Loaf
colony. The adjacent farm was a graveyard of a different kind: Metros, Minis and Mondeos were scattered behind a hedge
I couldn’t wait to reach the Open Access land on the free-draining slopes of Bryn Arw. This bashful whaleback, tucked behind the princely Sugar Loaf, might be Abergavenny’s forgotten hill; but the wind still howled across its russet-coloured crest. Light danced on the Bristol Channel and the shadowy Vale of Ewyas cut through the long ridges of the Black Mountains. Down below, narrow hedgelined lanes resembled glistening streams and the broad pools of standing water were shiny oysters.
A steep descent from the southern knoll tumbled me into the hamlet at Bettws. Here, all was calm, and chattering chaffinches tried to out-sing the musical notes from the rushing river. Above Great Gott, an ash tree sprouted from the crumbling bread oven at a roofless farmhouse; but the blackened beam in the old inglenook still supported the tall tapered chimney. And, as usual, a couple of wrinkled apple trees were reminders of life gone by.
Grassy rides rose to meet a broad promontory named Deri and the start of a breezy mile-long promenade. Ahead, Sugar Loaf was now a perfect pyramid. This shapely summit must be every child’s favourite mountain: it’s a hill; it’s a volcano; it’s even a pretend Everest. It’s also popular with skylarks, and I bet you’d feel like joyfully soaring into the blue if you had just spent two months bunkered down in a soggy meadow.
There is a surprisingly sharp climb to the top of Sugar Loaf, where a midweek rambling group had gathered around the trig point. I returned their cheery waves and continued down to the rocky table top at the west end of the little ridge. Out west, the hills around Crickhowell were lost in layers of ethereal mist where pockets of emerald green pasture provided a vivid contrast to the dark skies over Brecon.
Unfortunately, these were now moving east and spits of rain were soon swirling around the top. I danced down into the valley at the foot of Cwm Nant-du, pushed my way through thickets of thorn, and found a series of stiles that pointed the way to the lane at Dolwen. The low sunshine that suddenly swept across pudding- shaped Gaer allowed the camera to perform a final encore.
View looking west from the north end of Bryn Arw with Partrishow Hill catching the sunshine; View west to the hills above Crickhowell from the top of Sugar Loaf; Dramatic light above Cwm Nant-du with Gaer and Hatterrall Hill beyond
Further information
Maps: OS 1:25,000 Explorer sheet OL13: Brecon Beacons National Park (Eastern Area)
Information: Abergavenny TIC, 01873 853254. visitabergavenny. co.uk/get-active/walking
iTransport: None to the start