Herefordshire Week 114: Tuesday 01 – Monday 07 March 2022

A couple of short and sweet week notes coming up. It’s been a busy fortnight with week 114 featuring three fab walks courtesy of the Crickhowell Walking Festival.

15 March 2022: Updated with some CWF photos

CWF 2022 Walk 01 - Black Mountains N-S from Gospel Pass: Pen y Fan and Cribyn - from the Rhos Dirion-Waun Fach ridge
CWF 2022 Walk 01 – Black Mountains N-S from Gospel Pass: Pen y Fan and Cribyn – from the Rhos Dirion-Waun Fach ridge
CWF 2022 Walk 01 - Black Mountains N-S from Gospel Pass: Toppled Trig Point, Pen Allt-Mawr
CWF 2022 Walk 01 – Black Mountains N-S from Gospel Pass: Toppled Trig Point, Pen Allt-Mawr
CWF 2022 Walk 01 - Black Mountains N-S from Gospel Pass: Pen Cerrig-calch descent, Skirrid (left) and Sugar Loaf (right)
CWF 2022 Walk 01 – Black Mountains N-S from Gospel Pass: Pen Cerrig-calch descent, Skirrid (left) and Sugar Loaf (right)
CWF Walk 13 Llanbedr Horseshoe: me and Steffi, at the Pen Cerrig-calch Trig Point
CWF Walk 13 Llanbedr Horseshoe: me and Steffi, at the Pen Cerrig-calch Trig Point
CWF Walk 13 Llanbedr Horseshoe: Catkins
CWF Walk 13 Llanbedr Horseshoe: Catkins
CWF Walk 13 Llanbedr Horseshoe: Last light on Sugar Loaf
CWF Walk 13 Llanbedr Horseshoe: Last light on Sugar Loaf

Admin on Tuesday morning included buying the custom cut splashback for the utility room and leaving messages with Williams Water about replacing the supply pipe from the road to the house, then a walk with Phil down to Abbey Dore and back via Thistly Field bumping into P from Kerrys Gate on our return. But the morning’s main achievement was my Bird seed feeder hack: I wired the side half of a 6pt plastic milk bottle to the base of the bird seed feeder in an attempt to catch the seed before it falls to the ground, where it attracts rattus rattus and squirrellus squirrellus.

Bird seed feeder hack
Bird seed feeder hack

Busy week at work (seems to be a common theme this spring), with VWW and Family Zoom.


Drove the MX5 down to Abergavenny on Friday morning, picking up toolstation order, groceries at Aldi and dropping off the loft collection of albums from the 1950s and 1960s – Girl, School Friend, Girl’s Crystal & Eagle for Broadleaf Books. Glad to see them given to a good home.

Annuals Montage - Girl, School Friend, Girl's Crystal & Eagle
Annuals Montage – Girl, School Friend, Girl’s Crystal & Eagle

Then to the station for the main event – collecting Steffi. Our al fresco lunch at Bean & Bread was cut short by hail, so home for an afternoon with the last of Lupin.


Saturday, Sunday and Monday were dedicated to the Crickhowell Walking Festival, with Steffi joining me for the weekend’s walks. Magic.

Here are the blurbs plus maps. Photos to follow (sometime….) now on Flickr.

Saturday: Black Mountains North to South – Gospel Pass to Crickhowell (15 ½ miles; 2,120 ft ascent; 6 hours walking)

Walk 01 Black Mountains N-S from Gospel Pass - Map
Walk 01 Black Mountains N-S from Gospel Pass – Map

A walk taking in the entire length of the Black Mountains, from Gospel Pass in the far north back to Crickhowell in the south. The walk starts with an ascent of Twmpa and continues over Rhos Dirion to Waun Fach (the highest point in the Black Mountains at 811m), then on to Pen Allt-mawr and Pen Cerrig-calch before descending into Crickhowell via Table Mountain.

Sunday: Llanbedr Horseshoe (18 ½ miles; 3,426 ft ascent; 7 ½ hours walking)

Walk 13 Llanbedr Horseshoe - round the clock - Map
Walk 13 Llanbedr Horseshoe – round the clock – Map

The Llanbedr Horseshoe is one of the great challenge walks in the Black Mountains. From the village of Llanbedr it starts with a stiff climb up to Crug Hywel (Table Mountain) and then on up to Pen Cerrig-calch. A respite from climbing for a while as the route takes us to Pen Allt-Mawr and a drop down to level moorland to Mynydd Llysiau, where we start to climb to the highest point, Waun Fach (811m). Now we head south to Pen y Gadair Fawr and eventually Crug Mawr, before descending to Llanbedr across the Grwyne Fechan river.

(It was very windy and very cold: -10C windchill).

Monday: Yomp the Three Pens (12 miles; 2,470ft ascent; 4 ¾ hours walking)

Walk 24 Yomp the Three Pens - Map
Walk 24 Yomp the Three Pens – Map

Take paths less trodden – the Three Pens with a difference! After a gentle start along the River Usk, we ascend into Cwm Mawr and then take a direct line up the Bryniog ridge, which climbs in a series of sculpted steps left by the last Ice Age to reach Pen Gloch-y-pibwr; sometimes on paths, sometimes not, but nothing extreme. Main trails to Pen Allt-mawr and Pen Cerrig-calch, then down by lovely grass sheep tracks to Table Mountain and Cwm Cumbeth. Great views and quiet trails throughout.


TV:  Lupin with Steffi (finishing off season 2),  Friday Night Lights (season 2) with Phil and This Farming Life with Steffi and Phil.

Podcasts: I’ve forgotten…


Photos: Herefordshire week 114 on Flickr.

Phil: w/e 2022-03-06.