Herefordshire Week 219: Tuesday 5 – Monday 11 March 2024

Last of the Borderlines Film Festival films; first of the Crickhowell Walking Festival walks, with R&J.

Crickhowell Walking Festival 2024: Overlooking Llangorse - Me at the Mynydd Troed Trig Point
Crickhowell Walking Festival 2024: Overlooking Llangorse – Me at the Mynydd Troed Trig Point <- Rocking the baggy gaiters look there

More rain. Occasional sun but otherwise cloud.


PT first thing Tuesday then speedy turnaround back home to get into Hereford for Borderlines Film Festival film No. 5: That They May Face the Rising Sun. I didn’t really know what to expect, but loved it – the slow pace provided plenty of time to get to know the characters and their relationships.

Home for a late lunch then an hour of greenhouse enhancements with dad: adding door knobs and a shelf inside and, outside, replacing the missing downpipe for the nearer of the two waterbutts.

Greenhouse Enhancements: Shelf
Greenhouse Enhancements: Shelf

At teatime, a full valley rainbow.

My desk stands arrived. Spot on. A big thank you to Weldpress who made them for me. Super service. Recommended!

Grey Valley lived up to its name on Wednesday – misty on a bright sunny morning.

Grey Valley
Grey Valley

In the afternoon depotted all the houseplants (well, most of them), planning to repot with fresh, fungus gnat free compost, only to find that the “new” bag of compost in the greenhouse mustn’t have been completely sealed and was infested with them. Grrrrrrr. Handily, Phil was in Hereford so he picked up a fully fresh bag on his way back.

T called in as I was washing the roots so we had a bit of a catch up before tomorrow night’s drinks and nibbles.

Late starting PT on Thursday due to an emergency road closure in Ewyas Harold. Back at base, the army camp were making a lot of noise – big bassy booms, gunfire, helicopters. Overcast and windy with rain forecast so I settled in to do some more Nepal 2023 photos and notes, plus a catch up with Steffi. Early dinner then down to TJL’s for wine and nibbles. Lovely.

Gym first thing Friday then back make some scones, have lunch and repot the ferns in fly-free compost in the wind and rain. R & J arrived 3.30pm-ish – time for a cup of tea and a scone, a bit of a catch up and some CWF logistics planning then into Hereford for Wagamamas and The Promised Land, film No. 6 and the last in this year’s Borderlines Film Festival for us.

Up early Saturday to get to Crickhowell for 8.30am and the first of this year’s Crickhowell Walking Festival walks: Black Mountains North to South from Gospel Pass to Crickhowell.

Crickhowell Walking Festival 2024: Black Mountains North to South - Strava Map & Stats
Crickhowell Walking Festival 2024: Black Mountains North to South – Strava Map & Stats

A bit of ascent from Gospel Pass to Twmpa / Lord Hereford’s Knob (690m) then it’s a ridgeline route via Rhos Dirion (713m), Waun Fach (811m), Mynydd Llysiau (663m), Pen Allt-mawr (719m), Pen Cerrig-calch (701m) and Crug Hywel / Table Mountain (451m).

Crickhowell Walking Festival 2024: Black Mountains North to South - Waun Fach in the fog
Crickhowell Walking Festival 2024: Black Mountains North to South – Waun Fach in the fog

An easy route to follow but foggy to Waun Fach and brutal in the wind thereafter. Not cold, but brace-brace all the way to stay upright.

Having missed Latte Da’s closing time by a matter of minutes, we headed home for showers, tea and scones, beer and nibbles, soup and chilli. And bed!

Sunday’s CWF walk was 12 miles “Overlooking Llangorse” – and yesterday’s main ridges too. A smashing circular route from Bwlch – one to do again.

Crickhowell Walking Festival 2024: Overlooking Llangorse
Crickhowell Walking Festival 2024: Overlooking Llangorse

Handy parking on a lane out of Bwlch. The route took us up over Mynydd Llangorse, dropping down via Cockit Hill and then straight back up Mynydd Troed. Curving back towards Cwmdu for a ridgeline descent into the valley then back up again onto Mynydd Llangors and retracing our route back to Bwlch.

Much easier walking and conditions than yesterday’s Black Mountains North to South.

Crickhowell Walking Festival 2024: Overlooking Llangorse - Mynydd Troed from Mynydd Llangors
Crickhowell Walking Festival 2024: Overlooking Llangorse – Mynydd Troed from Mynydd Llangors

Back at base: showers, scones, soup, chilli and crumble – then bed.

Back to Crickhowell on Monday morning, via Abergavenny to drop off the single duvets at The Laundry Basket in my case. We reunited at CRIC for the day’s hike: Mynydd Llangatwg.

Crickhowell Walking Festival 2024: Mynydd Llangatwg
Crickhowell Walking Festival 2024: Mynydd Llangatwg

My first time walking this side of the Usk. A bit boggy on the top but fab views back down to Crickhowell, Llangattock and across to the Black Mountains – even on a grey day. A really varied route – roads, woodland paths, footpaths across fields and sheep trails over moors.

Crickhowell Walking Festival 2024: Mynydd Llangatwg panorama
Crickhowell Walking Festival 2024: Mynydd Llangatwg panorama

Farewell to R&J then home for the last pair of scones, shared with Phil.

Crickhowell Walking Festival 2024: Mynydd Llangatwg - Traditional post shower scone, back at home
Crickhowell Walking Festival 2024: Mynydd Llangatwg – Traditional post shower scone, back at home

Lentil soup for dinner with Spaceman on the telly.


In the garden I spotted the first leaves on the waterfall clematis, and the Bacton Stud wild garlic is going great guns.

More flowers on the daffs and the camellia. Snowdrops all gone.


TV:  Our Flag Means Death (finished season 2), Shōgun, Spaceman.

Podcasts: History Extra, Gone Mediaeval, Americast, The Today Podcast, Tweet of the Day,


Photos: Herefordshire week 219 on Flickr.

Phil: w/e 2024-03-10.

Herefordshire Week 211: Tuesday 09 – Monday 15 January 2024

Brrrrrrrrr – it’s cold!!

MD comes to stay. Rach & Jon call in. Drinks with TJL. Dad and Jean come for Sunday lunch. A social whirl!

Started PT and did a lot of walking: 30.2 miles, 4540 ft elevation gain according to Strava.

Looking back down the Dragon's Back and over towards Pen y Fan
Looking back down the Dragon’s Back and over towards Pen y Fan

I had my first PT session at the GV gym on Tuesday morning. So far so good. Then caught up with email and weeknotes in the GV cafe whiling away an hour and a half before my follow up physio appointment at Ewyas Harold Surgery. I am going to get my right hip properly sorted in 2024. It’s lazy right glutes and over worked compensating muscles….

Tea and crumpet in the sunny conservatory, then out into the sunshine (and cold wind) to walk down to Dore Abbey and back via Thistly Field. Lovely. Tea and cake back at base.

Down to Dore Abbey and back via Thistly Field
Down to Dore Abbey and back via Thistly Field

I’d not booked onto my usual Wednesday morning classes to allow us a whole day to get out for a good walk. Still too cold up in the Black Mountains so we opted for more walking around the lanes, to Bacton and then a new bit of footpaths to take us up to Tremorithic, showing MD more of the sights and working up a good appetite for a late lunch back at base. We didn’t quite get the new route right but we know better for next time.

Strava Map & Stats: Tremorithic Footpaths - New Route via Bacton
Strava Map & Stats: Tremorithic Footpaths – New Route via Bacton

A snooze on the sofa as sun set, then beers and crisps segueing into dinner in front of the telly introducing MD to the delights of Dectectorists.

To the gym on Thursday morning for LBT and my second PT session. Speedy shower back home then we headed out to walk to The Temple Bar Inn for a leisurely late pub lunch, washed down with a couple of pints, then back home via the Deer Field. Not as muddy as last Saturday’s GVWC experience.

Pub lunch
Pub lunch

Friday started with another visit to the gym then back to find Phil and MD playing the inaugural hand of Panda Top Trumps – my custom made Christmas present to Phil. Fiat Panda, not Panda Panda. Phil dropped off MD at Hereford train station for his onward journey and shortly after Phil got home R&J arrived for a late lunch en route to Pantygelli for a walking weekend with their club. Lovely.

Ticked off three garden jobs on Saturday morning: on the slope down from Mower Turn I cut down the leggy whatever-it-is tree that had broken the main supporting branch off the same breed of tree (a more mature version) closer to the path and taken out all the lower branches as it fell; bonfired; and, with Phil’s help, redid the compost bin base in an attempt to make it rat proof.

Third time lucky....
Third time lucky….

To be fair, Phil did almost all the work on this last one as it entailed digging out the compost-in-progress from the bin, wheelbarrowing that to its new home (the green bin I scavenged a week or so ago), collecting four paving slabs from the quarry and laying them on the cleared site. I set up the now-empty compost bin, and then Phil returned some of the compost-in-progress – and its worms – to the bin as starter culture.

And then he turned the grass cuttings and leaves that comprise compost corner.

Relaxing afternoon reading on the sofa, then down to TJLs for an evening drink and crisps. We walked back serenaded by tawny owls.

After a slow start to Sunday morning Phil and I headed out and walked Cockyard Anticlockwise. The light cloud gradually cleared and we arrived home under blue skies, lovely and warm!

Cockyard Anticlockwise: A line of sheep and Hatterrall Ridge
Cockyard Anticlockwise: A line of sheep and Hatterrall Ridge

Dad and Jean came for Sunday lunch. They arrived under beautiful blues skies and we had a lovely stroll around the garden looking at the snowdrops. The rain had set in by the time they left. FaceTime with S&S in the early evening, then cheese and biscuits watching EV reviews on YouTube.

I drove over to Pengenfford A479 on Monday morning to rendezvous with Sonia and Sara for a magic walk out in the Brecon Beacons. We headed up the Dragon’s Back via Castell Dinas, along to Waun Fach (811m), down to Pen Trumau and back down the valley to Pengenfford. 7 ½ miles, 19586 steps, 173 flights, 2156 ft elevation gain.

Strava Map & Stats: Dragon's Back & Waun Fach from Pengenfford
Strava Map & Stats: Dragon’s Back & Waun Fach from Pengenfford

A gorgeous sunny day – beautiful under blue skies, but a bitter wind.

Welsh rarebit and a big pot of tea in Crickhowell afterwards.

Welsh Rarebit and a large pot of tea at Latte Da, Crickhowell
Welsh Rarebit and a large pot of tea at Latte Da, Crickhowell

Ah, this is why I stopped working!

Back home via Waitrose.


TV: Reservation Dogs (season 3. Very different and still lovely), Detectorists (series 1, introducing MD to the delights of), Ghosts (series 1, introducing MD to the delights of) and lots of YouTube video reviews of EVs.

Podcasts: Shedunnit, History Extra, You Must Remember This, The Rest is Entertainment, The History of England.


Photos: Herefordshire week 211 on Flickr.

Phil: w/e 2024-01-14.

Herefordshire Week 198: Tuesday 10 – Monday 16 October 2023

Pembrokeshire for the Everest Trek Get Together No. 19.

Marloes Circular: The Gang
Marloes Circular: The Gang

My first full week back home = still catching up.


Tuesday comprised catching up on admin and weeknotes 196 and 197, walking to and from Ewyas Harold for my first in person Physio appointment at the surgery (VG. Assessment = Hip pain, right glute med tendinopathy + some ITB / Iliotibial Band Syndrome symptoms), Pembs Prep, another catch up with Val, more apple collecting, a great update from dad on his jaundice.

Beautiful day.

Home to Ewyas Harold: Top Sheep
Home to Ewyas Harold: Top Sheep

Pilates in the evening – getting back into the gym routine, even if it’s only for a couple of weeks.


Having failed to book onto the morning gym classes, Wednesday was more admin, mainly money – I’m still working out my “being retired cash flows” – and we had our catch up with Carol. Also some Nepal prep – working out paying, online tourist visa (bearing in mind the max 15 days in advance constraint) and checking eBay for Expedition grade down jackets….

Over to J’s for dinner in the evening. Lovely. On my way there, I spooked an owl down by Blackmoor Farm.

A very rainy day.


Thursday morning featured LBT at the Gym and Chutney Transport Box pick up from the shop, then back home to finish off weeknotes 197, which also entailed fully Flickring Italy photos.


More gym on Friday morning, a petrol fill up at the Forge, more computing (I forget what), then off to Pembs for Everest Trek Get Together No. 19, picking up Hazel at Carmarthen en route to Mayhem where Steffi supplied a Greek Feast as a change from the usual Curries. Replete, Dave drove us to the van and we polished off a bottle of wine.

The heavy rain had cleared to sunshine on the drive west.

Steffi spotted Starlink low on the horizon. It was that or anti alien tracer fire….


Saturday’s walk was the Marloes Circular, with sunshine, seals and a super lunch at Runwayskiln.

Strava Map: Marloes Circular
Strava Map: Marloes Circular
Marloes Circular: Seals
Marloes Circular: Seals
Marloes Circular: Runwayskiln lunch
Marloes Circular: Runwayskiln lunch

Back at the van, a cup of tea then down to the beach for a gorgeous sunset.

Magic sunset, Newgale Beach
Magic sunset, Newgale Beach

Once darkness had descended, we relaxed in the van where wine and crisps were followed by cheese and biscuits, fruit and wine. And bed.


Mandatory Sunday morning stroll on Newgale Beach, then back to Mayhem for Mexican! Lovely sunny day. Cold and crisp overnight and in the shade. October has arrived.

Newgale Beach
Newgale Beach

Home by 6pm, got the log stove going – first time this year (well since the spring at any rate).


It had been cold overnight, so on Monday morning we put the heating on. First time…

A couple of hours prepping (these) weeknotes and updating already-flickred photos (Pembs and previous) and doing my new physio exercises, then out to bonfire.

Slow going, and very smoky, but over the next 6 hours or so I got through the three piles of hedge clippings and the older pile(s) of tree / shrub loppings. During the marathon session Phil brought my lunch out to me and laid on the 4pm tea and biscuit on the patio. I was done by 5pm-ish, give or take a few extra bramble cuttings.

Bonfire: Almost all done
Bonfire: Almost all done

In between times I trimmed the broken branches I could reach on our Wedding Plum, deconstructed the old, broken deck chair in the quarry and repurposed it as compost heap “fence” and refreshed the bait in the rodent trap – something had moved the box and dug a path to it; hopefully rats as the bait was all gone.

Listened to a lot of the Empire podcast episodes.

Got my Disney+ subscription up and running in the evening and started The Mandalorian.


The days are definitely drawing in. Dawn colours lingering over Grey Valley at 7.30am, and getting dark by 6pm.


TV: Fleabag, The Ghosts cast on the show’s final series | BFI Q&A (plus the Comic Relief Kylie Special and Bloopers on YouTube), This Farming Life, The Mandalorian.

Podcasts: In Our Time, Shedunnit, Empire.


Photos: Herefordshire week 198 on Flickr.

Phil: w/e 2023-10-15.

The Beacons Way Days 1& 2: Photos & Notes

On Wednesday and Thursday I walked the first two days of the Beacons Way with Sonia and Sara. Thankfully we had two days of good weather – and on Thursday we could see the downpours deluging everywhere else!

Great walking and well signposted once we got onto the footpaths and into the Brecon Beacons National Park.

Waymarker for the Beacons Way
Waymarker for the Beacons Way

Photos are in my Flickr Album: The Beacons Way 2023.


About The Beacons Way

We’re aiming to do the whole of The Beacons Way (map), which traverses the Brecon Beacons from east to west, following the established itinerary, but bit by bit rather than all in one go.

Here’s the full route outline from the BBNP:

Day 1: Abergavenny to Llanthony Priory
Distance: 22km / 13.5 miles
Ascent: 850m / 2790ft
Difficulty: Hard
Time: 6 hours

Day 2: Llanthony to Crickhowell
Distance: 19km / 12 miles
Ascent: 890m / 2920ft
Difficulty: Hard
Time: 6 hours

Day 3: Crickhowell to Llangynidr
Distance: 19 km / 12 miles
Ascent: 750m / 2460ft
Difficulty: Moderate
Time: 5 hours 30 minutes

Day 4: Llangynidr to Storey Arms
Distance: 23.5km / 14.5 miles
Ascent: 1110m / 3640ft
Difficulty: Strenuous
Time: 7 hours
Includes Fan y Big, Pen y Fan & Corn Du

Day 5: Storey Arms to Craig-y-Nos
Distance: 23.5 km / 14.5 miles
Ascent: 610m / 2000ft
Difficulty: Moderate
Time: 6 hours

Day 6: Craig-y-Nos to Llanddeusant
Distance: 16km / 10 miles
Ascent: 760m / 2500ft
Difficulty: Hard
Time: 5 hours

Day 7: Llanddeusant to Carreg Cennen Castle
Distance: 20.5km / 12.5 miles
Ascent: 660m / 2170ft
Difficulty: Hard
Time: 6 hours

Day 8: Carreg Cennen Castle to Bethlehem / Llangadog
Distance: 16km / 10 miles
Ascent: 280m / 920ft
Difficulty: Easy
Time: 4 hours


Wednesday 19 July 2023: Beacons Way Day 1 – Abergavenny to Llanthony (Photos)

Sara, Sonia and I rendezvoused in Abergavenny at the Bus Station and started walking from there, setting off around 9.30am.

Gorgeous sunny day. No hint of any rain, which was a relief after so many wet weeks.

The day’s two peaks were Skirrid / Ysgyryd Fawr (486m) and Hatterrall Hill (531m) so I was on familiar territory. I’d walked almost all of the route, albeit not in one go, and Sonia and Sara had walked the section from Llanvihangel Crucorney / Llanfihangel Crucornau to Hatterrall Hill (531m) doing the Offa’s Dyke Path, and that filled in the gap.

The roads out of Abergavenny provided a good opportunity to see more of the town beyond the centre, and from the golf course onwards we were onto footpaths and following the Beacons Way waymarks.

We got amazing views from Skirrid – all the way to the Bristol Channel and the Severn to the south – and had a stop at the Trig Point….

Sonia & Sara at the Skirrid Trig Point
Sonia & Sara at the Skirrid Trig Point

… before setting off down Skirrid’s slopes, which were covered in lush green bracken.

Sonia & Sara on the Skirrid descent through the bracken
Sonia & Sara on the Skirrid descent through the bracken

After a section on a very narrow lane, the route to Llanvihangel Crucorney was through fields. And crossing the busy A465 was easier than expected. Sadly The Skirrid Inn wasn’t open for a lunchtime pint, so we carried on and had a late lunch on the upper slopes of Peak No 2, Hatterrall Hill.

It was on one of the quiet lanes heading up Hatterrall Hill that we met Anton, who was doing the Offa’s Dyke Path and was staying the night in Llanthony too.

More bracken, and sheep, brought us to the top of Hatterrall Hill.

Hatterrall Hill Trig Point, and Herefordshire
Hatterrall Hill Trig Point, and Herefordshire

From Hatterrall Hill we were walking north along Hatterrall Ridge, and so the going was easy.

Sara & Sonia on Hatterrall Ridge
Sara & Sonia on Hatterrall Ridge

We had great views east over Herefordshire (any beyond) and west into the beautiful Vale of Ewyas, home to Llanthony Priory.

Vale of Ewyas (and Llanthony Priory) from Hatterrall Ridge
Vale of Ewyas (and Llanthony Priory) from Hatterrall Ridge

The footpaths down into the valley bring you alongside Llanthony Priory. Grey stone, green fields, blue skies, white clouds. Beautiful.

Llanthony Priory
Llanthony Priory

We were staying at Treats, where Sue provided a warm welcome and showed us to our room. It was basic, but everything you need – bunk beds, towels, tea/coffee/biscuits, comfy chairs, plenty of things to hang stuff up on, power sockets, and a bathroom/shower just for us albeit not en suite. Not dissimilar to a tea house on a Nepalese trek.

Treats, Llanthony - Our B&B Bunkhouse
Treats, Llanthony – Our B&B Bunkhouse

Anton arrived just as we were having a mug of tea…

Teatime at Treats, Llanthony
Teatime at Treats, Llanthony

It was a gorgeous evening, and after showers we all headed back to Llanthony Priory and down into the Cellar Bar for a pint (or two) of Blorenge Golden Ale and dinner – a surprisingly tasty Spicey Bean Goulash which came with an array of veg.

Beer Barrels, The Cellar Bar, Llanthony Priory
Beer Barrels, The Cellar Bar, Llanthony Priory

I used the Strava app on my iPhone to map my route and track my stats. The first stile, into the golf course, was when I realised I’d not started Strava, so I’ve added an extra 3km / 1.86 miles / 30 mins for that section of Beacons Way Day 1: Abergavenny to Llanthony, via Skirrid / Ysgyryd Fawr (486m) and Hatterrall Hill (531m).

Distance: 12.46 miles (14 ½ miles from Abergavenny)
Elevation Gain: 2,636 ft
Moving Time: 5 hours (5 ½ from Abergavenny)
Elapsed Time: 6 hours (6 ½ from Abergavenny)

Strava Map & Graph: Beacons Way Day 1: Abergavenny to Llanthony
Strava Map & Graph: Beacons Way Day 1: Abergavenny to Llanthony

Thursday 20 July 2023: Beacons Way Day 2 – Llanthony to Crickhowell (Photos)

Beacons Way Day 2: Llanthony to Crickhowell, featured three “peaks”: Bâl Bach (520m), Crug Mawr (550m) and Crug Hywel / Table Mountain (451m).

Strava logged:

Distance: 13.3 miles
Elevation Gain: 3,109 ft
Moving Time: 5½ hours
Elapsed Time: 6 hours 40 mins

Strava Map & Graph: Beacons Way Day 2: Llanthony to Crickhowell
Strava Map & Graph: Beacons Way Day 2: Llanthony to Crickhowell

The day started with a big breakfast courtesy of Treats: an array of cereals etc followed by a fried breakfast, plus a cafetière of coffee.

Breakfast, Treats, Llanthony
Breakfast, Treats, Llanthony

Having said farewell to Anton, we headed off for the first ascent of the day, up the lovely Cwm Bwchel valley to Bâl Bach, then south along the Ffwyddog ridge to Garn Wen –  the beehive cairn.

Sonia & Sara on on the Ffwyddog ridge footpath south from Bâl Bach
Sonia & Sara on on the Ffwyddog ridge footpath south from Bâl Bach

A little further on, past the woods, we reached the Revenge Stone, Dialgarreg.

The stone marks the spot where a Norman knight, Richard de Clare, was ambushed and murdered by a band of Welshmen in 1135. Jeremy Bolwell provides more detail on Geograph:

Gerald of Wales (1146 – 1223) writing a short time after the event records the incident in 1136 that gave this location its name thus: ‘It happened a short time after the death of King Henry I, that Richard de Clare, a nobleman of high birth and lord of Cardiganshire, passed this way on his journey from England into Wales, accompanied by Brian de Wallingford, lord of this province, and many men-at-arms. At the passage of Coed Grono and at the entrance into the wood, he dismissed him and his attendants, though much against their will, and proceeded on his journey unarmed; from too great a presumption of security, preceded only by a minstrel and a singer, one accompanying the other on the fiddle. The Welsh awaiting his arrival, with Iorwerth, brother of Morgan of Caerleon, at their head, and others of his family, rushed upon him unawares from the thickets, and killed him and many of his followers. Thus it appears how incautious and neglectful of itself is too great presumption; for fear teaches foresight and caution in prosperity, but audacity is precipitate, and inconsiderate rashness will not await the advice of the leader’.

Typical Gerald. This was an upland route in medieval times, followed by de Clare, despite current unrest, against advice and was a crossing of paths at this point, so a likely place for a commemorative stone. The landscape was presumably more thickly wooded than today. The Welsh knew which route he was taking, either through watching his progress or through informers and lay in wait, ruthlessly dealing with a Norman in a way that Normans often dealt with them.

So there.

At the Revenge Stone, we dropped down off the ridge and into the valley of the Grwyne Fawr. Across the river, across the road, and up a green lane towards Patrishow – where we managed to miss the church so intent were we on going up!

Fields and a bridleway brought us out onto the lower slopes of Crug Mawr, more up brought us to the only trig – and the highest – point of the day: peak 2, Crug Mawr (550m).

Me, Sara and Sonia at the Crug Mawr Trig Point
Me, Sara and Sonia at the Crug Mawr Trig Point

At Crug Mawr we met a couple out celebrating a birthday and a family of wild ponies.

Wild ponies, Crug Mawr
Wild ponies, Crug Mawr

We also got great views, and looking east we could see heavy rain over towards Garway. Amazingly we dodged the rain all day, despite seeing downpours in all directions at various points in the day.

There's rain in them thar hills....
There’s rain in them thar hills….

From Crug Mawr we dropped down into the valley of the Grwyne Fechan, following the route I’d taken at the end of the Llanbedr Horseshoe, over hillside and then through woods down to the road. There we turned north for a spell on the lane before taking field footpaths down to the brand new bridge across the river. On the other side, a steep up through some woods brought us out onto another lane where we headed back south turning off into a green lane to start the main section of ascent to Crug Hywel / Table Mountain.

Peak No 3: Crug Hywel / Table Mountain, and Pen Cerrig-calch
Peak No 3: Crug Hywel / Table Mountain, and Pen Cerrig-calch

We’d felt a few plops of rain so we lunched by a tumbledown barn and outbuildings near the top of the green lane before emerging onto the flanks of Pen Cerrig-calch where the footpath made its way through emerald green bracken to the Iron Age Celtic hillfort, and third and final peak of the day, Crug Hywel.

Sonia and Sara en route to Crug Hywel
Sonia and Sara en route to Crug Hywel

It took a good hour to descend through moorland, fields, woods and residential roads to get into Crickhowell where we headed for Latte-Da and celebratory tea and cake – and had time to start planning days 3 & 4 before catching the X43 bus back to Abergavenny.

Celebratory tea and cake, Latte-Da, Crickhowell
Celebratory tea and cake, Latte-Da, Crickhowell

Sonia and Sara set of back to their respective homes, and I hopped on the X3 to Wormbridge!

Herefordshire Week 186: Tuesday 18 – Monday 24 July 2023

Beacons Way Days 1 & 2. Gardening. Off to Essex. Day trip to London.

Me, Sara and Sonia at the Crug Mawr Trig Point
Me, Sara and Sonia at the Crug Mawr Trig Point

More Rain.


Rain returned Tuesday. A good day for admin, and then into Hereford for more admin-y type things. LED call in the evening, followed by my first post-retirement KMCA catch up.


On Wednesday and Thursday I walked the first two days of The Beacons Way with Sonia and Sara. Read the write up in my blogpost. Thankfully we had two days of good weather – and could see the downpours deluging everywhere else!

Beacons Way Day 1: Abergavenny to Llanthony, 22km / 13.5 miles, 850m / 2790ft ascent, via Skirrid / Ysgyryd Fawr (486m) and Hatterrall Hill (531m).

Strava Map & Graph: Beacons Way Day 1: Abergavenny to Llanthony
Strava Map & Graph: Beacons Way Day 1: Abergavenny to Llanthony

Beacons Way Day 2: Llanthony to Crickhowell, 19km / 12 miles, 890m / 2920ft ascent, via Bal Bach (520m), Crug Mawr (550m) and Crug Hywel / Table Mountain (451m).

Strava Map & Graph: Beacons Way Day 2: Llanthony to Crickhowell
Strava Map & Graph: Beacons Way Day 2: Llanthony to Crickhowell

Phil and I made the most of the third (and final) day of dry weather on Friday to do some garden jobs. Phil scythed (and encountered many toads large and small) and I:

  • Pulled up plum growth below the pond
  • Transplanted 4 baby yews I found near the quarry into pots
  • Cleared the fenced edge of the large pond of bindweed, dead cow parsley, ground elder, giant nettles etc etc etc
  • Cleared the ground elder under the yew tree by the hedgehog house
  • Swept the tree house deck (lots of yew leaves and seeds)
  • Pruned the coffin gooseberry and planted larger cuttings in pots
  • Picked peas (6 pods) and dwarf beans (4) and 2 strawberries and 4 sweet peas
  • Planted out the last of the leeks into long plastic planter. Rough and ready but better than the shallow tray there were in…

I also took some photos of the large fungi at far end of lawn – never seen those before.

Big fungi....
Big fungi….
Big fungi.... with kitchen scissors for scale
Big fungi…. with kitchen scissors for scale

Before dinner I spent an hour working out route options for day 3 & 4 of the Beacons Way. Most of the time was spent on trying to work out bus routes….


Rain returned with a vengeance on Saturday.

Good weather for another hour looking at days 3, 4 & 5 of the Beacons Way. Again, most of the time was spent on trying to work out bus routes…. until I found Transport for Wales’ super handy TrawsCymru Bus journey planner. I’d wasted a lot of time on Stagecoach’s website which only shows their services (which took me a while to realise).

Flickred my Beacons Way photos (and some older ones), prepped these weeknotes and wrote my blogpost covering Days 1 & 2 of the Beacons Way.

Then down the lane for early tea – F&C with TJL.


Up early on Sunday for the drive to Essex.

As we were eating our early breakfast, we were treated to a pair of hares in Kiln field…..

A Pair of Hares
A Pair of Hares

… and a green woodpecker adult showing its young where to find the best bugs on our verge and drive.

Green woodpeckers - adult and juvenile
Green woodpeckers – adult and juvenile

I went dad’s return route this time (M50 M5 M42 M6 A14 M11 A120 A12) and it was a million times less stressful than the M25, and faster / easier driving than our cross country route via Milton Keynes.

We got to Witham around 1.30pm and had a couple of hours there before I left Phil with his folks and continued on to Wivenhoe, which proved to be a more painful drive thanks to roadworks on the A12. And meeting a bus on Wivenhoe’s narrow, car-lined High Street.

Tom and Jo supplied an ice lolly on arrival which improved things no end.

By 7pm I was sitting out by the river with a glass of wine.

Wivenhoe Wine Time
Wivenhoe Wine Time

Not bad.


Monday, train into London for the Persia exhibition at the British Museum (excellent) and a tour of the outdoor shops in search of a new pair of trekking boots (in vain).

Luxury and Power: Persia to Greece
Luxury and Power: Persia to Greece

TV: Halt and Catch Fire, The Light In The Hall.

Podcasts: The Forum.


Photos: Herefordshire week 186 on Flickr.

Phil: w/e 2023-07-23.