Today’s walk is a reminder to always
respect the weather in the hills. Despite setting off in beaming sunshine we
had the joy of experiencing sideways snow less than an hour later. Our goal
today was the top of Pen Cerrig-calch a 701m high peak rising above Crickhowell
in the Brecon Beacons. The weather looked great and we were busy for the next
few weekends so it seemed like an ideal opportunity to get possibly our last
hill walk of the year. Also on cold clear days the views are especially good
due to the low pressure. It would be beautiful up there we thought.
We parked in a layby on the A40 which is
just past the Shell garage. It’s free and there is enough space for three cars
so get here early to avoid disappointment. We took the track up towards Darren,
an oddly named rocky outcrop. The path goes through a farm but the footpath is
well marked all the way through their land. There are also dog friendly styles.
Top marks to this farmer, a model of how it should be done.
The path is steep but is well paved on the
farmland. Once you get on the top however the path is steep and muddy making it
quite tricky to walk on. It is startlingly pretty up here though. As we came
around to the more north facing slopes it became clear that we had been
shielded from the bitterly cold northern wind up until this point. It was
easily minus temperatures with the wind chill.
We decided to press on however as we had
come this far. This unfortunately is how a lot of accidents and walking
incidents happen and I really should know better. That ‘well we may as well do
it now’ mentality can get you in trouble. If you are in doubt whether or not
you have the correct kit for the weather or you have the skills to navigate
with a lack of visibility you should probably turn around and wait to conquer
your walk another day. Better to be safe than sorry.
I weighed up that it was actually shorter
to carry on to the top and that the navigation was within my abilities. As we
kept going a large grey cloud appeared on the peak to the north. This turned
out to be a lovely snowy sleet mixture which plunged the temperature further.
Thankfully it didn’t last too long but in hindsight we did not have enough warm
kit to deal with this had it been sustained. Thankfully it was reasonably clear
by the time we reached the top but still bitterly cold so we didn’t hang about.
Be aware there are lots of sheep wandering about so if your dog likes to chase
make sure it’s on a lead.
Once we started to descend and got out of
the wind it was a much more pleasant walk. The path continues down to Table
Mountain which has an Iron Age fort on top called Crug Hywel. Again there are
some cracking views up here and a lot of people seemed to be making a walk up
here and it would be a good walk in itself. We took in some views and set off
down towards Crickhowell. The path follows a stream all the way down. It’s a
really scenic path in a little leafy valley.
Walking down to the hill fort. |
Just before Crickhowell we passed through a
field which had two donkeys in it. They were fascinated with Chuck and seemed
to really want to play with him. Chuck for his part was a touch intimidated and
wanted none of it sadly. The donkeys were very friendly though. This walk was a
great reminder that no matter how experienced you are that you should always
plan for the worst. The most innocuous weather can take a turn for the worse up
in the hills where you can lose a degree centigrade for every hundred metres
climbed. Every year hundreds of people get into difficulty and have to be
rescued because they were unprepared. Don’t be one of them.
A ford on the way back down. |
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