As the festive season unfolds, the Brecon Beacons…
Distance
7.2km / 4.47miles
OS grid reference SO218183
Postcode NP8 1AD
Starting co-ordinates
° 0' 0" N ° 0' 0" W (DMS)
Approximate time
3 hours
Walk Grade
(5 = Hardest)
Fancy getting your pulse pounding as you walk through some wonderful countryside with the added bonus of breathtaking views from the top? This short, sharp ascent of 380m to the flat topped Table Mountain above Crickhowell is well worth the effort. This is a grade 4 route: Routes with narrow sections, steep gradients or muddy and stony surfaces. Gates are narrow or there are stiles. There are no seats.
From Crickhowell below Table Mountain looks as if it slopes at a slightly tipsy angle but from the top you’ll be able to admire this stylish town which marks the crossing point over the River Usk. After following a tree lined path up beside Cumbeth Brook you will emerge onto open hillside. The town will be a distant memory as you make your way along the mountain wall to the back of the hillfort which crowns the mountain. It is this Iron Age hillfort called Crug Hywel – Hywel’s fort in English – which gives the town its name. Once you arrive you’ll see extensive remains of this ancient stronghold in the form of ditches and ruined stone defences. Beneath you stretches the broad-bottomed Usk Valley whose far side rises towards Mynydd Llangatwg and beyond to the industrial valleys of South Wales. Meanwhile the brooding Black Mountains loom over your shoulder from the north.
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