Bryn Arw (SO 30157 20703; 385m) & Sugar Loaf (596m)

14 July

Start Point: Pentyclawdd (SE of Bryn Arw)

End Point: Linden Ave, Abergavenny

Distance and Ascent: 12.2km, 640m 

Weather: Fine start, but clouding over. A couple of shower passed by but I only caught the very edge of one. Breezy.

 

The temperature as I set out up Bryn Arw this morning was a full 10 degrees lower than when I'd tackled yesterday's hill, but it felt every bit as warm. I attributed this to how much more humid it felt today, combined with a lack of air movement as I ascended between high bracken. The lack of air flow could have been seen as a positive, given how Bertie had been getting blown around by the wind in last night's car park.

That's yesterday afternoon's hill over there. 

This hill has two summits, 500m apart. According to hill-bagging.co.uk, the southernmost is 1m lower, but as I emerged onto the ridge so close to it, and by way of insurance against future surveys turning up different stats, I took the small detour to what appeared to me to be the highest ground. An easy stroll along the ridge then took me to within 20m of the summit, which, it turns out, is within a tangled mass of shoulder-high bracken, and gorse. I explored the bracken first (easy enough to get in; tricky to get back out with all the leaves getting caught on each other when pushing on them in that direction), before conceding that the top lay within a dense patch of gorse. Shorts were not the best leg wear for either of these off-path excursions.

My face sums up my feeling about standing in a patch of gorse, having picked my way through other gorse to get there. 

Looking towards my next objective

My descent path was (would you believe it?) also through bracken, and this side of the hill seemed to be less trodden, with a narrower line between the greenery that was, in turn, collapsing over the path. It was a relief to get to a track.

Sugar Loaf was a breeze in comparison - it's a popular hill that's covered in paths and none of the ones I used had any foliage obstructing the way.

The forecast had suggested that there was the chance of rain between 11 and noon, and as I ascended, it was apparent that there weren't just dark clouds around, but showers too. I felt a bit of moisture in the air at one point, but was happy to see the shower pass a short distance away.

A couple of runners had joined my path shortly before the summit and I seemed to be gaining on them up the final stretch, yet when I got to the top they were nowhere to be seen - presumably they took one of the side paths back down before reaching the trig point. Thus I only shared the summit with a couple who were trying to use the trig point as a wind break. 

My hat illustrates that it was windy up there. Still warm, mind.

The views would have been better in yesterday's sunny conditions.  

A bit of poor navigation saw me take paths on two sides of a triangle on my descent route, despite having used my compass at the top to check where I was aiming for on the Abergavenny side of the hill. Not sure how I didn't see, despite looking, the path I actually wanted to take. Putting a positive spin on it, I gave myself a gentler descent!

Some gorgeous woodland lower down

After dropping me off at my start point, Mick had spent the previous two and a half hours sitting in a side road on the edge of Abergavenny, and that's where I found him.