25 years ago today I set
off with a good friend; Mark, on the fifth day of our attempt to circumnavigate
by bicycle Wales’ largest county; Powys.
To add interest to the venture we planned on visiting the highest point
of each of the eight 2,000ft hill ranges within the county, which are all situated
around its periphery, bikes included. We
were backed up by Hazel and Barry; without whom our little adventure would not
have taken place. Prior to setting off
and during our trip we raised money for the British Heart Foundation and the
Ystradgynlais Mountain Rescue team.
The following is an
account of this ten day expedition with each day’s journey appearing on the
Mapping Mountains blog 25 years after it had taken place.
The county of Powys with the eight 2,000ft hill ranges positioned around its periphery |
Day 5
30.07.90 – Drygarn Fawr – Llanwrtyd Wells – below Mynydd
Du
It rained during the
night and I hoped that this would stop by the morning as the prospect of navigating
in mist and rain whilst carrying bikes to the top of Drygarn Fawr did not
excite me. We were awake by 7.15am and
heading uphill 75 minutes later, thankfully the tops were clear of mist and
cloud.
This was the one hill
that I had serious worries about as there were few options for an easy and
convenient ascent route up the hill. We
opted to use an old path to an abandoned small mine that gained height above
the Rhiwnant which was below us just to the south.
Mark heading up the track to the old mine with the Rhiwnant below |
Beyond the small mine we
carried the bikes for three miles through a wilderness of wet fern and grass,
with a multitude of tussocks, bogs and mayhem to contend with. The underfoot conditions were not easy and
progress was slow, but ahead of us we could see the beehive cairn on top of
Drygarn Fawr and bit by bit we got closer to its summit.
The tussock grasslands of the Elenydd seemed never ending |
Only another two miles to go |
When we arrived Mark
celebrated by climbing to the top of the cairn with his bike and posed for a
couple of photographs. We had been lucky
as the cloud base was only just above these hills with the higher ones to our
south under clag.
Mark celebrating at the top of Drygarn Fawr. Three down, five more to go |
We now headed south for
the continuation of our trip, I’d never done this from the summit of Drygarn
Fawr before, and although I knew a route existed through a forest down to a
narrow road that led to Abergwesyn, we had to find our entrance into this
forest and hope that the track existed on the ground. We left the beehive cairn behind us and cycled
down the hill toward the forest and found the entrance and the track,
thankfully it did exist and we hurtled down it to the narrow lane below.
We were met by Hazel and
Barry with delicious mugs of tea, and proceeded to collapse onto the road. It had been a pure slog to the top of Drygarn
Fawr and although I felt knackered I also felt content as the cycle ride was
proving great fun and I now knew that the most difficult hill had been
overcome.
Out for the count, and I felt in a similar way |
Before continuing we had
bacon and egg baps at Llanwrtyd Wells and then it was back on the bikes heading
south on minor roads toward Mynydd Epynt.
The crossing of the Epynt would take us to our next hill range; Mynydd
Du, but to get there we were reliant upon the road over the Epynt being
open. The whole northern and western
area of these hills is part of a military artillery range and the road can be
closed at short notice. We found the red
flag flying, but the road open and continued cycling south.
Entering the Epynt |
Cycling through the Epynt |
We crossed Mynydd
Bwlch-y-groes with views back north to where we had come from earlier in the
day and views south to where we hoped to be tomorrow and the following
day. We dropped down onto the A 40 for a
short distance into Trecastle and continued on a minor road heading west that
took us toward the Usk Reservoir.
Couldn't resist the temptation of cycling on part of the Usk Reservoir |
Beyond the reservoir we
followed the narrow road parallel to the grassy slopes of the northern
escarpment of the high Mynydd Du peaks, all were now clear of cloud. After a few more miles we turned into the
camp site which was to be our luxury for the night and the first one visited on
the trip.
Tomorrow's objective - Mynydd Du |
Wondering if I'm ever going to make it to the top of the pointy thing in the background |
A bit of luxury with the tent pitched at a campsite |
It had been another
great day and the high peaks of south Wales lay ahead of us over the next three
days. Three hills were behind us but we
still had five to go.
Tomorrow: Mynydd Du –
Fforest Fawr – below the Brecon Beacons
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