Black Mountains Ridge Walk

Main Walk: 15.5 miles (24.9 km) with 3,550 feet (1,075 m) of elevation

Vale of Ewyas circular (east) : ~15km with ~540m ascent

Out-and back walks from Gospel Pass at 550m elevation

• east along the "Offer's Dyke" ridge : 4 km to Hay Buff (120m ascent), 8 km to the highest point (150m ascent) - the entire ridge is ~14km one way .
• west along the Waun Fach ridge : 3km to Lord Hereford's Knob (140m ascent), 14.4km to Waun Fach (~300m ascent)

10 / 10 for the main walk

3 / 10 for the Gospel Pass East and West short walks (some boggy terrain).

8 / 10 for the shorter "Vale of Ewyas" circular walk, which has a 'U' profile, with only 1 steep ascent/descent

The ridge top paths are mostly maintained paths, with steps / stone slabs / gravel in places. But there are wet/boggy bits, even in dry weather. Waterproof mountain boots recommended.

The Black Mountains are at the eastern end of the Brecon Beacons on the England Wales Border. They are rounded grassy hills in a semi-circular ridge, rising to 800. There are 2 easy ridge walk options starting from Gospell Pass car park in the middle of the ridge at 549m, and a long strenuous circular walk combining all the main peaks.

The eastern ridge walk, the "Offer's Dyke" path / Hatterrall ridge : Gospell Pass ( 549m ) - Hay Bluff ( 677m ) - Tyn Lech ( 703m ) - then a long gently descent

The western ridge walk : Gospell Pass ( 549m ) - Lord Hereford's Knob ( 690m ) - Rhos Dirion ( 713m ) - Waun Fach ( 811m ) (Gospel Pass), Lord Hereford's Knob ( 690m ), & Waun Fach ( 811m ).

Together, the 2 ridges form a 3/4 circle. The catch is that its an 'E' shaped mountain, i.e. 2 adjoining 'U' shaped valleys, so for a circular walk, you have 2 steep climbs and descents to do, not just one! As this makes for a long strenuous day, too long for many, a shorter walk is suggested.

The long walk starts at a remote National Park car park, Myndd Du (Black Mountain in Welsh) at 1,300 feet, and climbs over a ridge (+250m, the middle of the 'E') to the neighbouring Ewyas valley at Capel-y-ffin (remote hamlet) at 1,000 feet.

Here, the steep climb up to the "Offer's Dyke" path ridge starts (+320 m). Once up on the ridge, the remainder of the walk follows it in a long 3/4 circle. The ridge itself is treeless grassy open moorland over mostly maintained paths, but with boggy stretches inbetween.

The "Offer's Dyke" section of the ridge forms the England Wales border. The path is well maintained, with steps across the wetter bits. After a a gentle walk north to Hay Buff, 677m (+80m via the highest point), the ridge turns west, and descends to Gospel Pass (549m), the highest road in Wales, and possible starting point.

The ridge continues west over open moorland, and the path is eroded in places, wet even on dry days. Lord Hereford's Knob (690m, +140m) is close by, but after a short descent, its a long walk along the ridge gently ascending to Waun Fach (811m, +200m).

From here, its a steep descent down to the Myndd Du car park.

The shorter (but still long) circular walk

Note this is the Black Mountains (plural) mountain range, at the eastern end of the Brecon Beacons National Park, which contains a top called Black Mountain (singular) / Twyn Lech. There is also a mountain range called Black Mountain (singular) at the western end of the national park.

The 2 much easier out-and-back ridge walks starting from Gospell Pass, at 549m (1,801 ft!) the highest road in Wales. These are a delight as its only a short climb to the ridge. While fairly easy, the walks are still day walks rather than short walks.

• East : Gospel Pass to Hay Bluff and the "Offer's Dyke" ridge : Starting from the Gospel Pass car park on the ridge, follow this gentle out-and-back linear walk east to Hay Bluff, then along the spectacular "Offer's Dyke" ridge.
• West : Gospel Pass to Lord Hereford's Knob and Waun Fach : Starting from Gospel Pass, walk west to the main Black Mountains peak with just 250m of ascent.

The longer, harder circular walks

• Vale of Ewyas Circular. A spectacular 'U' shaped glacial valley walk, that covers the eastern half of the full walk. Start from Capel-y-ffin, ascend the "Offer's Dyke" path ridge (+ 320m), follow it to Hay Bluff (+ 80m), descend to Gospel Pass (alternate start), then back up to Lord Hereford's Knob (+ 140m), then descend a ridge, steeply at the end, back to Capel-y-ffin.
• Full Walk: A big mountain day out. Starting from Myndd Du, climb over a low ridge, then ascend the Hatterrall ridge. From here its a great ridge walk back round to the start.

This is a very long remote walk over very exposed open moorland. The ony road access is at Gospel Pass.

Check the weather before leaving home! Let someone know you are going! Take a survival bag, spare batteries and while navigation is easy, don't rely on your phone alone for navigation.

Vale of Ewyas. The single track with passing places valley road runs from Hay-on-Wye in the north, via Capel-y-ffin and Llanthony (pub, ruined medieval priory) to the A465 (and Abergavenny) in the south.. Note: both places are in the same postcode - navigate by name instead when nearby

• Gospel Pass car park: NP7 7NP - a narrow road up from Hay on Wye to the highest car park in Wales, or a 12 mile long single track road from the south (about 45 mins drive). Small, free. Get there early on a sunny day.
• Capel-y-ffin : NP7 7NP - limited roadside parking - the same single track road with passing places as Gospel Pass.

Grwyne Fawr valley

• Myndd Du car park. NP7 7LY. Large. Free. Almost as far as you can go along the Grwne Fawr valley road, north of A465 / Abergavenny. The car park is at the end of a 10 mile long dead end road. Be careful if searching by name, there are several Myndd Du's.

This walk can't be done by public transport. Hay-on-Wye (coach/bus only, no train station) in the north is too far from Gospel Pass to walk in, you'd have to take a taxi. From the south its 10 miles from Abergavenny station to Myndd Du car park, or 15 miles to Capel-y-ffin hamlet.

If driving from the south long the 12 mile single track road to Gospel Pass, there is a ruined priory (free entry) and hotel/pub at Llanthony. The chapel in Capel-y-ffin is also worth a visit.

Nothing on the walk. There is a hotel/pub in Llanthony, on the Vale of Ewyas valley road.

There is a very small (max 3) mountain bothy, the southern most in the UK, at Grwyne Fawr, just north of the reservoir.

Capel-y-Ffin Monastery is actually reasonably priced self-catering accomodation (rather than a ruined monastery).

Abergavenny has a Premmier Inn, backpackers, and campsite. Hay-on-Wye has many places.

After the walk, please leave a comment, it really helps. Thanks!

You can also upload photos to the SWC Group on Flickr (upload your photos) and videos to Youtube. This walk's tags are:

National Rail: 03457 48 49 50 • Traveline (bus times): 0871 200 22 33 (12p/min) • TFL (London) : 0343 222 1234

Oct-24 Andrew