Abergavenny 4 peaks...Sugar Loaf, Bryn Arw, Skirrid Fawr and Blorenge (Brecon Beacons).

Updated: Oct 3, 2020

13.11.2017 - Sugar Loaf 596m, Bryn Arw 394m, Skirrid Fawr 486m and Blorenge 561m. Black Mountains, Brecon Beacons.

This was a cracking hike. This was a 40km day starting clockwise from Glangrwyney in Crickhowell taking in the Sugar Loaf, Bryn Arw and Skirrid which are all delightful little Marilyns that circle Abergavenny. The early morning jaunt up the Sugar Loaf was a delight with rewarding early morning viewws. The sugar loaf is recognised as one of the Trail magazine top 100 peaks in the UK. Next came the easy but still lovely amble up Bryn Arw and along its relatively long spine which gave me superb views of the route ahead and then soon after came the short very steep ascent of the Skirrid. The Skirrid is a great little Welsh Matterhorn and a well earned break was had on its picturesque summit. Then after walking down the spine of the Skirrid it was a long hike into Abergavenny town (5-6km) before taking the steep pull up to the top of the Blorenge (not a Marilyn), then down yet another raking spine to drop down into Govilon to pick up the Brecon/Monmouth canal to follow it into Gilwern. After this it was a quick road run in the dark from Govilon to Glangrwyney to finish off the day. A classic outing on a crisp cold still day that I am sure that I will repeat.

Parking and Access: There is a community hall in Glangrwyney and I parked here. There are signs to the contrary and there is no donation box (pity) but the car park was literally empty and this is normally the case.

Route Summary: Good trails and paths all the way and a good measure of ascent. 5-6km road leg between Skirrid and Blorenge with a canal path finish after coming off the Blorenge. Coming off the Blorenge taking my short cut would be hard in summer months as it would be overgrown with ferns.

Route Statistics: Classic hard 40km hike with 1,700m of ascent done in 10.5 hrs.

GPX files: For gpx files go to the Peakbagger website by following this link and go to the bottom right hand of the page and click ‘Download this GPS track as a GPX file.’