Sweet and sour day on Mynydd Eppynt and Trichrug (Mid and West Wales)

Updated: Oct 3, 2020

Mynydd Eppynt (478m near Garth) and Trichrug (415m nr Bethlehem, Llandeilo)

Well this was a day that I meant to do the Carneddau near Builth Wells (not North Wales) which is a lumpy old bit of turf and one that I was looking forward to doing as the views are very scenic in that neck of the woods. However, today was yet another typical wet Welsh day as it has been on my recent hikes. I was in Builth Wells and the wind was strong and the rain lashing it down even at the lower levels but the forecast was for clearer weather from midday onwards. I made a quick decision and headed West to do Mynydd Eppynt and Trichrug instead. The plan being to drive half an hour, do Mynydd Eppynt which would take all of ten minutes and then drive another forty minutes or so to Bethlehem hoping by the time I got there the forecast would prove right.

Mynydd Eppynt

Mynydd Eppynt is a very short Marilyn to do due to its location on an army range and there being an access road (public) that passes nearby to the summit. The reality is due to the army ranges this is the only access! Anyway the red flag was flying, violently so with the wind, but I knew the summit is only a short distance from the road and I would keep a ear open for any incoming munitions of the whistling variety .

The start location is at a large car view area car park (marked on the map) at the start of the gps route. i parked here, put my trail shoes and went forth into the howling wind and rain…for no more than ten minutes. I went straight up the road opposite the car park (SW) for literally 3-400m walked around some type of wired enclosure, used the gps to find the spot height and walked back to the van. Basically it was bucketing down so I couldn’t care less.

Parking and access: Large viewing area car park, no problems.

Route Summary: A vehicle track. The most tedious km I have done in my life! 1km with 30m height gain done in 11 minutes. So exciting!

Trichrug

As I drove West…hey the weather is abating somewhat! Anyway I decided to head for the car park at the Western end of Garn Goch, an iron age settlement slightly NW of Trichrug itself. Garn (or Carn Coch as it is marked by OS?) is one of the largest hill forts in Wales and is a great place to visit in its own right. It has a smaller and larger ‘Gaer’ or hill fort, both clearly visible still with a formidable amount of rock still present that outlines the fort ramparts. Give the iron age fort picker his due the spot has commanding views of the Towy valley and must have been some fortress in its time…give that man a box of smarties!

I parked at the said car park and set off with no rain (thank you lord Jesus!) and headed up Garn Fach (small fort) and then onto Gaer Fawr (large fort) and thoroughly enjoyed the stunning vistas and the antiquity of the place. It wasn’t quite Costa Brava weather but it was good enough for me. I was fascinated with the place and my mind went back in time thinking of what life would have been like here 2,500 years ago. It would have been a haven for the local community and a centre for trade and commerce in the region…before those Roman gits got here that is and coshed them all into submission!

Coming off the Garn, you hit a rough tarmac road and walk south for only a few hundred meters before the road runs out at Garn Wen, a quaint small holding. The road appears to go through the yard but there is a subtle trail off to the left where you head up a rough farm track for about another km before you get to a locked (public access?) gate on your right. After going through the gate you soon get to a gap in the hedge on the left and are able to walk across a field to a beautiful stone wall which I followed to the top of Trichrug. There is no public access footpath marked here (or to the summit) and this was my prior consideration but I decided to go ahead this way as there was no livestock anywhere nearby.

Going this way you come to a stone wall running laterally to the one I followed (I guessed as much from the map) ‘but’ there was a fence there too. I sinned here and crossed over the fence in the corner where the stronger supports were. Yes, I was careful not to damage it. Anyway, turning right and less than 50m later was the trig point. The weather was quite pleasant now and I took some photos and headed off downhill to the west to some more lovely views surrounded by more stunning Welsh stone walling.

I ended up on the South side of Bwlch Y Gors (marked on your map) and walked through the forestry until I picked up the Beacons Way footpath for all of a hundred meters before going through a gate and followed a stream/footpath NW for about a kilometre or so until you eventually come out at a house near ‘Cwmdu.’ You end up on a tarmac road (unclassified) which I followed back to the start point car park. What started out as a pretty crabby day finished in excellent fashion with a shared coffee with some local dog walkers in a pretty sunny car park.

Parking and access: Car park big enough for 3-4 cars (max). The roads to it are tarmac class C roads so narrow.

Route Summary: Well way marked and easy public trails in the main before and after Trichrug. The last km before Cwmdu was boggy as it was following a river and it is winter. Not the case for the final ascent of Trichrug as this is marked as private land and there is not definitive path as such. All in all 7.20kms with 360m of height gain done in 1hr 45mins.

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.’