Big Black Mountains Challenge 2013
Well, it's the day we've been waiting for months. Today we will join over 500 people and attempt a 26.7 mile Challenge Walk around the breathtaking scenery of the Black Mountains situated in the Brecon Beacons National Park. The event starts and
finishes at Llanthony Priory, located in the Honddu Valley in the Vale of Ewyas. Ten of us have decided to do this epic challenge in order to raise money for the WCKA Kickboxing club, Hengoed, so we can buy some vital equipment needed.
OMG! The alarm goes off at 3.30am!! This is a real shock to the system, I can tell you! I LOVE my bed! Somehow, I manage to get myself suited and booted, fed and watered, within my hour time slot. Feet firmly taped up and toes vaselined, we set off for Llanthony at 4.30am, meeting the rest of our troop en route. Being so organised, we arrived an hour early for registration - at 6am! We make full use of the portaloo for the next hour, to ensure nature has taken it's course BEFORE we hit the mountains!
Here is the gang.......
We register in this tent at 7am and off we go!
The clouds soon break up and the sun shines down on us! Such a welcome
break from the awful, wet weather we have experienced of late.
We meander down through the country lane onto a single track, across a river,
over a few stiles and into a field full of ewes and their lambs - who don't seemed
bothered by our presence in the slightest! This is where the first real ascent begins.
We are en route for Bal Bach.
Up........
and up we go! Hearts are pumping hard and
we can really feel the pulling in our calves...
The view behind us of the Honddu valley below is gorgeous! We can clearly
see the Priory and our little white tent from which we began our walk in the distance.
We have only walked a mile! Look how high up we are already!
Onwards and upwards we go......It just gets steeper and steeper!
Everyone is breathing hard! We sound like a load of Darth Vaders!
Not sure poor Carole knows what's hit her!
Come on, keep going, you're doing well.....
We're nearly there!
Finally, it flattens out a little as we near the top. Wild horses roam freely.
Wow! The views are absolutely stunning!
In the distance we can see Table mountain.
Well, there's the summit of Bal Mawr- our next destination.
A little bit of flat......
....followed by a short, sharp incline....
Yay! We have reached the top! Steve (on the right) grins through gritted
teeth for this photo! His knees are in bits! He reminds us of this in 5 minute intervals
for the remainder of the walk! ;o) We have just climbed 1276 feet in just over 2 mile!
And now for a spot of well-deserved ridge walking....
Flat-ish, but rocky. It's easier to walk on the heather at times.
"Ooooo....ouch", said Steve.
Steve: "My knees are bloody killing!.....Did I tell you?"
You can see Grwyne Fawr Reservior in the distance.
As we reach Chwarel y Fan, we bear left......Before doing so, we stop for 5
minutes for poor Gareth to assess his blisters. Somehow his shoes have rubbed a
huge hole in the heel of both socks! He is in agony! Luckily, Dewi
(my hubby and leader of this walk) has a spare pair for him to borrow.
We have now walked 3.6 miles.
There's a sharp descent to the valley below,
where we will reach our first checkpoint at the bridge of the Grwyne Fawr river ....
My jaw drops as our next ascent comes into view!
Our second checkpoint is on the bump at the top of this mother of a
mountain - Pen y Gadair Fawr! We can just about make out the tiny
trail of walkers which zig-zag up it....
Apprehensively, we make our way down towards the river...
Look how tinsey those walkers look on that humungous mountain! Oooo errr!
This bit is really steep. That poor fence takes a battering as we hold
onto it for dear life to avoid tumbling down to the river like dominoes!
Yay! Made it down in one piece! It's a beautiful river, with lots of waterfalls...
Before crossing the river, we produce our checkpoint cards,
which are stamped by Longtown Mountain Rescue
organisers to prove that we have indeed reached this point.
These cards will be stamped at every checkpoint along the route.....
We walk through part of the forestry and begin our mammoth
ascent , which starts with the crossing of a waterfall.
Thankfully, I manage to keep my feet dry. Phew!!
As I glance behind, I realise just how steep the
mountain was that we just descended to reach checkpoint 1!
Gareth grins and bears the pain as it gets steeper.....
....and steeper! "Ouch" said Steve!
All chit-chat stops, as we concentrate on conquering this beast!
You can see the pain on everyone's faces! Our calves are bursting,
we are gasping for breath and the sun is beating down on us!
My hair is soaked with sweat! The only way to get up this
mother of a mountain is head down and plod on......
You can see the pain on everyone's faces! Our calves are bursting,
we are gasping for breath and the sun is beating down on us!
My hair is soaked with sweat! The only way to get up this
mother of a mountain is head down and plod on......
We breathe a sigh of relief as we finally
reach the summit after several "false" peaks!!
Yipppeeee! We have reached the summit of Pen y Gadair Fawr!
We feel on top of the world! Actually, I think we ARE on top of the world!
We can see for miles and miles! Everyone is exhausted, but well
proud to have conquered the mountain! We have just climbed
1197 feet in just 1 and a half miles! My top is absolutely saturated in sweat!
We feel on top of the world! Actually, I think we ARE on top of the world!
We can see for miles and miles! Everyone is exhausted, but well
proud to have conquered the mountain! We have just climbed
1197 feet in just 1 and a half miles! My top is absolutely saturated in sweat!
I am dripping, but I don't care! It'll dry! Yo Adrian - I did it!
"Ahhhhhh!", said everyone! Time for a picnic! "Whatever", said Dewi.
"You've got 5 minutes!We can't stop for long, we have a rigid schedule
to stick to if we want to finish before dark!" We quickly stuff in a sarnie
and follow the track, a welcome downhill towards Pen Twyn Mawr.
Six mile down - 20 to go!
"You've got 5 minutes!We can't stop for long, we have a rigid schedule
to stick to if we want to finish before dark!" We quickly stuff in a sarnie
and follow the track, a welcome downhill towards Pen Twyn Mawr.
Six mile down - 20 to go!
The view behind as we descend from Pen y Gadair Fawr...
The track is very muddy, with lots of puddles to negotiate.
We do a lot of leaping on this stretch!
We continue onwards to Pen Gwyllt Meirch - checkpoint 3.....
After a swift blister check, we descend to the forestry below.
Even though he's in agony,Gareth decides to run this stretch in order to get 5 mins
rest at the bottom whilst everyone catches up.
Matthew's upfront and gladly takes the opportunity to rest his feet for a moment...
Even though we are under cover in the forest, it's pretty muddy and wet....
Gareth has found a new lease of life and is storming along now.....
On the other hand Steve (behind) is having major knee trouble, still...
The forestry is eerily quiet.......
We climb a stile and into a field.....
To our left we can see Pen Cerrig Calch.....
We follow the track down past the fields and through the forestry
until we reach checkpoint 4. Here we refill our Camelbaks
with water as lots of us have already drunk 2 litres!!
until we reach checkpoint 4. Here we refill our Camelbaks
with water as lots of us have already drunk 2 litres!!
We follow a country lane for a while.....
.......which soon turns into a gravel track, which goes up through the forestry...
......and levels out for a spell.....
Then it opens out and we are walking through fields...
Wow! Stunning views! We head down to cross the river and
then follow the track which skirts the bottom of the
mountain to the left - Pen Twyn Glas........
The route down to Gwyn Fechan river gets pretty muddy! Eeewwww!
Steve and Kane crossing the river, stop to pose for a photo :o)
From here to our next checkpoint - Mynydd Llysiau and then
onto the summit of Waun Fach,is going to be a long, slow slog!
An elevation gain of 1470 feet in all
As it has rained for the last few days, the ground is very soggy and muddy in places...
Steve's knees are still giving him jip, so he stops for a minute to strap them up....
Behind us, in the distance, is the summit of Bal Mawr
(the second mountain we climbed).
(the second mountain we climbed).
We walked all the ridge you can see to the left of it and more.......
We stop a minute for everyone to catch up....
"How far have we gone now then?", says Kane.
"We've done 13 miles! We're half way", says Kelly.
"We've ONLY done 13 bloody miles!", says Steve!
"OMG! That means we've got another 13 to do!" Lol!
"Ouch",says Steve! "Can I go home now?"
And off we go again.The track bears to the left. Later,
we will walk ALL of the ridge of the mountains in view and more ....
Checkpoint 5, Mynydd Llisiau, is in view - It's a bit of a trek up there.....
Phew! What a climb!! We all celebrate
reaching the summit with a jaffa cake curtosey of Sarah!
We stop for 5 minutes to soak up the view and rest our aching feet.
Time for a quick refuel with sarnies, crisps, Jelly Babies & Mars bars galore!
We look ahead and build ourselves up for the last little push up to the summit of Waun Fach!
We are all panting heavily here! Our hearts are pumping hard!
I pass another walker who is struggling big time and looking
like he's loosing the will. I offer him a bit of encouragement and give him a
few Lucozade energy tablets to give him a little boost. Hope he finishes.....
Kane is well happy as he reaches the summit!
We walk along the ridge as it flattens out for a while...
View to the right of the valley we've just come from.
The summit of Bal Mawr in the distance to the left.
The youngest of our clan, at the tender age of sixteen; fair play to Tom,
he's exhausted, his ankles are giving him jip and he's still plodding on...
Pen Cerrig-Calch in the distance behind us.....
The track gets very muddy in places.....
We follow the track up to the summit of Pen Manllwyn -
a short, sharp incline with footholds in the ground thank god, to help us up!
Then it's some nice, flat ridge walking for a while until
we reach our next checkpoint at Rhiw y Fan. Kane puts his radio
on along here for some tunes to walk to. Unfortunately,
he can only get reception for Radio Two. So we have to make
do with "The Rivers of Babylon"! Lol!
Squelch, squerch!
In the distance, we can see bright yellow fields
full of rapeseed oil plants. They are sooo pretty!
Matthew, even though he's pulled his groin and
has lost the will to live, marches onward, desperate to see the finish line!
Problem is we still have about 9 miles to go!
In the distance, we can see our next destination - Lord Hereford's Knob!
Otherwise known as "Twmpa". Don't ask why it's called that! I haven't the foggiest!
View towards the next beast - Hay Bluff!
Wild horses roam freely in this area too......
Ahhhhhh......a nice downhill before we attempt Hay Bluff - our last major ascent!
I can see the checkpoint at it's base, which signals we have walked 20 miles!
I'm sooo excited to reach this milestone that I start running!
Once I start, I can't stop til I reach the bottom!
Here it is in all it's entirety - Hay Bluff! Oooo errrr!
OMG! Legs are killing! It's a slog! Up and up and up!
Last little bit........ouch!
I look behind us at Lord Hereford's Knob...Stunning!
Finally at the summit, we join Offa's Dyke and head south east....
We walk along "The Yellow Brick Road" which we have aptly named it,
as it's path is marked in yellow on the map. Walking along this flat, slabbed path is a
welcome break to the uneven ground we have had to traverse so far....
In places, it is just gravel track....
We pass checkpoint 8 about half way along.....
There are a few little inclines along this stretch,
but it is mostly flat. Nice for tired legs!
To my left is England with it's lush green fields.....
and to my right is Wales with it's majestic mountains!
I suddenly realise that being trip photographer,
there is no evidence that I was actually part of this challenge,
so I get my hubby to take a photo of me....
I can see checkpoint 9 at Black Darren.
Yippppeee! That means, next stop is the finish - the Priory!
I am super chuffed to be told by the Mountain Rescue Organiser
at the checkpoint that I "look fresh"! Lol! I look fresh after 24 miles! Superb!
We take a right hand turn and hold our breath with anticipation......
any minute now the Priory will come into view...
My hubby and I - a rare photo of us together!
God, am I really THAT short???
Suddenly, the Priory comes into view! I am so happy and so proud
we have nearly made it, I could cry!
we have nearly made it, I could cry!
Wow! What a stunning view of the Honddu valley!
I can see our destination - the little white tent that
we registered in all those hours ago!
Kane and Dewi - Super chuffed to finally see the end in sight!
Down we go! It's quite a steep descent and my knees are killing!
They feel like they are going to snap!
These foot holds are a real help for tired legs :o)
There are three stiles to negotiate - how cruel is that at the end
of a 26 mile walk! Who put those there? Lol! They are really high and
I can only just get over them being a dwtty 5ft 2"!
Oooooo - this bit's hard on the legs...It's not just me, lots of
walkers are having trouble with their knees here.
Some start walking backwards to alleviate the pain!
No! More stiles! Ouch!
Last little bit! I've been so busy taking photos that I have fallen behind a little.
I ignore the pain and run half of this field to catch up....Other walkers think I'm loopy
and wonder how on earth I can manage to run after having walked 26 miles!!!
I'm quite shocked myself! Lol!
I'm quite shocked myself! Lol!
Through the gate at the bottom and we enter
the Priory field. Shire horses graze all around us!
The Priory! Never thought I'd be so glad to see a ruin!
We reach the gate at the other side of the field.
The tent, signalling the end is just the other side!
I look back at the enormous mountain we have just descended!
Can't believe we have finally completed it!! We are over the moon!
Our checkpoint cards are analysed to make sure that we have indeed
completed the whole course and have been stamped at each and every checkpoint.
Then we are passed a very sugary, glucose-based Kendal Mint Cake for an energy boost, a commemorative pin and most importantly, a well-earned certificate!
As we enter the tent, we are faced with a glorious sight!
A table laden with cakes, a plethora of cups of squash (two of which I down in a row)
and most importantly for me, as much tea/coffee as you can drink!
As I reckon I could do with the extra sugar intake, I give myself THREE sugars! Lol!
I find a chair, carefully squat to sit on it (not even the energy to remove my rucksack)
and proceed to torture my cuppa! Savouring every last droplet! Ahhhhhhh! Lovely!
Well, that's gotta be a record in one day! We have taken a record 64,747 steps!!!
After starting the walk at 7am and reaching the finish at exactly 6pm,
we have spent a total of 11 hours walking and burnt off well over a days worth of calories!
When I look back at the elevation profile for this walk, I feel soooo proud!
What a mammoth challenge! The scenery has been breathtaking,
the weather has been glorious and the company has been superb!
I'd definitely recommend this walk to anyone else with a screw loose ;o)
We've had a fab day! All ten of us completed the challenge and the best of all,
collectively, we have raised a great deal of money for our karate club!
collectively, we have raised a great deal of money for our karate club!
Before I get in the car to drive home, I take one last look at Loxidge Tump -
the last ridge we descended. I'm like a Cheshire cat, with a smile from ear to ear!
Now it's time to down a protein shake and drive home for our long awaited
Chicken Madras Take Away Curry and a nice glass of celebratory, chilled white wine :o)
For now, we say farewell to the Priory. We'll definitely come back for
some more pain next year. Who knows, perhaps we'll do it quicker next time eh? Lol!
Hope you enjoyed this blog and are inspired to give
The Big Black Mountains Challenge a go yourself.
It's NOT a walk in the park, I can vouch for THAT! But, if you like a
challenge and appreciate a good view or two, this walk is definitely for you :o)
