On a fairly bright morning, five walkers joined leader Robin and his cocker spaniel Pepper for a journey up to just north of Crickhowell in order to spend a day in the Black Mountains.
Upon their arrival at a small parking area they met two fellow walkers from Ilkley in Yorkshire who advised them they were hoping to climb Waun Fach.
After wishing them luck the party set off and soon began to climb through a shady forest where they stopped briefly for morning coffee. The weather was superb for walking with very clear views in all directions and soon the few clouds that hung in the sky disappeared leaving clear blue skies behind with barely a breath of wind.
Gradually climbing to the ridgeway above Mynydd Du Forest in which there is a spectacular mountain biking trail and heading north, they were able to drink in the glorious views surrounding them. Then tramping on to Pen y Gadair and arriving at exactly one o’clock precisely a stop was made for lunch in brilliant warm sunshine, as Pepper devoured his lunch as per usual, before everyone else had started!
The route had been wetter underfoot than expected and the path to the summit of Waun Fach which lies just west of the Grwyne Fawr valley has always involved a lot of bog-hopping, so the group were somewhat surprised on nearing Pen y Gadair to find a new gravel path underfoot along with some nicely laid stone steps.
Following lunch and leaving Pen y Gadair there were mixed feelings about the new path, as although it was a big improvement to underfoot conditions on the landscape, some felt it somewhat destroyed the satisfaction of completing the difficult approach to Waun Fach which stands at 810-metres, because there were no peat or bog traps to avoid.
The summit of Waun Fach which is the highest peak in the Black Mountains is somewhat featureless and a bit of a let-down with its boggy, peaty top and passing over it they turned west over a small col to Pen Trumau, which at 707-metres is a subsidiary peak of Waun Fach overlooking the stunning Rhiangoll Valley. Back in 1976 a moorland fire raged there and destroyed a huge area of grassland so the peat was exposed and has been eroding ever since making the mountainside appear black.
Beginning the descent the wild heather or ling became prominent as Pepper enjoyed a roll in the pretty purple flowers adorning the hillsides. With fantastic views towards Sugar Loaf Mountain and by common consent a late picnic stop was made so they could rest in the bouncy heather to enjoy the afternoon sunshine.
Then completing their descent and following a boggy lane they arrived back at their start point and once again bumped into the Yorkshire couple who had also just finished their trek convinced they had climbed Waun Fach and hopefully they were right!
