Sugarloaf

[ilovescotty]

I never considered doing this hill until recently, despite it being one of the closest to home. I always thought Sugarloaf was a hill that local kids did as a rite of passage, or the kind of hill that holidaying families stroll up at a leisurely pace on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

It was actually pretty tough

Despite being a meagre 596 meters in height, this is a steep 'un. I haven't had many opportunities to get myself up to the hills lately either so I guess anything that is not a flat surface seems steep to me at the moment. Or maybe i'm just getting old . . . 26 this year ya know.

View from the car park (the hill in the picture is not Sugarloaf)

The walk starts in a small potholed car park, and after around 5 minutes of trudging on tarmac, leads into one of the loveliest woodlands i've been to in Wales.

What Welsh walk would be complete without everyone's favorite flea infested smelly balls of white fluff roaming around

There's something so calming about being in a quiet wood on a sunny day. Most people who do Sugarloaf omit the wooded section altogether and just trudge straight up and back down what I call the 'tourist route'. This suited me fine as we had the woods all to ourselves.

Out of the woods, the terrain becomes slightly steeper and covered in bracken, then we caught our first proper glimpse of the peak.

Mr dearest Emma, dragged out of bed again on a Saturday morning, her precious weekend lie-in torn away from her so she could come and climb a steep hill with me. Look closely and you can actually see the gratitude on her face

I was starting to feel exhausted already and the closer you get to the summit, the further away it seems, one of the joys of hill walking i'm sure you are all familiar with!

But of course the reward of the views and the sense of achievement spurs us on to get to the top, so onwards we went. The highest peak I have climbed is Braeriach in the Cairngorms, at 1296 meters high. I always tell myself on any hill walk that if I can climb Braeriach, I can climb almost anything else.

Aren't foxgloves just one of the nicest things about a countryside walk in Britain?

Much of south and central wales is made up of sparse, almost barren uplands that have been overgrazed by sheep. This overgrazing leaves an un-natural treeless landscape as it doesn't allow new saplings to establish themselves. It is encouraging and very satisfying when you do come across areas of natural woodland in Wales, and the Brecon Beacons National Park has some real gems. There are two large native woods at the base of Sugarloaf and I got a good view of both the further we climbed.

A view of the woods we came through sprawled out below us

We were almost at the summit at this point and we came across an unexpected cave. Emma tried to crawl inside it, determined to have her Saturday lie in even if it was on the side of a mountain.

I jest.

At the top we saw this chap sitting, eating a satsuma and just soaking in the views. Little did he know he was destined to become a Walkhighlands celebrity.

I really like this photo, very Alfred Wainwright-y don'tcha think?

The weather now was as terrible as you can imagine. Black clouds, wind, rain. And painful rain too. You know the stuff that drives sideways into your face and feels like a thousand pins. Still, we had reached the summit and that's all that mattered.

My last photograph is of a hill called Skirrid Fawr, which I intend to do next time.

I never saw Emma again after this walk. Last I heard she settled down with a chap who really enjoys lie-ins and hates hill walking.

[ChrisW]

I never saw Emma again after this walk. Last I heard she settled down with a chap who really enjoys lie-ins and hates hill walking.

Lovely saturday morning wander ILS, that wainwright-y shot is a belter, I had to look twice to check it wasn't me sitting around eating a satsuma is my mountain pastime of choice

Great looking forest too, I love a forest wander myself though I think I liked them more without the bears and cougars lurking in the dark corners

[ilovescotty]

Ah but the bears and cougars must be exciting no? That's the only thing that frustrates me about our forests back here in Blighty is the lack of large mammals.

That being said we have a ton of wild boar in the Forest of Dean which is pretty much on my doorstep. Nothing quite gets the heart rate going like stumbling across a sounder of boar on your evening jog, especially when there are babies in tow. The mothers can get deffensive and do this kind of mock charge thing.

Still, i'd rather be chased by a large pig than a bear

[willsdad]

There's a blast from the past!

I was 'forced' as a 17/18 year old squaddie to run up and down that hill from the camp at Crickhowell. The first and only time I've ever run that far uphill.
Never again!

Your photo's have helped to calm the psychological trauma I've carried for many years

[ilovescotty]

Your photo's have helped to calm the psychological trauma I've carried for many years

I'm glad seeing my pain and trauma has helped you overcome your own

You should go back and try it again, but maybe walk this time! I think I would literally pass out if I attempted to run up Sugarloaf!

[dav2930]

Very entertaining report and nice pics. Lovely part of the world that. The woodlands look enchanting, though it's a pity about the vast acres of bracken - something of a scourge on the Lakeland fells too which have also been subject to overgrazing. Sugarloaf looks like a great viewpoint - it's a shame that Emma didn't share your enthusiasm!

My first ever experience of British hill country, aged 11, was in this area (the Black Mountains) and I've been wanting to go back ever since, but have somehow never got round to it. My parents and I stayed at a farm called Ty Caradog near Michaelchurch-Escley in Herefordshire (maybe you know of it?). The farmer was called Mr Woodcole and he reckoned he was descended from Old King Cole. He taught us all about the medicinal properties of herbs and used to eat handfuls of wormwood every morning (try eating just one leaf of that stuff ). Lady Betjeman (the poet John Betjeman's wife) called in one evening and said hello - she was a frequent visitor to the Woodcoles apparently. Memories!

[ilovescotty]

Very entertaining report and nice pics. Lovely part of the world that. The woodlands look enchanting, though it's a pity about the vast acres of bracken - something of a scourge on the Lakeland fells too which have also been subject to overgrazing. Sugarloaf looks like a great viewpoint - it's a shame that Emma didn't share your enthusiasm!

My first ever experience of British hill country, aged 11, was in this area (the Black Mountains) and I've been wanting to go back ever since, but have somehow never got round to it. My parents and I stayed at a farm called Ty Caradog near Michaelchurch-Escley in Herefordshire (maybe you know of it?). The farmer was called Mr Woodcole and he reckoned he was descended from Old King Cole. He taught us all about the medicinal properties of herbs and used to eat handfuls of wormwood every morning (try eating just one leaf of that stuff ). Lady Betjeman (the poet John Betjeman's wife) called in one evening and said hello - she was a frequent visitor to the Woodcoles apparently. Memories!

Thanks Dav2930. Yes it is a great part of the country which I'm starting to appreciate more and more as begin to explore it. I know Michaelchurch Escley fairly well, I live in Ross on Wye in South Herefordshire which isn't all that far, but have only really started venturing into Wales over the last 2 years or so. I can't say I know Mr Woodcole. I wish I did as he sounds a real character!

I would strongly encourage you to come to the area if you get a chance, South Herefordshire and the welsh borders have so many great walking opportunities and the scenery is outstanding. You could spend a fortnight in the area and would not run out of incredible places to see.