All walks › Bannau Brycheiniog: Black Mountain
Bannau Brycheiniog: Black MountainThe Black Mountain Pass and Herbert’s Quarry
Limestone quarries and kilns on an open pass, with the escarpment of Fan Hir running north and one of the best driving roads in Britain crossing it.
- Distance
- 4.3 mi / 7 km
- Time
- 2 hr 40
- Ascent
- 300 m
- Difficulty
- Demanding
- Shape
- Circular
Where it is
The circle shows the general area, not the exact start. Use the directions link below to get to the car park itself. Contours and paths shown are OpenTopoMap, drawn from OpenStreetMap data.
The route
From the pass, tracks lead through the quarry workings and onto the open moor towards the escarpment edge. Return by the same tracks; the ground beyond is rough and pathless.
Worth knowing
- The road over the pass is the one from the car programmes, and it is busy with fast traffic on dry weekends.
- The quarry and limekilns are unfenced and worth exploring carefully.
- This is the western end of Bannau Brycheiniog and gets far fewer walkers than the Pen y Fan end.
What you’ll see
Limekilns and quarry faces, the escarpment of Fan Hir, and views south over the coalfield.
Background
Limestone was burned here for agricultural lime and for the ironworks in the valleys below, and the kilns date from the nineteenth century.