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Usk Valley and AbergavennyThe Blorenge and Keeper’s Pond
A mountain rising straight out of the Usk valley, with the industrial landscape of Blaenavon behind it and one of the great views in south Wales from the top.
- Distance
- 4.3 mi / 7 km
- Time
- 2 hr 30
- Ascent
- 250 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 Keeper’s Pond, tracks cross the open moor to the Blorenge summit and the edge above Abergavenny, returning by the old tramroad or the Punchbowl.
Worth knowing
- The drop from the summit edge to the Usk valley is nearly five hundred metres and feels it.
- The Punchbowl below the eastern slope is a beech-filled hollow owned by the Woodland Trust.
- This is a World Heritage Site landscape: the tramroads, quarries and levels are all part of it.
What you’ll see
The Usk valley and Abergavenny far below, the Sugar Loaf and Skirrid opposite, and old ironstone workings underfoot.
Background
Blaenavon was designated a World Heritage Site in 2000 for its complete early industrial landscape: ironworks, mine, quarries and workers’ housing.