All walks › Bannau Brycheiniog: Black Mountain
Bannau Brycheiniog: Black MountainCarreg yr Ogof
Limestone country on the north-western edge of the Black Mountain, riddled with shakeholes and swallets, and about as empty as Wales gets.
- Distance
- 5.0 mi / 8 km
- Time
- 2 hr 50
- 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
Tracks and moorland paths climb from the lane onto the limestone plateau and the summit, returning by a different line. Little in the way of paths.
Worth knowing
- The ground is pocked with shakeholes where the limestone has collapsed. Watch your feet in poor visibility.
- Some of the deepest cave systems in Britain run under this ground.
- No shelter, no paths, no signal. Navigation matters here.
What you’ll see
Shakeholes and limestone pavement, the escarpment to the east, and Carmarthenshire spread west.
Background
The limestone here is riddled with caves including the Dan yr Ogof system, among the longest in Britain.