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Hay & the Black MountainsHay Bluff
Up onto the northern nose of the Black Mountains, where the ridge drops away to the Wye valley on one side and runs south into England on the other.
- Distance
- 4.0 mi / 6.5 km
- Time
- 2 hr 30
- Ascent
- 280 m
- Difficulty
- Demanding
- Shape
- There and back
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
Climb the steep face directly from the car park, or take the gentler shoulder path to the east, then follow the ridge south along Offa’s Dyke Path for as far as you like before returning.
Worth knowing
- Boggy after rain and completely exposed. There is no shelter of any kind on the ridge.
- The direct climb is short and brutal; the shoulder path costs ten minutes and saves your knees.
- The Gospel Pass road below is the highest road pass in Wales and gets blocked by snow.
What you’ll see
An enormous view north over Herefordshire and Radnorshire, and the Offa’s Dyke Path running along the ridge.
Background
The Gospel Pass is said to take its name from preachers crossing the mountains, possibly as early as the twelfth century.