All walks › Bannau Brycheiniog: Black Mountains
Bannau Brycheiniog: Black MountainsPen Trumau and Waun Fach
The long approach to the highest point in the Black Mountains, over a shapelier subsidiary top, on peat that has swallowed many boots.
- Distance
- 6.8 mi / 11 km
- Time
- 4 hr 20
- Ascent
- 550 m
- Difficulty
- Strenuous
- 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 past Castell Dinas onto the ridge and follow it north-east over Pen Trumau to Waun Fach. return by the outward path along the ridge.
Worth knowing
- Castell Dinas at the start is the highest castle site in Wales, on an Iron Age fort.
- Waun Fach itself is a flat peaty dome; Pen Trumau on the way is the better summit.
- The path has been stone-pitched in places to combat erosion, which helps a great deal.
What you’ll see
Castell Dinas, the ridge running north, and the whole Black Mountains system.
Background
Castell Dinas guarded the pass between the Usk and Wye valleys and combines a Norman castle with a much older hillfort.