Walk up the Sugar Loaf or Y Fal from Mynydd Llanwenarth

Walk up the Sugar Loaf or Y Fal from Mynydd Llanwenarth 5/5 (2)

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Walk up the Sugar Loaf or Y Fal from Mynydd Llanwenarth Details

Y Fal, aka Sugar Loaf, doesn’t quite make the cut as a mountain as at 596 m high it misses out by just 4m.  Yet despite this, it’s still a formidable viewpoint. Both of which mean it’s also insanely busy on a Sunday afternoon. Don’t let that put you off, as there’s plenty of room with the network of paths to largely avoid the crowds, except for the summit of course!

The route up the Sugar Loaf starts off from the National Trust Car Park at SO268 167  which can be reached from Abergavenny from the A40. There are no facilities here, but the parking is free and the views already wide.

Even if this is only a 6 km walk, this is still hill territory. We passed someone who’d broken their arm, and was waiting for Mountain Rescue – so you still need to treat this with respect.

1 From the car park, spot the route information board, and follow the path to the left of this. The path is wide and makes good walking, setting the standard for the entire walk.

2 Continue on the wide track along the wide ridge of Mynydd Llanwenarth for 1.2km, with the views gradually opening out towards the Sugar Loaf and across the wooded valley of Cwm Trosnant.  If the Sugar Loaf is clear, then the route ahead is obvious. If not, ensure you keep right when the path passes the wall corner at SO267 172 as the path continues onward to Llangenau. Though if you do continue along it, a quick look at the map shows that you can easily contour round as well.

3 At the path junction, head right toward the eastern end of the summit ridge. The path sets off steadily before becoming increasingly steep as you approach the summit.

4 The summit is a flat ridge, where you’ll need to turn left towards the trig. Views are extensive, with the images below speaking for themselves.

5 You can head directly down, or we continued along the summit ridge to cross a few ‘pinnacles’ of rocks that make a photo opp. Scrambling over these, you then need to head left to find the main track down. Once you’re on it, it’s easy to follow as there’s an old boundary ditch that makes it really obvious.

6 At the point you diverted at 3 above, you rejoin the track you started on. You can descend the way you came, or head a bit further on down and then cut across to the car park, taking care not to continue too far along the ridge.