In Abergavenny: around Skirrid Fawr

August 19, 2022

It’s beautiful this morning - blue skies, the nearby trees a radiant green, the best weather we’ve seen in Abergavenny. Beautiful, but frustrating because our day is chopped up by dental cleaning appointments that we booked about two months ago. This would be a brilliant day for a longer ride or hike, but with my 12:10 appointment and Rachael’s a half hour later a longer outing just doesn’t fit in. We’ll get out, but it will have to fit around the edges.

Rachael, as always more ambitious than her slug teammate, opts for two shorter hikes. She’s up at 6 and out the door minutes later for an eight mile hike east to the summit of Little Skirrid, staying around just long enough to brew a French press for me (Thanks, Rocky!).

I’m just starting into my second cup and well into writing up yesterday’s spectacular ride when I’m startled by the door to the apartment opening. It’s Rachael, back after at most an hour and looking cold and let down. The hike was a disappointment - too cold, the path is narrow, faint and wet from the rains we had earlier this morning. Her socks are soaked, and she hangs them over the handlebars of her bike on the patio to dry out in the sun and then comes inside to thaw out. She got up just high enough to get a few shots above town and then turned back.

Dawn over Abergavenny. It’s too bad the hike didn’t work out for her - it would have produced some brilliant photos of the hills in the morning sun.

Looking across Abergavenny to what must be Sugar Loaf.

I’ve still got four hours until my appointment, long enough to do something useful with it. My first thought is to go down to the center and get my long overdue haircut at Kutts, which opens at 9. Without an appointment the timing is awkward though - do I get there first thing and try to fit in as a walk-in? And then what do I do afterwards for three hours? It’s enough of a hike there and back (steeply downhill to the bridge crossing the Gavenny and then climbing up through town, and then a return) that it doesn’t really make sense to go there and back and then turn around later to repeat the walk to the dentist’s office, which is almost right next door to Kutts.

So I draw out working on the blog until I’ve milked that for all it’s worth, have a third coffee, and then finally head out for my appointment at the last minute. The appointment goes well - I’m in and out in half an hour, I get as good a report as I ever get from a dental hygienist, then stop to check in with Rachael who’s waiting her turn in the reception area and before hiking back home.

Half an hour later, lunch consumed, I’m off for my big excursion of the day - a loop around Skirrid Fawr. Another mountain circuit of sorts, but a much less ambitious one than yesterday’s epic outing. A few miles on I climb out the far side of town and find myself in a view-blocking tunnel of green.

I think it’s an overstatement to call today’s ride a disappointment, but we’ve gotten so spoiled in recent weeks with one tough but spectacular outing after another. Today’s is different. Less arduous, but surprisingly not particularly scenic. The cause is the vegetation lining the side of the road, which completely walls off views on either side. I’d say that for at least the first 15 miles a good 90% of the time I’m biking through a dense tunnel of green, making do with the occasional gap at an entrance to a pasture. Which is fine - it’s still a good ride and it entitles me to my dinner.

Some kind of fern, I assume. I don’t recall seeing a smooth, broad fronded one like this before though.

View blockers, I think these are called.

Looking west across the Gavenny to Sugar Loaf. There’s still some sun, but it won’t last. The best of the day’s weather is old news already.

Finally there’s a break on the right side of the road and I can get a view of the west face of Skirrid Fawr.

A nice change from staring at a wall of green.

Visum obscurum is the correct scientific term, I believe.

Further north, looking back at Skirrid Fawr. There’s just a bit of sun on the slopes, about the last we’ll see for the day.

Skirrid Fawr on the left, Sugar Loaf on the right.

The apogee of the ride comes at Grosmont, a village who’s name puzzles me at first because I don’t see any hills around. But then I exit out the lower end of the village and start dropping steeply. I can’t see the gross mountain because I’m on it.

After that there’s a climb, and a drop, and then a second climb over Skirrid Mawr’s south shoulder before a final two mile descent to town. I’m back at 5:10, with just time to shower and change before dinner.

Grosmont doesn’t have the greatest collection of attractions, but there’s this.

Another angle on Skirrid Fawr and Sugar Loaf. You should be recognizing these profiles by now, so remember. I won’t remind you next time.

Now this is different. Here comes little Blossom and her minder who is happy to stop and let me give Blossom a few pats on the snout.

Rachael’s plan for the afternoon was a second hike, this one up to another small nearby hill: Blorenge. Like her morning walk though this one’s a disappointment too. We mapped out a route for her along the Cambrian Way trail, but it ends up becoming a bushwhack through the bracken, thorns and nettles so she never makes it to the summit.

So, a so so final day in Abergavenny. It’s not a spoiler for us though - Abergavenny’s great, and we’d both like to return some day.

Abergavenny, and Skirrid Fawr - as you didn’t need me to tell you, I’m sure.

Not ideal,unless you’re a sheep or Welsh pony I suppose

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Ride stats today: 26 miles, 2,700’; for the tour: 1,970 miles, 116,900’

Today's ride: 26 miles (42 km)
Total: 1,969 miles (3,169 km)

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