| Great Rhos (660m) |
| Black Mixen (650m) |
| Bache Hill (610m) |
Peaks climbed : Great Rhos (660m), Black Mixen (650m), Bache Hill (610m)
Total Distance : 28km, Total Ascent : N/A
Sometimes the best days out are spur of the moment decisions. My family had booked a cottage for the weekend in Mid-Wales near New Radnor, an area that I knew from cycling but not walking as there were no 'big' mountains in the vicinity, although many years ago I walked Offa's Dyke which passes very close by.
The evening before I was due to drive over I looked at the map and noticed some close contour hills - interesting.
Reaching for my trusty Mountains Tables book I discovered that Radnor Forest boasts just three 2,000 foot mountains all well within a days walk. I had not been on any of them, so decision made; I would drive over early, get them bagged and be back in time for tea and scones.
I arrived at the cottage early and was away by 9:30am. I had a short walk down the road before branching off and steeply up onto Mynd, which at 478m proved a good pull and provided an excellent view of the mountains ahead. There was no official path and so, compass and map in hand I made progress in the general direction of Fron Hill planning to pick up the path to its Western side near 'water-breaks-its-neck' which out of nothing more than curiosity I had to see!
Disappointingly it was unexciting, being nothing more than a small waterfall so I headed on up alongside the woodland until reaching the end I branched slightly right toward the summit which seemed to take an age as the contours were much more spread out, but soon enough the Trig point came into view, although the path was not obvious until I was almost at the point of cutting the corner and climbing the fence. Great Rhos was the first mountain bagged, and the highest of the day at 660m (2,165'), although far from the hardest as it turned out.
A brief rest and I was off in the direction of the second peak, clearly visible by the huge radio mast, so navigation would not be a problem, especially as I elected to take the direct but much harder route than to skirt the valley - well, if a mountain is worth climbing, it is worth finding a hard way up!
Dropping down into the valley proved tricky as the gradient was severe, as was the ascent up the other side, the hardest of the day it turned out, but it made it so much more enjoyable (to me anyway).
Standing on the summit at 650m (2,132') I was just 10m lower than Great Rhos, but I had descended almost 200m and climbed almost the same again, so the mountain; Black Mixen, was well and truly bagged.
Descending in a South Easterly direction I came to a crossroads of paths and decided to stop for a well earned lunch in the sheltered lower land. It was here that I saw the only other walkers all day!
The final climb of the day, well, the final mountain of the day, Bache Hill stands at 610m (2,001') so only just qualifies as a 2,000 footer and seemed to have no discernable path to the summit so I followed the obvious path along the flank until I decided that I was about level with the trig point and set off through the heather to reach the summit. Indeed, there was no path in any direction; clearly not a popular mountain!
Dropping down the Southern side I decided to add some extra miles and go via New Radnor which would allow me to climb the ridge on the South of the A44 and return to the cottage that way.
Paths down to the village were somewhat indistinct so I made my way as best I could. About half way I noticed a sheep stuck in a gate, so decided to give assistance but the gate was tied with farmers twine and one of those impossible knots, so rather than cut the rope I thought maybe I could pull the bottom of the gate enough for the sheep to pull free. This technique kind of worked; well, what happened was that as I pulled the gate, the rope broke, the sheep ran free and I fell backwards getting my arse covered in mud! Oh well, I did my bit for sheep-kind.
New Radnor is a lovely little village with a lot of history and one well worth a visit, boasting as it does, some history and a castle of its own. Thankfully, the main A44 now by-passes the village so it is very quiet. I stopped for a drink and some food to bolster me for the final climb ahead.
Walking through the village and crossing the A44 I headed up 'The Smatcher' although the path misses the actual summit, it is a good ascent which rewarded me with views back across the expanse of Radnor Forest and the mountains I had climbed.
From here I had about 5 or 6 miles of track walking which, whilst mostly flat and easy going, was still hard work at the end of a long day. I finally arrived at the cottage about 4:30pm to be greeted by general coffee making activity. Just in time!
Radnor Forest is not a popular area which is good and bad; good for a nice peaceful day out, but bad because it is really quite beautiful and should be visited.
