Way to Hill - Wales Weekender Pt.3

Despite being quite exhausted I slept rather uneasily. I wasn't used to a sleeping bag and the narrow mat anymore. It also took me a while to realize that there were no low flying military jets passing by every now and then but that the noise came simply from cars on the nearby A40.
There had been more showers during the night so I chose to pack my stuff at around 7:30 when it was dry for a moment. Peeled myself out of the tent to find a clear blue sky flecked with plump white and grey clouds.

Been there done that: Camp in a pub garden

Had some salami, cheese and sardines for breakfast then stuffed everything into my backpack ready to go - you never know when the next shower comes - only to realize my waterproof jacket was still in the inner tent. ARG!
Ross was still sound asleep so I went around exploring. Found a church that looked like a castle, but the gate was closed. Walked a bit ahead on the Beacons way, had a staring duel with a sheep and found a cafe that was open! Yeah!

Back at the campsite I studied the map for today's route and found an easy one a bit on the Beacons Way and then heading over to Abergavenny on the Usk Valley Walk.
Ross emerged at 9 from his tent, we packed, had a nice coffee/tee and some Welsh cake at the cafe and headed off.

Ross' preferred hiking breakfast: half frozen Beanz

First along a minor road, determined only to take minor roads or official waymarked trails. Not 15 mins later we came across a public footpath that was a serious short cut according to our map and only about 2km long. We decided to give it a try. So much for resolutions, ha.
Walked over some fields with grand weather and the scenery behind getting more breathtaking with every climbed metre.

Of course we came to a junction after a while with no waymark. Arg! Public footpaths! The map said to go straight on, but the small gate had no sign and we could see no stile at the end of the field behind.
After checking the road to the left and right we decided to just take the gate which proved to be just right.
Arrived at a farm with a very nice farmer greeting us from his truck and walked down into Bwlch.
I had a sudden lust for milk and chocolate so we walked on to the bigger and easier to pronounce Llangynidr to have a break at the postoffice/convenience store.
Sitting under the canopy outside we dodged the only hail shower of the day munching chocolate and drinking milk.Then set off to walk along the Monmouthshire and Brecon canal all the way to Abergavenny. The path was lovely and easy, the underground almost too hard for such a long walk with heavy backpacks and hiking boots.

It took us much longer than I had estimated since we were just getting too tired. Arrived at the first houses of Abergavenny around 5pm. Relieved and happy at first we still had to walk looooong 3 miles to the railway station which took another hour and the help of some painkillers for Ross since his blisters were giving him the hardest time by now. (Quote Ross: "Is there anything you DON'T have in your backpack?" Hehehe.)

It took all our willpower not to fall asleep in the train, but we managed and got home around 8pm. What a great trip that was! The disappointment of not having bagged Waun Fach with its snowy top was outweighed by the lovely views and the pure joy of being outside. I had indeed missed this a lot! That not everything goes according to plan and that you have to make decisions and change plans... well that's part of the fun.
We will definitely go again, we're a good team out there. He will soon have a car, me too in about June. That will make spontaneous tours like this even easier.
The Black Mountains offer countless opportunities for walks as long as a day or a week even with still so many places to explore. They will be a good training ground for my other ventures later on. I'll be back!