Crickhowell

Crickhowell, Crucywel in Welsh, is a town of 2,063 people at the 2011 census on the south bank of the Usk, between Brecon and Abergavenny, according to Wikipedia. Crickhowell Town Council says the name comes from Crug Hywel, Hywel’s mound, which points to the Iron Age fort on Table Mountain above it. The stone bridge over the river has twelve arches on one side and thirteen on the other, and the council dates it to 1706 and gives its length as 120 metres. The castle was a Norman motte and bailey raised by the Turberville family in the twelfth century and, in the council’s account, was destroyed by Owain Glyndŵr in 1403. The Bear Hotel has taken guests since 1432.

Why base here

Of the bases in Bannau Brycheiniog, Crickhowell is the one where a hill walk starts from the town itself. The Bannau Brycheiniog National Park Authority’s route to Table Mountain leaves the town at SO 218183 and returns to it, so a day on the hill needs no car and no car park. The town is also the shopping street of the east side: in November 2018 it won the overall prize in the Great British High Street Awards, run by the government and sponsored by Visa, on the strength of a Totally Locally campaign that united more than 100 shops and businesses, and gov.uk notes that it has the first zero waste shop in Wales. The honest limit is range. Only two walks on this site start within a short drive of it, and the park’s highest summit is about 14 miles away in a straight line.

On foot versus by car

Table Mountain is the on-foot day. The park authority gives 7.2km, 380m of ascent and about three hours for its circular route, grades it 4 for narrow sections, steep gradients, muddy and stony surfaces and no seats, and warns of narrow gates or stiles. Coflein, the Welsh national inventory, places the hillfort 2.3km north-north-east of the town.

Sugar Loaf needs a car. The National Trust car park from which Walking Britain and the park authority start it, at SO 268167, is reached by a narrow lane from the A40 west of Abergavenny, about three miles east of Crickhowell in a straight line. Walking Britain gives 5.7km and 273m of ascent for the short out-and-back, on a clear wide track. Pen y Fan and the Four Falls Trail are both beyond Brecon or Talybont: the first is about 14 miles away in a straight line and the second about 18, so they are separate drives and not part of a Crickhowell week.

Practicalities

Abergavenny, about 10km away in a straight line, is the nearest station, and the park authority gives it hourly direct trains on the Cardiff to Manchester line. Visit Wales describes the 43 as an hourly bus between Abergavenny and Brecon that turns off the A40 at Crickhowell and runs on through Llangattock, Llangynidr and Talybont-on-Usk; it also names a direct X43 service. Timetables change, so check Williams Coaches or Traveline Cymru.

Powys County Council lists one pay and display car park in Crickhowell, in Beaufort Street, and the Table Mountain route starts in the town, so it is the natural place to leave a car for that walk. Wikipedia records that the Green Man Festival takes place annually in mid-August at nearby Glanusk Park, which is worth checking before choosing dates.