Travel Photos - Black Mountains, Wales

August Bank Holiday weekend, we went to Wales, now you just know with that combination its going to rain and sure enough it did but not before some amazing walking in the Black Mountains.



We'd taken Herbie (our dog - more of him later) so we hunted around for somewhere to stay that would accommodate Herbie aswell. We found it in the Baskerville Arms (http://www.baskervillearms.co.uk/) in Clyro near Hay on Wye. This is a great place to stay if you want to take the dog and do some walking, canoeing, cycling etc. The Baskerville Arms serves great food both in the evening and at breakfast time (although you may have to wait a little for your food at breakfast if a couple of families arrive at the same time as you) and they also serve great beer - they're in the good beer guide for 2009 apparently and its well deserved I can vouch for that!

If you fancy something a little more spicy to eat, you can't go far wrong with Red Indigo Indian Restaurant (http://www.redindigo.co.uk/) in Hay on Wye. The food was superb, the service was very professional but it may pay you to book ahead during busy weekends.







On the Saturday, we decided to do a walk taking in Hay Bluff - 677m (as recommended by my mate Rab in Brum). It took us a while to find it (head south out of Hay and after the Hay Cinema Bookshop, turn left for about a mile, road narrows and then bear right for a further 2-3 miles until you reach open land and a car park on the right just below a steep hill - Hay Bluff). The photo above shows the steep walk up to the path from the car park.








We planned to walk the ridge from Hay Bluff, taking in Twmpa - 689m (affectionately known as Lord Herefords Knob) and then on a little further to another peak and then return the way we came. The views from Hay Bluff are amazing and far reaching. The photo above shows Twmpa in the middle of shot.





Mean while, Herbie had found another game, splashing in all the puddles and discovering why the Black Mountains are probably so named. He was covered in head to toe with thick black mud and wouldn't go near a clear pool of water unless it had thick mud at the bottom of it. He was determined not to get clean for a while yet!

The path stretched out ahead of us with some fantastic walking, most of the hard work being done in the first 30 minutes to get to the top of Hay Bluff. You could see for miles up here, a great place for a day out.

Crossing the road coming down from Hay Bluff and on our way to Twmpa, you can see down the valley, this would make another good day out to explore. There's a great ridge walk heading out from Llanthony down this valley - we did it on the sunday when the weather wasn't as kind, I didn't fancy getting my camera out it was that wet but the views from the ridge would be amazing in better weather - we got soaked!

Photo above shows the view of Hay Bluff with the road below it whilst climbing up Twmpa. We decided to extend our walk today and walked for another 2 hours taking in the high point of the Black Mountains - Waun Fach - 811m. This isn't that much of a challenge although it did get very muddy towards the summit, something that Herbie just loved!

On our return we decided to head down an "obvious path" just before Twmpa and do a low level walk to return to the car - the views were just as good and the gliders were out taking advantage of the ridge - it felt like they were buzzing us.





We headed back to the Baskerville Arms for a much needed shower, good pub food and a much needed drink! We'll definitely be back to the Black Mountains - there's so much more to the Brecons than just Pen Y Fan.

Travel Photos - Walking in the Drakensberg, South Africa

We had been touring the garden route in South Africa and on our way to Johannesburg, we called in at the Drakensberg mountains for a few days. We based ourselves at a rather plush lodge, Inkosana Lodge (http://www.inkosana.co.za/). Although it calls itself a backpackers, its a rather up market backpackers and you really need your own transport to get to it and to get around here. The meals at the lodge are excellent and the grounds have great gardens and spectacular views of the high peaks of the Drakensberg Mountains.



The host here at Inkosana is a serious walker/trekker and mountaineer from what I could establish although he's quite shy. We opted to stay in one of the thatched rondavels that have their own bathroom with an open air/ensuite shower, very comfortable. Inkosana is highly recommended for both location, facilities and atmosphere.



We did some low level walks to start with in the rolling, lower hills of the Little 'Berg. The scenery here was fantastic although we were hampered with bad weather on our visit but the scenery was still great. You could see for miles even in this weather, it'd be fantastic on a clear day.


The terrain just looked like it had been played with by some giant and molded to suit there needs at that particular time. It was good to be active again having spent so long in trucks and the car, but I had forgotten what a tiring pastime it was!

The landscape here is both beautiful and dramatic. Gigantic hills roll into infinity cloaked in a soft green baize which as they tower upwards gives way to the rocky outcrops of the rugged mountain peaks.


In fact, Drakensberg means “Dragon mountain” and the grey craggy band which runs round the hills in the Monks Cowl area suggests that whilst arguing about the rights to the mountains, the legendary dragons divided the land by cutting though it with a blunt knife.

We walked Mandi Falls, Blind Mans Corner and Sterkhorn. We then went on to to tackle the 1 day hike to Sentinel Peak/Beacon Buttress and Tugela Falls. There are 2 stunning trails to the Tugela Falls. The most spectacular trail is to the top of Mount-Aux-Sources, which starts at the Sentinel car park at Witsieshoek via Phuthadjhaba from where it is a relatively easy climb to the top of the Amphitheatre, however it does take about 4.5 to 8 hours round trip depending on fitness level. You can gain easy access to the summit via two chain ladders . These chain ladders are a great adenaline rush - there are no clip in rails and both ladders are used for going up and down. The ladder ascent is over vertical rockface and is probably about 100m. Coming down is probably the worst bit or best depending on your point of view. The views are spectacular from the ladders, if you can look that is.

Once at the top, its a short walk to the edge of the escarpment and to Tugela Falls.

Tugela Falls is the world's second highest waterfall. The total drop in five free-leaping falls is 3,110 feet or 947m. The drop off is vertical, so tread carefully, the views are out of this world, what an awesome place and walk! If you're only going to do one walk in the Drakensberg, make it this one!