Walk this route yourself in 3D!
The Video is a 3D walk through of this route, it will give you a unique sense of having walked through the route before you start.
I have created 3D Videos of my adventures and have shared them with the OutdoorActive community as well as my walking community.
This is the very first mountain I hiked up, and for a long time it was the only one I did every Sunday morning, and gradually I built up the confidence and the kit to go explore other places, but this mountain is a classic, and it has fantastic views, and the good thing is, it has easier & harder routes up and you can add it into other routes just as easily.
I have titled this route ‘Easier’ and ‘Shorter’, as this one will start at the bottom as I always do and take the easier route up, and then it’s the shorter route back as I cut through farmland and join back up to the route I came up on.
Abergavenny has 3 mountains which are all great walks, this mountain which is The Sugar Loaf, The Blorenge & The Skirrid, you can do all 3 which is the Abergavenny 3 Peaks, but this hike is just the 1 and all the details are below.
Getting There: Directions, GPX and App Link
The Hiking app I use to plan the walks and to aslo guide me around is the ‘Outdooractive App‘, which has a free a Pro and a Pro+ version, the Pro version will allow you to download the routes to your phone, and use them without using up your data.
The reason I mention it is that if you were to download a route, they are FREE and you can find this link to this route in my hike listings. You can then follow the arrows and voice on your mobile, as most of these walks are a bit tricky to explain.
- The street I usually park on is called ‘Avenue Road’, a really nice street running parallel with the Cricket Club. This link will take you there using the Google Maps app.
- It’s a long street and there are houses there, so I always park further down the road by the Cricket Club to not get in the way of the residents.
- From the car you walk up to the gate via ‘Chapel Lane’ and then turn right at the metal swing gate, heading up ‘Pentre Road’.
Navigation Aids:
- Follow this route on the Outdooractive App, it is FREE, and it will guide you around safely.
- Download my hand crafted *GPX file, and use it on your own guidance devices.
- If you’re not sure what a GPX file is, I have put an explanation post together here that will hopefully explain it in plain words. It’s worth considering as well as mobile app navigation, as they will make your hikes better & safer.
Hike Map
Hike Profile
- Distance: 7m / 11km
- Duration: 2.5-3 hours
- Highest point: 1936ft / 596m
- Difficulty: Moderate (steep short climbs), sometimes loose terrain through the woods.
- Route conditions: Well-worn pathways most of the way around, good walking shoes are a must really.
Hike Description & Pics
I always start in the same place, it’s a nice place to park, and you’re only a short walk away from the lane that starts your climb up to the Sugar Loaf, and this start point covers all the routes I do for this mountain. The name of the road is ‘Avenue Road’, and this link will take you there using the Google Maps app. But as it is a residential area, I park further down the road out of the way, there is plenty of free space alongside the cricket club.
Leaving the car, you walk up the street into ‘Chapel Lane’ and there you will find the gate that leads you onto ‘Pentre Road’, turn right and you will follow the lane up, and when I reach the small car park at the top I have a little break there. The lane is quite narrow and cars do regularly go up and down, so be aware of that and there is also a nice bit of tree cover if it’s raining or very sunny.
I want to also mention that although I have said it’s the easier route, there are 2 parts which are strenuous, this lane going up is one and the other is the last climb up to the peak.
At the car park, you will see the road continue onwards, but on your left, there is a small lane just wide enough for a car, and that is where you need to go. It’s uphill slightly, and you will come to a farmer’s gate and two properties either side. All the gates you go through are to be closed behind you, I only mention it as there are sheep around, and as you’ll know anyway it’s good etiquette.
Opposite the second house on your right, you will see a lane appear on the left, and it’s always very well covered in bush, and all sorts of green, and the path can get boggy when it has rained, but this is now going to be your path through the farmland, through the woods and then onto the mountain top. The path is a bit uneven also, and you can easily roll over on your ankle, because of large stones scattered around.
Once you leave the low-level farmland where you are walking through a narrow path with hide sided hedges, and keep going through farmers gates, you will then start to open up into fields and beautiful single tree’s as you continue your walk up. It’s hard to say at what point you see splits in the path, but the best advice I can give is keep right and straight on, but it is hard to get lost really, as you can pretty much always see the Sugar Loaf on your right.
If you use the app I have added above, it will keep you going in the direction I am describing.
So, you will have walked up a lane, through narrow paths with high edges, open farm land, through woods, over a couple of little streams, and then you will start to notice the land change again into more mountain type land, and then the trees will start to fade out. At the end of this path, you will go through the last gate and then you are heading towards the Sugar Loaf Mountain.
Hopefully if there isn’t a fog you will be able to see the mountain peak on your left, but for now you are going to walk walking slightly away from it. There is a path leading up parallel to the peak, and you continue on that path until you reach a point where you join another path running left to right this part of the ‘Cambrian Way‘, which will take you towards the peak. Don’t get tempted to cut through the ferns or take short cuts as it’s really hard work, just stick on this path and then join the other going right, so leaving the Cambrian Way for a short while. They are both well-worn paths and it is safer.
When you start to climb up the first bit still on the ‘Cambrian Way’, a new path heading to the peak to the right will appear, once you join that you will skirt around the mountain and then appear at the top. It can be very windy at the top, so always go prepared.
Time then for a few pics, a nice coffee break and some Welsh cakes, and to take in the stunning 360 views before you head down the opposite side you came up on.
This is one my favourite mountains, on a beautiful sunny day the views are incredible, and if the wind is strong there are some little coves on the sides of the top, you can hide in.
The way down is on the opposite side of the mountain you came up from, but it’s the same side you took the final steps to the peak, it’s just a little further on. You will see the path and it starts as a gentle walk down to the left, but after a short while it does get a little steep, and you need to take great care as a lot do this walk, and the paths have become very worn and basically it is dirt, so during the winter months, it can be very slippery.
The next part is why I called this the shorter route, as you’re going to join back up on the route you came up on, in the farmers field. But before you get there, you will carry on walking down from the peak back on the ‘Cambrian Way’, cross over a little stream then whilst heading along that path, a cut through will appear on the left with a stile and farmer’s gate in the wire fence. A pic is below, and then you walk down through the field and head towards a farmers gate at the bottom of the path, through the trees.
From here hopefully you will recognise this walk down as it is the same route you followed up, and it will take you all the way back through the fields, down the narrow path and lane, then turn back onto Avenue Road.
That’s it, you’re all done, back at the car and hopefully the weather has been good, and you have had a great experience.
It is worth downloading this route onto your outdooractive app, it’ll re-assure you time wise and that you’re not heading in the wrong directions. There is so much space up there and lots of alternative paths you could accidently join.
Hope you enjoy this walk, and I’d love it if you could share this post either with the social media buttons that follow you down the screen on your left, or below in the footer. Also, comments are very welcome, I love meeting new people and talking and you never know we could meet up on one of our walks.
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