All my Sugar Loaf walks – www.welshmanwalking.co.uk/sugar-loaf
Abergavenny has 3 beautiful mountains, all different challenges and doing all 3 in one go is a very tough day, which I do every year when taking part in the ‘South Wales Three Peaks Trial‘.
The Sugar Loaf overlooks Abergavenny, and is the closest to the town, so you have lots of parking opportunities and also the town offers lots of cafe’s, bars, shops and restaurants, so you can make a day of it.
You have options when it comes to parking, I prefer to park at the bottom as you will see in all my walks, and then make my way up. The other option is to follow the signs for the ‘Sugar Loaf Vineyard‘ which is off the A40 not far from Nevill Hall Hospital, there is a lane that will take you to 2 car parks, pretty much at the top, but there is a downside 😁, excuse the pun.
The downside is that it is a very narrow lane, and any cars coming the other way will cause you problems, and quite close to the top there is a very sharp left turn that is also very steep, the other car park option is to drive to ‘Pentre Road’, again off the A40, and follow the lane up, and you will again come to a car park, but it isn’t big and does fill up pretty quickly.
So having got those 2 issues out of the way, it was worth mentioning because the car parking is why the Sugar Loaf is much quieter than Pen Y Fan, which for those wanting a nice hike without hundreds around you, come to the Sugar Loaf.
Still, why is it popular?
It’s in Abergavenny, which is a great town, and very popular with tourists, and as you get close to the town you can’t miss the peak, and its distinctive shape draws you in. I think people especially with children, like the feeling of being close to the town, and not being in the wilderness of say the Brecon Beacons. The weather can change quickly, and so having the safety of the town and the car is good.
If you walk from the bottom you will walk through a variety of terrains, which again isn’t something you get with Pen Y Fan. You start around homes/shops, then you have the lane, leaving that you walk through farmland, then through wooded areas, then up to the top leaving the treeline behind. The variety of terrains and in different weathers make this a much more interesting walk.
Once at the top, the views are beautiful. You can see the town, the Blorenge is in front of you, the Skirrid is to the side, and then you can look up the valley towards the Brecon Beacons and on a good day see Pen Y Fan.
All my Sugar Loaf walks – www.welshmanwalking.co.uk/sugar-loaf
The other great thing about the Sugar Loaf, is that you can make your way to the top from a variety of places, some quite tough and some easier ones, and I have a few on the site already, ready for you to use. I have a couple more to go up, so I will hopefully add them soon and have a full complement of routes up, but thinking about it, I doubt I’ll cover them all, someone will have a different way, so as you can see it’s a great mountain to explore and have a go at.
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