Date: Monday 17th January 2022
Strava says: 22.14 miles
Elevation: 5,348 ft / 1,630 m
Weather: Sunny and bright
Start: Fairfield Car Park, NP7 5SG
Route type: Circular
Conditions: Frost on the ground, dry
Website link: Abergavenny 3 Peaks
Describe the route in three words: Marvellous day out
Abergavenny 3 Peaks - Route Report
My new favourite thing is finding routes on the FKT website, I wanted to get some training in Wales booked in and was delighted when I spotted the Abergavenny 3 Peaks. This was an ideal route to further my map reading skills, I knew it would be a step up for me in navigation since the Brecon Horseshoe but I also knew there’d be plenty of people on the route for me to ask for directions if needs be. I uploaded the route to my Garmin but really only wanted to use that as a back up plan. It’s an interesting route as between peaks there’s a fair amount of road running but I felt it struck a good balance for someone like me who is fairly new to the hills. In between efforts of elevation, there are lovely long easy stretches to loosen the legs off once again.
On the way to the Blorenge I went through a tunnel which to me felt like crossing from a trail run to a hill run! I met a chap walking up with wings, turns out it’s quite normal to hike to the top, unpack a parachute and fly back down!
I headed off at 9.28am and reached the Blorenge 561 m summit in under an hour, around 10.23am.
Next stop was Sugarloaf, I was power walking up a lane when a runner came by, I called: “You’re putting me to shame!”, he laughed and sped on. I consoled myself with the fact he was running without any hydration, just headphones, I’m sure he was on a much shorter run than me!
I exchanged some texts with my husband and with my friend Kev too, it was my first time using a tracker and I was keen to know if they were able to track me ok, which they were.
All was going well in terms of navigation and as I neared the top of Sugarloaf, the runner I had seen earlier was on his way down and came steaming by me, good work! I summited Sugarloaf 596 m around 12.15pm.
The faffing commenced after Sugarloaf. I knew I essentially needed to head straight over the top but the obvious route seemed to go more to the right, plus there were lots of ways it seemed to get down. I certainly lost a ton of time here by essentially doing a horseshoe shape when I could have just gone in a direct line, oh well, I know for next time! There was much consultation with the map around this area and I set the bearing on my compass, my instinct was telling me one way, the compass saying another and the whole time I could see Skirrid but seemed to never be heading for it!
I finally got on the right track and found myself on the road section leading to Skirrid. I knew I needed to make a right turn but came across one earlier than expected that said Llanddewi Skirrid 4.5km. This was very tempting,
I now need to confess I was winging it a bit here as this part of the route isn’t quite on my map!
I resorted to Google and discovered that Llanddewi Skirrid is actually a village, ok, maybe this is not a short cut then. I was on the gpx for this section and it seemed to be having a massive lag all day, I was always ahead of it and it kept getting really confused. Later on in the evening, a Google search informed me that it probably needed to be plugged into my computer and have a map update. This is what I did and it’s back to being spot on now. Handy to know.
The climb up to Skirrid is pretty brutal even though it is the smallest hill of the day, I rounded the top with my own fanfare, declaring. “Ta da!” really loudly as I emerged from the sheer northern side, Skirrid 486 m at 2.14pm. I have to point out here that my compass skills were spot on, I arrived exactly where the trig point was! A kind gentleman took some photos of me and we exchanged pleasantries about the weather, the views and the routes we were taking.
That was it, my three peaks had been scaled! It was now time to head back to Abergavenny. The route down from Skirrid is exceptional. It starts by some fantastic ridge running, similar to what you see in Dragon’s Back promo videos and then you wind your way easily down until you eventually reach a car park. I then spent quite some time studying the map as it was clear I needed to turn right down the B4521 but there was no pavement, no footpath that I could see, and cars coming very fast along the road. As the road twists and turns, there are numerous blind spots where they’d come flying round a corner and not expect to see a runner. I very carefully made my way down the road, jumping into a bush every time I knew a car was coming. A pavement did finally materialise and with a sigh of relief I got on to it.
What’s in the snack pack?
Wrap and Hula Hoops
2 bars
50 g fudge
Malt loaf
Sugar coated stemmed ginger
Mints
2x 500ml bladders water - 1 plain, 1 with Hi 5
Gloves
Hat
Sunglasses
Inov 8 Trailshell waterproof jacket
Long sleeved spare layer
Vasaline
Spare hair band
Safety pins
Compeed, plasters, surgical tape, space socks
Harrier Helvellyn Carbon Z-Poles and quiver
Whistle
Survival blanket
OMM Halo waterproof trousers
Salomon Bonatti waterproof over mittens
Tissues, wet wipes, face mask
Bank card and phone
SPOT Tracker hired from Track Trail
What I wore: Saucony Ultra ST, Garmin Fenix 6 Pro Sapphire, buff, Sweaty Betty power leggings, Stance socks, Decathlon long sleeved top, Dirty Girl gaiters, Salomon Adv Skin 12 running vest.
Lead up:
Having had a decent break from training I was eager to take on this route but a little nervous that I might have lost some fitness, I’d done a 24 mile flat run the week before achieving a FKT on the Blackwater Valley Path, this was going to be my hardest run in a while.
Morning preparations:
I started later than planned as it turns out breakfast is not served at the Dragon Inn until 8am, there was no way I was leaving without my full veggie Welsh breakfast! I was up early though so made sure I completed my full routine of stretches.
Summary
I wouldn’t mind running this enjoyable route again in the future as now that I an familiar with it, I’m sure I could shave off a fair bit of time as there were numerous sections where I spent minutes studying the map, plus of course I know to take a more direct route off Sugarloaf! In terms of fitness, I’m not sure my break had been detrimental to my overall strength and stamina but perhaps I performed slower than if I had been back in training a bit sooner after Christmas, due to work commitments, this however was not possible.
Lessons learned
More time spent using the map and compass and improving my skills
It’s always worth stopping to consult the map, time spent doing this can save you time as you’re less likely to go wrong
Results
Elapsed time: 5hr 36m 58s
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