Date: Tuesday 12th October 2021
Official miles: 34.76 miles
Strava says: 35.35 miles
Elevation: 6,338 ft / 1,932 m
Weather: a perfect 9°C, cool and sunny
Start: Llanbedr, Wales
Route type: circular
Conditions: dry
Website link: Black Mountains Circular
Describe the route in three words: glorious mountainous scenery
Black Mountains Circular - new FKT
I am really keen to know how to properly navigate with a map and compass and to not have to rely on tech (just as well as I don’t really have any tech!) so I booked Brett Mahoney from M&L Outdoors to run the route with me and teach me navigation skills along the way. The start of the route is at the Red Lion pub in Llanbedr so I met Brett at a nearby lay-by.
Brett first of all showed me the differences between OS maps and Harvey’s maps. Both do have their benefits as well as their downsides. I was using a Harvey’s map as this is the same brand that I use for Hardwolds 80. Brett talked me through a number of things on the map such as contour lines, hazards and scale. We discussed the five D’s - distance, direction, duration, description and danger. We set off at 9.28am at a stonking pace of 8:30 minute miles and I said,
“We need to slow this down! We have a long way to go!”
We knew from looking at the map that we’d be turning right at the end of the road and then see some buildings, there would be a trail on the left just past the last building, it was very satisfying to see the route on the map come to life. Our first climb of the day began, we were on our way to Table Mountain, 451 m arriving around 9.50am. I had sweat dripping through my eyeballs on this climb - I think my body was in shock having only been enjoying a full Welsh cooked veggie breakfast around an hour before, what was this climb I was making it do?!
We continued onward and upwards to Pen Cerrig Calch, 707 m and then Pen Allt-mawr, 720 m. I’ve only run in Wales once before, that was when I did the Dragon’s Back day 2 recce, this was a very different experience. With this particular route, there was a lot of climbing at the start but then once we were up on the top, we stayed up there, running along the ridge.
Brett talked to me about a map reading technique called hand railing, where you are clinging to a feature to save you from constantly checking the map, our handrail was just to stay on the top, and keep the drop to one side of us. There certainly are large sections of this route where you can really pick the pace up, I’m still finding my confidence moving quickly over rocky mountain ground but I do feel like I am improving.
We were climbing still, although less noticeably, I was nice and warmed up now - my eyeballs had stopped sweating! There was a short steep push up to Waun Fach, 809 m, our highest peak of the day. I ate a bar as we’d been moving for over 2 hours now.
We saw many Welsh ponies along the route, all of which were stunning, we saw a couple of foals and a few leggy youngsters. Brett explained that the farmer landowners used to have an agreement to look after the ponies, but as farms have been sold to private families moving to the Welsh mountains from suburban cities, the agreements have been forgotten and now apparently there is a lot of in-breeding and many of the ponies have deformities, this made me feel sad, I hope that a new agreement will be put in place in the near future for these majestic and hardy creatures.
We stopped at Twmpa, 684 m for a bite to eat as it was around 12.30pm, I had a vegan falafel wrap. As we had been running along the ridge to Twmpa, (which is also known as Lord Hereford's Knob due to its shape) we had seen many gliders silently float through the sky, they looked quite odd, I don't think I've seen one so close before and I even questioned Brett as to whether a person was sat inside or not. They looked too small to fit people inside, yet too big to be remote controlled.
A couple of points along the route we had passed what looked like grave stones, Brett explained to me that this was a coffin route, these were routes used to carry coffins from isolated communities to cemeteries with burial rights. We also passed a lot of ton bags filled with rocks, these had got here by helicopter and were rumoured to cost £5,000 a drop… the idea is they will be used on the paths to protect the environment from erosion from the many feet that trample along the footpaths each year. Brett told me that local volunteers do the hard labour of laying the rocks on the path, he said most of them are over 70 and during lockdown he paid compassion visits to one of the volunteers who is in his nineties! Don’t forget, these hard grafting volunteers don’t get dropped up here with their shovels by helicopter, they have to walk up here!
We cross over Gospel Road eating vegan sugared jelly sweets and continued on a bit lower to Hay Bluff, 677 m. Hay Bluff is right on the Welsh / English border and Brett wonders out loud who owns it, and then Brett points out the Dragon on the trig point, it is most definitely Welsh! We join the Offa's Dyke Path, a 177 mile path which we will be on for around 12 or so miles.
Our penultimate summit of the day was Twyn Llech, 703 m we paused en-route to it so Brett could find out if I could pinpoint exactly where we were on the map…. I did! I wasn’t sure who was more impressed, him or I… I should perhaps mention that there had been more than one occasion where I had held the map the wrong way round and also once I had held it upside down!
We passed East of Hatterell Hill and planned to stop for a quick map check, I realised my Garmin was almost on 25 miles so I said we needed to round up to 25... we did and then we saw a gate so we passed through the gate and then sat on the other side with the map in front of us. I suddenly felt quite hungry so scoffed the other half of my wrap. Brett knew that I wanted to follow the FKT route exactly so that our path and time would qualify so he said that although we would continue to map read, he would keep discreetly checking his gps. He knows the area so well, it would be very easy for him to choose a slightly different route to the official FKT route.
The route to Sugar Loaf was very different to the paths we’d previously been doing, the scenery became less mountainous and more rural - a tarmac road past dairy and sheep farms and farmland. To get up to Sugar Loaf we had to follow a fence line which then opened out on to a sea of fern.
There was then a short but steep ascent littered with rocks. We passed two walkers coming down who were very impressed with our distance, even though theirs was more impressive, they were doing 25 miles, that must take AGES to walk!
We finally summited, Sugar Loaf, 596 m around 5pm, I had an enormous grin on my face as I knew that was the final mountain of the day, well, it’s a hill actually, a mountain needs to be 600 m or more! We stopped for a few minutes to take photos, admire the view an do some compass work, I learned how to find a bearing.
I had to don a hat and an extra layer as the wind was giving me a chill. Just before we set off, we were surrounded by 8 - 10 very happy looking brown spaniels. I asked their owner if they were search and rescue dogs, she said no, she just really liked brown dogs! I thought it was sweet how each dog was carrying their own toy. One deposited his giant yellow jelly bean at Brett’s feet so I picked it up and threw it for him.
Time to go, we set off at a keen pace as both of us felt our fingers about to get cold. Quite a lengthy downhill now, over grass then through a gate and along a slate/shale path. Over a cute bridge and through a forest. I fell over along one of these tracks and ripped my Sweaty Betty leggings (I thought they were indestructible!) and laughed out loud as I had literally just been thinking that I hadn't stumbled over anything yet which I often do on longer runs. We had a little climb out of the muggy woodland and popped out onto tarmac, it was then just a few turns past houses, a school and a church and then we arrived back where it had all started, at the Red Lion, Llanbedr. I stopped my watch and we high fived, that was it, Brett and I now had the Fastest Known Time for a mixed gender team for the Black Mountains Circular!
What’s in the snack pack?
Vegan falafel wrap
2x bars (Nakd and Barebells)
Fruit and nut trail mix
Shell-less Skittles
Sugar coated stemmed ginger
Mints
2x 500ml bladders water - with Hi 5
2 litre bladder with water
Sunglasses
Gloves
Hat
Innov8 Trailshell waterproof jacket
Long sleeved spare layer
Vasaline
Safety pins
Compeed, plasters, surgical tape, spare socks
Harrier Helvellyn Carbon Z-Poles and quiver
Portable phone charger with cable
Whistle
Survival blanket
What I wore: Saucony Ultra ST, Garmin Forerunner 35, buff, sun cap, Sweaty Betty power leggings, tee shirt, OMM arm sleeves, Dirty Girl gaiters, Salomon Adv Skin 12 running vest.
Lead up:
I had initially booked a trip to Wales to coincide with the Dragon’s Back Race so that I could watch the day 5 finish but things didn’t quite pan out… I had booked Brett to teach me map and compass skills but his very overdue baby meant he could not risk leaving his wife all day so we agreed to postpone. I had also wanted to see the elite runners and my ultra running buddy Kev cross the day 5 finish but due to incredible hot weather and various injuries and illness, all the people I’d wanted to see had had to pull out of the race! I re-scheduled my trip for October, the plan was to run two FKT routes neither of which had a ladies time recorded. As this was a training run, I did not prepare in the same way as I would for a race, I took a rest day the day before this route.
Morning preparations:
I woke earlier than my alarm and used the time to do some stretches then I had a fabulous cooked vegetarian Welsh breakfast at the Dragon Inn, 2x veggie sausages, toast, fried egg, hash brown, mushrooms, cup of tea and orange juice. It was a 5 minute drive from the Dragon Inn to the lay-by where I was meeting Brett.
Summary
This was a really enjoyable route and such a brilliant way to learn navigation skills, spending the time with a professional guide is invaluable, I will certainly feel safer in future when I am in the middle of nowhere on an ultra, I have the skills to get myself to where I need to be.
If I am ever lucky enough to be in the Black Mountains again, I try this route on my own, I know that it is pretty easy to follow. Brett and I were extremely lucky with the weather too! I love that the FKT website has such a wide variety of routes available and it’s so rewarding to know that there are quite a few that are awaiting a ladies/team time to be added. I was happy with how I fuelled myself and felt like I wore and packed the right things.
Lessons learned
Navigation! I feel confident with a map and compass now.
Results
New FKT: mixed gender team
Strava elapsed time: 8 hr 27 m 43 s
Strava moving time: 7 hr 12 m 53 s