Start at one of several footpaths across steep farmland above the valley that run north from Crickhowell. Routes converge on Table Mountain with find views over the Usk Valley, the Brecon Beacons to the west, The Llangattock Escarpment to the south, Ysgyryd Fawr and Pen-y-Fal to the east.
From here, 30 minutes of gentle gradient ascent of a well-marked path leads to the summit of Pen Cerrig-calch. Devonian Quartzite rocks underfoot give way to a small outcrop of Carboniferous Limestone that caps the summit and calch is the welsh word that refers to this chalky rock. This is a small outlier of the extensive Northern Outcrop Limestones that form the escarpments above the south side of the Usk Valley.
The summit of Pen Cerrig-calch offers excellent views of Waun Fach, the highest point in the Black Mountains.
From the summit, two options provide circular routes. The short option, taking about 4 hours in total, is to proceed to Pen Allt-mawr and just beyond the summit descend SE and return via the valley containing Llanbedr.
A much longer circuit continues the ridge beyond Pen Allt-mawr as far as Waun Fach and returns to Crickhowell via Pen Y Gadair Fawr and the ridge that runs SSE. A long day.
Pen Cerrig-calch – Climbing, Hiking & Mountaineering information
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