May is National Walking Month - we enjoy some special ones in the Cambrian Mountains

But you don’t have to be a full on hiker with a bivvy on your back , and a month’s supply of Kendal mint cake in your rucksack to enjoy the walks here at Penstacan, there’s something for everyone and often, you’ll have your chosen walk all to yourself.

With cottages to renovate and setting up a new business, I’ve not done as much exploring and bigger walks as I’d like to, so with the advent of May and a sunny day, I decided it was high time I hit a trail. I’d heard about the legendary Doethie Valley and had pored over the map during winter, looking at this trail all the way through a steep valley, next to a mountain stream. One way in, one way out.

 

The walk can be done end to end, or as a circular, or as I did, just head in from one side and accept you’ll retrace your steps back out again. It’s actually part of the Cambrian Way and is also a bridlepath and infamous mountain bike route, but the dog and I had it to ourselves. Many walkers and riders enter the valley from Soar Y Mynydd, the remotest chapel in Wales, but I headed up to the bottom of the route, parking in Troed Y Rhiw next to the stream and walking up to the beginning of the track through Troed-Rhiw-ruddwen farmyard. It goes without saying, don’t forget to have your dog on a lead.  

As I left the farm track behind and started heading up, the varying landscape is really dramatic – streams in the bottom of the valley, small fields looking more like plateaus half way up the valley side, and then higher still fantastic craggy ridges, defying gravity to swoop down to the riverbed below. Pretty flipping spectacular.

As a Cambrian Mountains newbie, I’m trying to soak up as much as possible about mountain scapes here (I’m much more familiar with the Black Mountains in eastern end of the Brecon Beacons National Park,) and it’s a lot wilder and less well travelled. I’m really interested in seeing: 

1.levels of bracken, 

2. Levels of Molinos – invasive and not eaten by sheep 

3. Levels of heather & wimberries

4. Levels of reforestation – ie where deciduous trees have managed to get away and grow (or been planted).

I certainly see a lot more heather here in the Cambrian Mountains, and good evidence of natural reforestation. 

The path wends its way along the valley edge and then above a small ravine with water flowing through swiftly, despite the dry winter. We head around Craig Cnwch Glas and the second phase of the valley opens up so we decide to have a streamside lunch. It took about 1 hour ish to Craig Cnwch Glas and after lunch we retraced our steps back to the car enjoying the spectacular views from a different direction. 

I thoroughly recommend this water, or part of it, depending on your walking desires.  We are happy to drop off guests at Soar Y Mynydd when they have left their car at the bottom so that they can walk the full length and then stop off at one of the pubs on the way back to Cambrian Escapes. And then maybe it will be time to soak those muscles in the wood fired hot tub. All in all, not a bad way to spend a day.