The idea to do the 700 metre peaks came to me soon after my last attempt at the South Wales Traverse. There are 16 peaks involving much the same East/West distance, but missing out the smaller peaks, some of which are a waste of time (Y Garn) and some of which are a bugger to get to (Merthyr Common). It would also mean less road running, and not being so far would perhaps be manageable in the daylight. So the first time I took a good look at it on the map I reckoned it was about 50 miles, but of course having looked at it again after running it I reckon it must be at least 55 (or was it 60!). And all the major climbs of the SWT are still there.

I decided to run East to West for a change, and changed the SWT start and end points for practical reasons as the Easternmost peak is the Black Mountain, and the Westernmost summit on the Black Mountain is Bannau Sir Gaer. So that’s it for the name, the Black Mountain Traverse. My start point was Capel-y-ffin at the road junction by the phone box, which was where I left my (borrowed) car for the next 36 hours. Getting onto the mountain from here is not as direct as it could be and I went south-east on a path parallel to the road for half a mile before taking the footpath up onto the ridge. The weather was a bit gloomy with cloud on the summits but not too bad. My pack was quite heavy at this point having food for the whole day plus 1 and a half litres of water for the first section. Apart from one early morning walker, who jogged with me and chatted for a few minutes, all was quiet until I descended to Cwm-gu. I lost a few minutes as 8 foot high bracken had obscured the path completely, but luckily only for a small section. Getting lost in the bracken for a few minutes was actually a good break from running, and I was hungry enough to eat a banana, soya pudding and a slice of apple cake before following the road and canal towpath past Llangynidr towards Talybont reservoir. Although more pleasant than the road even the towpath is hard work after a while and followed by the path (new to me) over the hill leading to the dam left me needing a break before the long climb up to Waun Rhydd. The cloud had lifted and the Beacons were clear, and Fan Brycheiniog looked an awful long way away. The descent to Storey Arms down the track was hard going, and the snack bar said they would only sell water and wouldn’t top up my bottle. As this was a solo and unsupported run in a moment of high principle I didn’t buy any and drank strange coloured water from streams from then on.

After Fan Fawr the character of the hills changes again, becoming wilder and usually more remote. As the weather was now brightening up with light winds, and being a Saturday, on this occasion there seemed to be wild campers everywhere. First next to Ystradfellte reservoir, then a couple brewing a cup of tea at the top of Fan Gyhirych, then a carload of youngsters quizzing me about places to camp from the comfort of their car parked on the minor read before the climb to Fan Hir, next a couple at a lovely spot by the lake below Fan Hir, and finally a guy and his daughter putting up their tent on the top of Fan Hir…it was almost crowded. This was a quarter to nine on Fan Hir and I was making the best speed possible before the darkness, when on the way up Fan Brycheiniog I saw the most fantastic sunset, lighting up in a bright red glow a huge patch of hill fog which conveniently had lifted from the top of the mountain just before I got there.

The descent was made a bit more worrying by the failure of my headlight to work at all but by ten o’clock I was safely on a track leading to the road leading to Llandeussant, which was the finish point. I had done it! I just missed the pub but that didn’t stop me sleeping well and at 11:00 the next morning I was setting off on my bike to pick up the car. The cycling went well, the weather was sunny but not too hot and 4 and a half hours later I was descending from Hay Bluff at speeds us city cyclist wouldn’t have thought possible. The car was still there, so it was back to the campsite at Cross Inn to pick up the tent, then back to Cardiff. The rest of the family being in France helped me to have the time for what was a pretty knackering but very rewarding weekend, now where did I leave that list of jobs to do before they get back?

Pete Morfey