Line © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), drawn by Global Adventurer.
The walk
The walk starts from the car park on the hill lane above Llangattock, near the entrance to Craig y Cilau National Nature Reserve. A path goes into the reserve and follows the slope below the limestone escarpment, with Waun Ddu, a raised bog, in the hollow beneath it, and rock outcrops, scree and hawthorn and whitebeam scrub above. The way goes on south-east and then east along the reserve's lower path, passing about 250 m north of the cave entrances at Eglwys Faen, to a turning point 2.7 km from the start, and it comes back the same way. The caves are not on the walk, and their entrances are for cavers only.
It is 5.4 km there and back with 186 m of ascent; allow about 2 hours. The grade is Easy.
Rocks regularly fall off or over the cliffs, so keep away from the foot of them. The ground is uneven and slippery, and the reserve is grazed by ponies and sheep for most of the year: keep dogs under close control. Access to the reserve is free, according to Natural Resources Wales's text. The lane up from Llangattock is narrow and steep.
Route drawn by Global Adventurer along OpenStreetMap paths (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), with figures worked out from it. Check the forecast and the ground on the day: paths change.
Good to know
- Craig y Cilau was declared a national nature reserve in 1959: a limestone escarpment on the north side of Mynydd Llangatwg, with Old Red Sandstone below the cliffs and Twrch Sandstone above
- Two of its whitebeams, narrow-leaved whitebeam (Sorbus leptophylla) and lesser whitebeam (Sorbus minima), grow nowhere in the world outside Wales
- The limestone was quarried in the 18th and 19th centuries and carried by tramway to the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal, where it was burnt in kilns for fertiliser, whitewash and iron-making
- Below the reserve the Agen Allwedd cave system holds a winter roost of lesser horseshoe bats; the gated caves are for cavers with a key from the Cambrian Caving Council
Getting there
Start: Craig y Cilau car park, Llangattock. 51.84484, -3.18907
Directions to the start
Places to stay nearby
Rooms in and around Craig y Cilau car park: Booking.com → Expedia → Hotels.com →
Affiliate links: if you book, Global Adventurer earns a small commission at no cost to you.
Paths change, and the weather decides the day. The line is drawn along OpenStreetMap paths and the figures are worked out from it; take a map, check the forecast, and turn back if it isn't right.