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| Black Mountains | |
|---|---|
| Y Mynydd Du orY Mynyddoedd Duon (Welsh) | |
 The Black Mountains, with a view ofPen Cerrig-calch. | |
| Highest point | |
| Peak | Waun Fach |
| Elevation | 811 m (2,661 ft) |
| Geography | |
  Black Mountains | |
| Region(s) | Wales &Herefordshire,United Kingdom |
| Geology | |
| Rock age | Devonian |
| Rock type | Old Red Sandstone |
TheBlack Mountains (Welsh:Y Mynydd Du orY Mynyddoedd Duon) is a group of hills on theEngland–Wales border. The larger Welsh part is located in south-eastPowys and north-westMonmouthshire, and the smaller English part in westernHerefordshire. The range lies approximately within a triangle defined byAbergavenny in the south-east,Hay-on-Wye in the north, andLlangors in the west;Talgarth andCrickhowell are also nearby.
The Welsh part of the Black Mountains is the easternmost of the four ranges of hills that comprise theBrecon Beacons National Park; it should not be confused with the westernmost, the similarly-namedBlack Mountain. The Black Mountains contain a peak called theBlack Mountain, which is the highest point in southern England. TheGospel Pass road is the highest public road in Wales.
In his description of aBlak Montayne, theantiquarianJohn Leland refers to a massif extending betweenCarmarthen andMonmouth i.e. what is now considered to be theBrecon Beacons in the wider modern sense of that term, thus including theBlack Mountain far to the west and the intervening high ground. There is a suggestion too that the names Hatterrall Hill and Mynydd y Gader may also once have been used to apply to the entire range of the Black Mountains though the former later became confined to the vicinity of its eastern ridge. The latter is now recognised in Pen y Gader-fawr (Pen y Gadair Fawr) and Gader Fawr (Gadair Fawr); names applied to the hill at SO 229288. Cadair, mutated to 'gadair' and anglicised as 'gader', means 'seat' or 'chair' in Welsh.[1][2] The Welsh name for these hills is traditionally Y Mynydd Du ('the black mountain') though in more recent times the name Y Mynyddoedd Duon ('the black mountains') has been used, being a retranslation from the English.[3]
The highest mountain in the group isWaun Fach whose heavily eroded peat summit plateau attains a height of 811 metres (2,661 ft). Its secondary summitPen y Gadair Fawr at 800 metres (2,625 ft) has a more distinctive peak shape. On the eastern ridge, the 703 metres (2,306 ft) peak ofBlack Mountain stands on the Wales-England border, and is the highest point in England south ofGreat Whernside in Yorkshire. Other summits towards the northern end areHay Bluff (Welsh:Penybegwn),[4] 677 metres (2,221 ft),Rhos Dirion, 713 metres (2,339 ft) andLord Hereford's Knob orTwmpa, 690 metres (2,264 ft). Towards the south of the range are the more independent summits ofCrug Mawr at 550 metres (1,804 ft),Pen Allt-mawr at 719 metres (2,359 ft) and the 701 metres (2,300 ft) peak ofPen Cerrig-calch which rises prominently aboveCrickhowell in the Usk Valley.
Outlying summits, all of which are classed asMarilyns, include theSugar Loaf (Welsh:Pen-y-Fal),Mynydd Troed andMynydd Llangorse. The lower and separate hills ofAllt yr Esgair,Myarth,Bryn Arw andYsgyryd Fawr (also known as 'The Skirrid', Skyrrid or 'Holy Mountain') are scattered along the southern fringe of the Black Mountains.
In his workPeople of the Black Mountains,Raymond Williams described the Black Mountains thus:
See this layered sandstone in the short mountain grass. Place your right hand on it, palm downward. See where the summer sun rises and where it stands at noon. Direct your index finger midway between them. Spread your fingers, not widely. You now hold this place in your hand.
The six rivers rise in the plateau towards your wrist. The first river, now called Mynwy, flows at the outside edge of your thumb. The second river, now called Olchon, flows between your thumb and the first finger, to join the Mynwy at the top of your thumb. The third river, now called Honddu, flows between your first and second fingers and then curves to join the Mynwy. The fourth river, now called Grwyne Fawr, flows between your second and third fingers and then curves the other way, south, to join the fifth river, now called Grwyne Fechan, that has been flowing between your third and your outside finger. The sixth river, now called Rhiangoll, flows at the edge of your outside finger.
This is the hand of the Black Mountains, the shape first learned. Your thumb is Crib y Gath. Your first finger is Curum and Hateral. Your second finger is Ffawyddog, with Tal y Cefn and Bal Mawr at its knuckles. Your third finger is Gadair Fawr. Your outside finger is Allt Mawr, from Llysiau to Cerrig Calch and its nail is Crug Hywel. On the high plateau of the back of your hand are Twyn y Llech and Twmpa, Rhos Dirion, Waun Fach and Y Das. You hold their shapes and their names.
The Black Mountains are composed almost exclusively of rocks assigned to theOld Red Sandstone dating from theDevonian period. This thicksedimentary sequence is largely terrestrial in origin, comprising a range ofalluvialsediments fromconglomerates andsandstones tomudstones andsiltstones and includes a few thin secondarylimestones. The exception is the summit area ofPen Cerrig-calch where a thin sequence ofCarboniferous rocks occur, an outlier of the more extensive outcrop to the south of theUsk valley. The lower slopes of these hills are formed from the mudstone-rich Freshwater West Formation (formerly the St Maughans beds) at the top of which lies acalcrete – a discontinuous limestone band known as the Ffynnon Limestone. Above this is the sandstone-dominated Senni Formation (formerly Senni Beds) which provide the upper reaches of much of the range. Higher again are the Brownstones which form the summit areas of the central and southern parts of the range.
The Old Red Sandstone extends back into the lateSilurian period and forward into the earliest part of theCarboniferous period. The familiar red colour of these rocks arises from the presence ofiron oxide but not all the Old Red Sandstone is red; colours can range from grey and green through red to purple.
The area has been subject to at least two major glacial episodes; theAnglian glaciation of 450,000 years ago and theDevensian which reached its peak around 22,000 years ago. During the Devensian ice age, the massif lay at the margin of the British ice-sheet. Glacial ice from the Wye and Usk valleys covered low ground around the massif at this time; apiedmont lobe of the Wye valley glacier extended as far as the western edge of Hereford, leaving an arcuate terminal moraine in place. During its subsequent retreat the glacier left recessional moraines atStretton Sugwas,Staunton on Wye andClyro.[5][6] Wye valley ice overtopped the cols at Pengenffordd at the head of the Rhiangoll, as evidenced by non-local rock fragments within theglacial till, but did not otherwise invade the range; these hills were shaped by ice from sources to the west and in mid-Wales rather than generating any major glaciers of their own. The valleys of the Grwyne Fawr and Grwyne Fechan were probably ice-free during the last ice age.[7] The Usk valley glacier wrapped around the southern margin of the massif, forming another couple of piedmont lobes south and east of Abergavenny. A terminal moraine atLlanvihangel Crucorney may be the legacy of either Honddu or Usk valley ice.[8]
Landslips, mainly of a translational character, have occurred widely throughout the Black Mountains but notably in the east around the boundary between the Freshwater West Formation and the overlying Senni Formation which marks an active spring-line associated with the Ffynnon Limestone. Though undated, it’s likely that most were initiated inperiglacial conditions, though prior over-steepening of slopes by glacial erosion has been a factor.[9] Several have been recorded in the Vale of Ewyas, including that at Darren and the active one at Cwmyoy which continues to slowly distortSt Martin's Church.[10] Further landslips have occurred at Black Darren and Red Daren ('tarren' signifies 'edge' in Welsh) on the eastern side of the Hatterrall ridge west ofLongtown. Multiple slips affect theSkirrid just to the east ofAbergavenny, with the rotational slip on the northwestern flank of the hill being especially prominent when seen from the north, but also visible from the south, such is the scale of the feature.[11]
Scattered around the range are innumerable small quarries, virtually all of which now lie abandoned, once a source of walling and roofing stone for local use. In places the thin Devonian limestones were worked to feedlimekilns for the production of lime for agricultural use and in buildings.[12] Old Red Sandstone has also frequently been used in buildings inHerefordshire,Monmouthshire and the formerBrecknockshire (now south Powys) of south Wales.
The area is popular withhillwalkers,mountainbikers andhorseriders. TheOffa's DykeNational Trail runs along the border between England and Wales, whilst theBeacons Way,Cambrian Way andMarches Way also pass through the Black Mountains. TheThree Rivers Ride runs along the northern slopes of the massif. The range's northern escarpment offers opportunities forgliding, at places like theBlack Mountains Gliding Club inTalgarth,hang gliding andparagliding as winds are forced up and over the hills.[citation needed] Exercise Long Reach takes place in the Black Mountains.
There are several villages and hamlets in this area.The Skirrid Mountain Inn has been claimed as the oldestpublic house in Wales and mentioned in records from AD 1100. Antiquities includeLlanthony Priory in theVale of Ewyas, ruinedCraswall Priory,Tretower Castle,Tretower Court, theIron Agehill fort ofCrug Hywel, and the remains ofCastell Dinas, an 11th to 13th centurycastle built on the site of anIron Agehillfort betweenTalgarth andCrickhowell.Cwmyoy andPartrishowchurches are also located nearby.
The youth hostel atCapel-y-ffin closed in late 2007.Hay-on-Wye which promotes itself as the 'town of books', lies just to the north. It was the firstbook town to be established, and there are more than two dozen second-handbookshops.
Settlements in and around the Black Mountains include Hay-on-Wye,Llangors, Talgarth, Crickhowell,Cwmdu, each in Powys,Abergavenny in Monmouthshire andLongtown in Herefordshire. Many act as bases for accessing the hills all year round.
51°56′00″N3°6′13″W / 51.93333°N 3.10361°W /51.93333; -3.10361
The controversial artist and typeface designerEric Gill lived atCapel-y-ffin between 1924 and 1928. The artist and poetDavid Jones worked in the area during the same period.[13]
Books set in or around the Black Mountains include:
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
