Local walks from Fforest Barn

LOCAL WALKS from FFOREST BARN

There are ten good local walks ranging from 40 minutes to 2.5 hours round trip.

These are:

1. Bryn Awr – up to the top and back – 30 mins

2. The Pant roundtrip – 40 mins – down and a little up

3. Patrishow Chapel back to Fforest Barn – 40 mins – down

4. The Gaer – 1.5 hours – up and down

5. Bryn Awr to the Crown pub – 1 hour – up, along, down

6. Bryn Awr back on the Sugarloaf side – 1 hour – up, along, down

7. Sugarloaf – there and back – 1 hour 45 mins – steep up, down

8. Gwynne Fawr Reservoir Walk – 1 hour there, 40 mins back – gentle up, down

9. Drive up to Gaer – 20 min walk to the top, 15 mins down

10. Gaer to Llantony Priory – 2 hours

Bryn Awr – up to the top and back – 30 mins

The Pant – roundtrip – 40 mins – down and a little up

Leave Fforest Barn, through the gate at the end of the road, up the path but turn to the left when the path splits, going downhill. Keep going into the Fforest at the bottom of which you’ll see a raised forest walk. If you go straight on you’ll come to the road. Cross it and head up and to the left towards the Pant. You’ll come out after 5 or 10 minutes by a pond. Keep going toward the Pant house along the path with the house on the right. You’ll end up leaving the house behind and walking along the drive.

Turn left down the hill coming to ‘five ways’ crossroad by the phone box. Take the Abergavenny road and shortly, on the left, you’ll see a style and a path crossing a field. Take this and follow the path which will take you through a wood and finally across a field towards The Old School House, with a style over into our lane. Turn left and keep going to the end for Fforest Barn.

Patricio Chapel – back to Fforest Barn – 40 mins – down

This is a ‘must see’ place to visit. If you get dropped off (or picked up here if you do in reverse) follow the path through the gate behind the church going across a field and downhill. This will bribng you to the lower Gwynne Fawr Resevoir Road. Walk along this to to ‘five ways’ crossroad by the phone box. Take the Abergavenny road and shortly, on the left, you’ll see a style and a path crossing a field. Take this and follow the path which will take you through a wood and finally across a field towards The Old School House, with a style over into our lane. Turn left and keep going to the end for Fforest Barn.

The Gaer – 1.5 hours – up and down

Turn right, along the road from Fforest Barn. Just past the Old School House there’s a style on the right to cut the corner to Five Ways. At Five Ways go straight across to The Pant. Keep walking past the Pant and a farm on the right, houses on the left. Keep going until the road ends and turns into a stone track. After about five minutes, as the view opens up, there’s a well hidden style and sign on the right to take you up towards the Gaer and moorland. Bear left across a field with a ruin on the left and a further style to the right just after a slightly muddy bank and tree. This then brings you into the moorland, across the bracek and up to the main path, turning right to the Gaer, left to Llantony. Keep going up to the trig point at the top of the Gaer.

Bryn Awr to the Crown pub – 1 hour – up, along, down

Leave Fforest Barn, through the gate at the end of the road, up the path, over the next gate then turn right along the wall on the right side of the open moor land. Keep going past the first tree on the left, then the second on the right, then turn left up the hill. You’ll come to a dead tree stump. Keep going to the highest point, then along the ridge to the very end of Bryn Awr, heading to the highest point. There’s a path to the left of the highest point. Follow this, but then turn right around the peak clockwise. This will bring you to a steep path down to Bettwys. When you hit the ‘road’ turn left past a couple of houses and a cabin on the right by the river and along to a stone ford across the river. Keep following the path choosing the middle way until you hit he tarmac road leading right (uphill) to the Crown pub in Pantygelli.

6. Bryn Awr back on the Sugarloaf side

Turn right out of the pub, past the first drive, and right up a more substantial track. Keep going uphill until you come to a gate entering the moorland. Keep going. As the viewv opens up you’ll come to a farm hidden on the right. Got above, to the left of this and keep going until you get to woodland on the left. Bear right until you come to a wall on the right. The path leads alongside this wall then splits – go the the left, always downhill, towards Forest Coalpit. You’ll see houses on the right of the path which leads to the road. At the road turn left, past the white house with solar panels (marked Post Office on the map). Turn right into our lane, and right again at the Old School House.

7. Sugarloaf – there and back, 1 hour 45 mins steep up, down

Turn right, along the road from Fforest Barn, left at the Old School House, left at the main road past the white house with solar panels (marked Post Office on the map) on the left, then turn right up the track signposted to Sugarloaf. Keep going on this track until you reach a wall on the left. The path follows the wall for a while then you’ll see a less distinct turn to the right, more uphill. You’ll pass a clump of trees and slightly swampy area. Keep going over the first hill top and you’ll see the real top of Sungarloaf in front of you. When you get close to the ‘final ascent’ there’s a path that goes right following theline of the ridge. It’s easier to take this then gradually ascend until you turn left and come up Sugarloaf from the north, across the craggy rocks onto the summit leading to the trig point. Then past the trig point, bearing left, you can come more or less straight down meeting the path you came up on, to head back.

Gwynne Fawr Resevoir Walk – 1 hour there, 40 mins back – gentle up, down

First drive up to Five ways (right out of Fforest Barn, right at the Old School House, right on the road). At Five Ways cross road take the second left signposted to Gwynne Fawr Resevoir. This is a lovely drive through the forest for about 20 minutes until you finally come to the end and a big car park on the right where you park. From there follow the gently ascending path through the forest, up onto the moorland and finally getting to the resevoir after about 45 minutes to an hour. Then come back the same way.

9. Drive up to Gaer – 20 min walk to the top, 15 mins down

You can drive most of the way up the Gaer. Go the Five Ways. Turn right towards Stanton and Llangatock Crucorney. At the end of this road, turn left towards Cmyoy and Llantony. Just opposite the pub on the right – The Queens Head – on the left is a sharp turning just before the car park. Go up this road, which turns into a track. This is not for underpowered cars. Keep going as far as you can till the road ends and becomes a track. There’s places to park on the right hand side. If you have a 4 wheel drive car you can get almost to the park gate onto the moor.

At this gate, turn to the left along the uphill path to the top of the Gaer. It’s about 15 minutes steep walking. The view at the top os spectacular, showing the path that leads along the west ridge of the Llantony valley towards the Llantony Priory.

10. Gaer to the Llantony Priory – 2 hours

If you can get dropped off on the track to the Gaer this is the perefect place to leave for the Llantony Priory along the winding path of the west side of the Llantony Valley. You’ll need a map to locate the turning to the right to bring you down to the Priory for a pint and a pick up. Allow 2 hours but you can do it in less.

A more serious round trip would be to walk to Stanton, then get up onto Hattersall Hill, the start of the East ridge of the Llantony Valley, then drop into the Priory and, after lunch, climb up to the west ridge and back along the path to the Gaer, then follow the guidelines in walk 4 (The Gaer) back to Fforest Barn. Allow 5 to 6 hours.

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