Author Topic: Black Hill (Cat’s Back), Hay Bluff and Offas Dyke Feb 17th 2018  (Read 5411 times)

Annejacko

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Last weekend with the weather forecast looking good we headed out for our first trip to the Black Mountains of 2018.

Parking at the picnic area at the saddle between Black Hill and Little Black Hill we headed up onto the narrow ridge known as Cat’s Back, as from the Herefordshire side it’s supposed to look like a cat crouched, waiting to pounce.

Looking back along the ridge



Although the ridge is quite narrow there is no scrambling and it feels safe but with lovely airy views.

 

The ridge started to widen and we approached a large cairn, I thought I spotted something moving.
We paused and sure enough in the stones of the cairn was a weasel or stoat, I’m not sure which, although I do know the old joke, “what’s the difference between a stoat and a weasel? A weasel is weasily identifiable, a stoat is stoatally different :)

We then played a game like whack-a-mole where instead of trying to whack the critter we were trying to snap it with our cameras as it kept popping up from different crevices in the cairn.

Here’s my effort



and my daughters somewhat better one, clearly the youthful reaction times were on her side!



We continued up to the pretty dull boggy summit of Black Hill marked by a trig point.



From there we continued along to Hay Bluff enjoying the views and some isolated patches of snow.





At Hay Bluff we found a spot off the summitt and out of the cold wind for our flasks of soup and hot drinks and sat for a while enjoying the scenery



Before we got too cold we headed up on to Offa’s Dyke which here is right on the border between England and Wales. Fortunately the path here has been laid with stone extensively as it would otherwise be very boggy. As it was it was easy walking.

One foot in each country!



This vantage point was too good to pass without more photos-looking west across the Black Mountains to the Brecon Beacons



We continued along Offa’s Dyke intending to drop back down into the Olchon Valley at the point marked “pile of stones” on the OS map. I was a bit too cocky here and turned off much too early at a wrong cairn. Entirely my fault, I hadn’t really looked at the map all day having walked this way before and with clear visibility wasn’t paying enough attention. It worked out OK though, we meandered along some sheep or pony tracks until we rejoined the correct path and continued down.



The route does have a slight sting in the tail, as you can see in the photo the saddle between the hills where the car was parked has to be climbed back up to out of the valley.

Total distance a shade under 9 miles, height gain around 500m.
Enjoy every sandwich

adalard

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Beautiful pictures, Annejacko.  O0  The ridge looks great walking and that photo of the stoat/weasel peering out from the rocks is superb!  O0 O0


I've never been to that part of Wales and I really enjoyed the trip report. Another location for the list...  :)

phil1960

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I’ve done this walk and variations of it probably a dozen times, great area and an airy ridge. How lucky were you to catch site of that little critter  O0
Touching from a distance, further all the time.

sunnydale

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Super photos and report Anne O0
***Happiness is only a smile away***

Welsh Rambler

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Lovely write up and photos Annejacko, well done  O0


Did you see the tail? Apparently stoats have a black end to their tails whereas weasel's are all brown. http://www.discoverwildlife.com/how-tell-difference-between-stoat-and-weasel


Regards Keith

sussamb

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I’ve done this walk and variations of it probably a dozen times, great area and an airy ridge. How lucky were you to catch site of that little critter  O0

I remember the walk we did there Phil, and of course I crossed the Cat's Back on my Offas Dyke LDW  :)

Great pics Anne  O0
Where there's a will ...

phil1960

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I remember the walk we did there Phil, and of course I crossed the Cat's Back on my Offas Dyke LDW  :)

Great pics Anne  O0
Seems like only yesterday Jon  O0
Touching from a distance, further all the time.

sussamb

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If only  ;D
Where there's a will ...

clyoung

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What fantastic weather - and how lucky to see the stoat/weasel. We did the route at about this time of year in the other direction, going up the Olchon Valley first. Has the advantage it's downhill at the end!

Annejacko

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Thanks for the comments. I got a new camera recently and I'm still trying to work out what all the functions do, although you can see that I've had fun with the panoramic setting-something I didn't have on my old camera.

Quote
Did you see the tail? Apparently stoats have a black end to their tails whereas weasel's are all brown

Only saw its top half unfortunately as it peeped out.



Enjoy every sandwich

Dyffryn Ardudwy

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Those are seriously good photographs.
Its been many a year since ive visited the Cats Back area , but what i can remember is that it had one of the finest 360 degree panoramic view anywhere in the Brecon Beacons National Park.

Thank goodness you took some stunningly clear high quality photos, as its brought back great memories for some of us.

Annejacko

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Thanks for the nice comments DA
Enjoy every sandwich

Dyffryn Ardudwy

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Blimey i can't imagine what conditions must be like on the Cats Back this week, its a very exposed location, right on the Welsh English border.
If you could brave the savage windchill, the vistas would be incredible.

This afternoon, i could actually see people walking near Abersoch on the llyn Peninsula, from my front door, such is the clarity of the extremely cold air.
You regularly see cars driving along the busy Pwllheli coast road from the Dyffryn Harlech area, which is several miles as the crow flies, but through my small 8x20 binoculars, you can see the people in Abersoch.

The air is so clear due to the cold, the views are simply stunning.

Thank you once again for the great photography, its brought back fond memories of when i was living in South Wales.

April

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Lovely photos, annejacko  O0 Never been there, it looks great walking country  :)
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