(22.1.2022) Leaving Ebbw Vale town centre behind me after my descent of Mynydd Carn-y-cefn, I carry on with the second half of my horseshoe walk of the two ridges either side of the Afon Ebbwy.
My route follows roads into the suburb of Briery Hill, then from a sharp bend turns onto a track which will take me onto the open hillside. It's still bitterly cold, with ice lying in the ruts of the track untouched by the early morning sun that quickly got smothered by the afternoon's cloud.
Ahead of me to the south Y Domen Fawr rises with the appearance of a steep, conical dome. It's partly an illlusion, as it's actually the northern end of a higher section of ridge, but from here it looks like a solitary lofty peak.
Somewhere off to the southwest I can hear the buzz of off-road bikes. I'm hoping to avoid anymore tire damage after the mess encountered on the Mynydd Carn-y-cefn cairn.
My mind is soon distracted by the steepness of the climb and my protesting leg muscles. At length I crest the hill and the parlous state of Y Domen Fawr's own monument becomes apparent. It's a very large mound, but its size and prominent position obviously attracted the attentions of the British Army, who decided it would be a brilliant idea to insert a brick and concrete emplacement into the northern side of the monument. To add insult to injury, a sturdy wooden bench has now been added to the top of the mound. Next to the bench, a rusty iron rod has been draped with blue and yellow ribbons, fluttering in the light breeze. In a couple of weeks' time, Russia will invade Ukraine, although I don't know that yet.
Ironically the obstacles caused by brick, concrete and wood may have spared the surviving mound the threat of motorbikes, and the tire tracks here just about skirt the western edge of the mound.
I decide to make the best of the bench and stop for my sandwiches. While I'm finishing off, I'm joined by an older gentlemen who tells me he's from Nant-y-Glo, a couple of valleys away. We have a chat for a while, he tells me that the brick building was used for radio transmissions at one time. I point at distant hills and talk about Bronze Age barrows and how much I like visiting the Valleys. I enjoy his company and our chat; the "Covid years" have suspended these sort of chance encounters and it's nice to re-engage again.
As he leaves, the sun finally comes out and I get some nice winter light for a while. Eventually I head south along the ridge, before deciding to head straight off the escarpment down the precipitous slopes to the east. A scramble and tumble through bracken, scrub and quarried areas, this may not have been especially wise but it is quite fast! Eventually I regain roads and head back to Ebbw Vale Parkway for the train back to Cardiff. It's been absolutely brilliant to get back into the South Wales valleys after such a long time - I won't be waiting so long for a return.
Remains of a large cairn, situated on the north-east side of a prominent ridge on Cefn Manmoel. Stone built and roughly circular on plan, measuring about 12m in diameter and up to 1m in height. A small rectangular brick and concrete structure (probably a pillbox or observation post dating from WWII) has been inserted into its north-west side. The cairn commands fine views over the valley to the east.
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Posted by thesweetcheat
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