CRAIG SYFYRDDIN
This isolated hill lies between Abergavenny and the English border, giving great views of the Skirrid, Sugarloaf and Blorenge. I was lucky enough to run this one on a clear-ish day, with even a bit of sunshine (a rare commodity in these parts). A narrow road skirts the base of the hill, and after a hold up of 5 minutes for a passing farmer and his flock of sheep, I was able to drive up to the hillside and run up the "Three Castles Way" path into the pine forest.
Traffic jam on the busy streets around Craig Syfyrddin
The initial clime up the Three Castles Way is straight up through steep fields, but once in the trees the path zig-zags making an easy gradient on possibly the nicest running surface in existence - a soft, dry, carpet of pine needles. The sun broke through the trees, there were wild flowers at the side of the path and all was right with the world. You have to break off the path a little to get to the top, which is marked by a trig point in the middle of open fields. I was up and back down again in less than half an hour, and it only took that long because I was tired (it being my fourth ascent of the day). This didn't feel very mountain-like - just a relaxed (if steep) hill run in beautiful, peaceful countryside, with not too bad a view from the top....
Hazy view over the forested flanks of Criag Syfyrddin - Skirrid left, Sugarloaf centre.