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Name:Black Mountain
Hill number:2242
Height:703.6m / 2308ft
RHB Section:32A: Llandovery to Monmouth
Nuttall/Wainwright area:Black Mountains
County/UA:Herefordshire, Powys
County (CoH):Herefordshire (CoH)
County (CoA):Hereford & Worcester (CoA)
Catchment:Wye
Class:Marilyn, Hump, Simm, Hewitt, Nuttall,
Historic County Top, Current County/UA Top, Administrative County Top, Buxton & Lewis, Bridge,
Clem
(Ma,Hu,Tu,Sim,Hew,N,CoH,CoU,CoA,BL,Bg,Cm)
Grid ref:SO 25523 35390
Summit feature:no feature 12m W of path
Drop:155m
Col:549m  SO235352  
OS map sheet(s):(1:50k) 161
(1:25k) OL13N
Observations:summit 350m S at SO 25560 35023 c.20m W of path is 1m lower
Survey:KR 2x Hand Level/Trimble GeoXH 6000
Comments:Bridge and B&L summit lies 350m south near 703m spot. Herefordshire County Top is probably on the path 12m E of the northern summit or a few metres from the path at the southern summit
Change log:show changes for this hill entry
GPS data:show GPS entries for this hill
Notes:
  • Hereford & Worcester (1974) administrative county top
  • Herefordshire historic county top
  • Herefordshire current county/UA top

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N.B. Some hill summits are on private property or on land where there is no public right of way.  Permission should be sought from the landowner where access to a hill summit is through private land.
Please report via the contact page any logs you see below which describe or encourage acts of trespass.  Please quote the hill number and hill name.

Logged Descriptions  (logged by 844 users, only the latest 50 shown - Show all)ByDate of Ascent
Ascent from Gospel Pass Stone Circle via Hay Bluff and along Offa's Dyke path. Overcast, but good visibility. Summit location is interesting!Cumbriancyclist16/10/2023
Weather beautiful when I left Pontardawe at 06.00 this morning. Black Mountains covered in low cloud and quite cold. Walked up from Gospel Pass. No views. Now, I've been up here a number of times but unsure if I ever visited the 'top'. Think I must of as I had walked the path a number of times. Now, I have for sure.Dusty05/06/2023
Climbed from the car park at Little Black Hill. Ascended the obvious route via the Cat's back ridge to the trig of Black Hill - this arete was lovely and narrow - really a highlight of the day. Lovely views east into England and west towards the Black Mountains and Brecon Beacons in Wales. Continued onwards along a minor path on the much broader ridge to the northwest. Had to leave the minor path and go across heathery terrain to reach the Offa's Dyke path. Turned southeast to reach the rather ill-defined highest point of Herefordshire - which is either called Black Mountain or Twyn Llech (prefer the latter). Difficult to say exactly where it is, but the website seems to have it right. Pen-y-Fan clearly in view. This was our 2nd county top of the day on our 3 day 10 county top challenge with my school group (26 students aged 14-15, plus 2 colleagues). The students seemed to find the name of the hill on the other side of the Gospel Pass amusing. I'm not sure why! Returned the same way.jamessteel10004/04/2023
Peak - 703m. Hike Stats: 6.8km; 2 hours; 254m ascent. Simple out and back from Hay Bluff carpark to pick up the peak.complicatedaussie22/01/2023
Parked at Gospel Pass. Up to Twmpa, along the Darren Lwyd ridge and down to Capel y ffin, before climbing back up to ODP on the ridge and Black Mountain South top, Black Mountain and Hay Bluff. Very windy and in & out of the cloud on the ridges but largely dry. With Gillian. One of my very first wild camps was on Hay Bluff, many years ago.richard6904/01/2023
New year's day walkJazDisney01/01/2023
Parked at Black Hill car park, Descended to Olchon Valley before trudging to the top of the ridgeline, took in Pen-y-Garn Fawr and then North Daren before doing a U-Turn and heading back over to Black Mountain South Top, Black Mountain and Hay Bluff, before heading back round to Black Hill and descending over The Cats Back, great day if you ignore the icy padstones and boggy start!lboutside19/11/2022
Loop from hay bluff car park, along the cat's back and back low level through the woodlandsNicky C16/10/2022
https://www.strava.com/activities/7622128608/overviewrhif711/08/2022
Capel-y-ffin > Black Mountain South Top > Black Mountain > Hay Bluff > Gospel Pass > Twmpa > Rhos Dirion > Charwel y Fan > Capel-y-ffin.Winterfloodian30/07/2022
Parked at stone circle, steep up haye bluff, lots of parasailers, SE on Offa's dyke path to back mountain summit then to pile of stones then steep down to the vision farm, NW to capel y ffin, then up to top of lord Herefords knob and back to startTribal2er14/07/2022
Summited on a summers dayfreethehilltops03/06/2022
Nuttall walk 12.1 but started and finished at Gospel Pass, with R.Dan Baddeley30/04/2022
With IT and PTgarth8719/04/2022
From car park along Cat's Back, interesting ridge continued over Hay Bluff for great views and then Black Mountain as far as south top. FP which cuts across the Olchon brook near Blaen has had signs removed and impeded by barbed wire/ wooden barrier (now removed).Nick Canute02/04/2022
O maes parcio Hay Bluff. Gyda Rhiannon.sionbrit11/12/2021
Second attempt at this trip, parked at Little Black Hill then hiked up to Black Hill, Black Mountain and then Black Mountain South Top.SootAndShale09/12/2021
A day I'll never forget, a mix of emotions when going up the Eastern Face of Hatterall Ridge. My cousin and I were very satisfied when we finally reached the bog and off the very steep face of the mountain. After 40 Minutes from then, we reached the Summit of Herefordshire and of course right next to us, Wales. Then walked too Hay Bluff before then walking too Black Hill and down Cat's Back in the sunset. Very memorable and dramatic day.DavidHiner27/10/2021
Up from Gospel Pass via Hay Bluffsebastiencale17/10/2021
Reached accidentally on journey back from Black Hill.joestuttle07/10/2021
Parked at road junction to N of ridge, followed Offa's Dyke path up to ridge and along to the summit, which is hard to determine as it has no marker, so I made sure I had passed it before turning round. Afterwards to Hay Bluff and Twmpa.IanHHill02/10/2021
Offas Dyke day 3.Andy-k06/09/2021
Day 3 of Offa's Dyke Path from Pandy to Hay-on-Wye, with Andy K.Twice Brewed06/09/2021
From the Stone Circle car park up to Hay Bluff where I saw a squirrel. Also admired a paraglider swooping about in the winds. Wandered for 30 minutes to what I think was the high point. Low cloud.Nick31/08/2021
Cycled up from Llanthony Priory hotel to Capel-y-ffin. Walked steeply up through the bracken on the Hereford side and along Offa’s Dyke path. Then on via Hay Bluff, Gospel Pass and Lord Hereford’s Knob and back along the ridge to Chwarel-y-Fan. Dropped back down to the valley floor to retrieve our bikes. Blisteringly hot!pclyndes21/07/2021
Doing Offa's Dykeandrewroberts12/07/2021
With CathyS & JackW. From car park SO 23962 37348masmith30/05/2021
Hike from Capel y Ffin to Black Mountain South top (637.4m), along Offa's Dyke path to Black Mountain (703.6m), Hey Bluff(677m), down to the Gospal Pass, then up to Twmpa (690m). With son, beautiful sunny day, 17.6Km, 589m ascent, 5 hours.VirtualMountain30/05/2021
Bring a theodolite if you want to be precise about the HP. 50+ paragliders in the air together!Richard Dukes30/05/2021
6/9 - First walk in the black mountains, lovely sunny morning walk up from Llanthony Priory to Chwarel y Fan and Rhos Dirion, then across to Hay Bluff and Black Mountain via Twmpa, finally walking along the Welsh/English border on Offa's Dyke and back to Llanthony. 18 miles in total.JazDisney02/05/2021
Longtown CircuitPhilipChaston27/04/2021
Escaping the lockdown with next stage of ODP.Rob Rees25/12/2020
Figure of eight walk including Hay Bluff and Upper Blaen farm. 12.9km, 5hrsParkerP196015/10/2020
with Evelyn, then to Hay Bluff and Tympa Gospel Passjd1611/10/2020
On a ridge walk from Gospel PassPoolton12301/10/2020
Solosimon and co17/09/2020
A round of the Vale of Ewyas from Llanthony Priory. With R and B.jenx07/09/2020
G, MyIdris20/08/2020
G, Mymaryjdavies20/08/2020
With Petepaulhilder11/08/2020
run from Stone Circle car park. Windy and hail, cold!dave_mole28/06/2020
Parked by SS Bueno & Peter's church in LLanveynoe - 18km route following footpaths, 783m elevation gain.Stevooo23/05/2020
MB HomeRob Rees07/04/2020
With GFE. 35km total. Covid-19 escaping. Chwarel y Fan, Black Mountain South Top, Black Mountain, Hay Bluff, Lord Heresford's Knob, Rhos Dirion, Waun Fach, Pen y Gadair Fawr.Fionalevey21/03/2020
Very windy at Gospel Pass carpark. Easy walking via Hay Bluff with stone slabs laid over muddiest sections. Road from south is in poor condition and very slow. Better approach from the North.gettingonabit04/01/2020
From CP to N - ascent via Hay Bluff. At summit after Sunset.ger20/11/2019
Reascent to bag new summit. Nice circular walk from Black Hill car park up Cat's Back Ridge.prwild20/10/2019
Solo walks to 2242 and 2244.DaveD21/09/2019
From SE starting at Blaen. Parking marginal. A nice grassy path cuts through the bracken WNW up to a kissing gate at 462m but there the path marking the RoW on the map ends and it's animal tracks through head high bracken then tussocky heath all the way to Offa's dyke path. Featureless summit.Topographer5705/09/2019
Fantastic walk in great conditions. Got to Hay Bluff by 11.25 then the top at 11.45. Enjoyed the challenge of the quick pace in both directions without forgetting to admire the views of both Wales and England in one go.acolling21/08/2019