Dai's slow lejog

---

---

Day 15 Abergavenny - Gospel Pass 23 miles (442)

A relatively short day trip up from home on a glorious morning to achieve this leg. I arrived at Abergavenny at 8.00am and parked up half way up the hill in the leafy outer suburbs. A gentle ride of 5 or 6 miles took me to a point just below Llanfihanel Crucorney where I joined the Vale of Ewyas. Here my route turned more northerly with rich hedgerows, flowery meadows and the heather clad hills of the Black Mountains closing in as the route gently climbed. Skylarks singing, buzzards wheeling and the cuckoo calling.

After eight miles I stopped to brew a cuppa and frybacon for breakfast at the beautiful remains of Llanthony Abbey. The rich red sandstone of the ruins was beauitifully framed by the steep heatherclad hillsides behind and swifts screamed around the precipices.

After Llanthony the road still meanered past the meadows and hedgerows but got a bit steeper and after passing the Vison farm on the right and then the last habitation of Capel y Ffin started to climb seriously. All cycleable, and when a mile below the summit the road emerges on to the open hill it is just a short pulll up to the summit.

From the road summit I parked up the bike and walked the short half hour climb up to the summit of Lord Hereford's Knob ! from which there were glorious views of the Wye valley and beyond
- and it was still only 11.30
After a picnic lunch I made a rapid descent and returned to the car
( A major reason for doing this section early in the day is that the narrow lanes become very busy with tourist traffic on the weekend afternoons - )

---