Offa's Dyke - Abergavenny to Monmouth (★★★★☆)

For this walk I would be walking the southern end of Offa's Dyke - but the observant amongst you will notice that Offa's Dyke does not actually pass through Abergavenny. Instead Abergavenny was a more convenient starting point for this section, and from there I used the Beacon Way to join up with Offa's Dyke not too far past Pandy on that trail.

I actually had no plans to walk Offa's Dyke this year, but I had been staying with friends in Camarthen, and from there it is a long trip home to most parts of England - so I would be doing this walk as a way to break up the long journey home.

Abergavenny itself sits just inside Wales, and as soon as you arrive you very quickly notice the steep hills surrounding the town - of which the most dramatic is Sugar Loaf - which leers over the town in quite a dramatic fashion.

For walkers this town offers quite a useful starting point, as it has easy rail access and numerous routes up into the hills - but is probably best to visit as a walker if you like a big climb, as the ascent from the town to many of it's hills is quite steep.

For more casual visitors it is a town steeped in history - being the site of a Roman fort Gobannium (with Gobannia meaning River of the Blacksmiths) - and later it gained a Norman castle and other historical sites. But the main value of the town was as an access route (hence the easy transport links) along the river valleys, combined with the resources of the nearby hills. 

Beacons Way to Pandy

The first phase of my route today is along the Beacon Way - and as I'm expecting a late finish to the day, will completely ignore all the historic parts of Abergavenny. Instead I head through the suburbs, up a busy road and past an Esso garage where I stop for supplies - before heading out of Abergavenny on a minor road.

From here, the Beacon Way cuts across a golf course - where I have to cross about seven separate holes with little idea of where the balls might be coming from, but manage to get through without taking a direct hit - and then pass through Brynygwenin - before cutting up to head towards Ysgyryd Fawr.

Being in Wales everything here has multiple names and so I'm using the names used on the OS Maps - but this particular hill is also known as Skirrid Fawr in English - or Great Split in it's original meaning - and it is a dominant hill that we will continue to gaze upon for most of the day.

Heading up from Abergavenny, it is a bit of a beast to climb - and in total ascent it is not far shy of 400 meters from the train station, up to the peak at 486 meters - but a reasonable amount of climbing has already been done and the route up looks pretty smooth from the map.

First, the route winds up towards and then through Caer Wood, before the path breaks out of the woods near the first top, where we head out along the ridge that forms Ysgyryd Fawr. From here the views are lovely - with Sugar Loaf in particular standing out in the distance.

Looking towards Sugar Loaf (on the left) and the Black Mountains

Still got more up to go

From here there is a pleasant (and fairly busy) walk along the wide ridge up to the summit - where you can find the slightly underwhelming site of what is left of St Michael's Chapel (it looks better on the map) - before (with a bit of backtracking) the Beacons Way continues on down the far side of Ysgyryd Fawr.

Heading down now

From the bottom

Having made it down, the path heads across the fields to the road, and rather than continue on to join the Offa's Dyke on the western side of Pandy, I here opt for the more direct route along the quiet roads of the Welsh countryside to join up with the Offa's Dyke on the eastern side of Pandy.

Offa's Dyke to Monmouth

Joining up with the Offa's Dyke here is very straight-forward, as it is crossing the road I am heading along and the first section heads through horse fields (plus one Donkey) on the way to Llangattock Lingoed.

A donkey

Looking back at Ysgyryd Fawr

At Llangattock Lingoed we find St Cadoc's Church, and this is my first familiar site from the last time I walked Offa's Dyke (walking from Knighton to Monmouth many years ago with my Dad).

Having been inside on my last trip through I don't head in - which is maybe a bit of a shame now because I could have taken a photo of the painting of St George slaying his dragon which sits on the walls - but even from the outside it is a pretty church.

From the far side

From the front

This church falls a little early in the day for this to be of great use, but these churches offer your best chance for a refill of water supplies on route, and for this along are often worth a pop inside.

From here the path heads on through the dry arid fields of Wales (I bet that hasn't been said too many times before), heading down to Caggle Street, where we find the more modern Cwmmera Baptist Church - which wouldn't look out of place in southern America.

Y'all gotta take a gander at this church! (my apologies)

After cutting through Caggle Street the path heads back through the fields as we start to get our final views back towards Ysgyryd Fawr as it starts to head out of view.

Final look back

But as one landmark heads out of view, another is about to arrive - as next up we head past White Castle - and as castles are a dime a dozen in Wales, this well preserved castle is free to have a walk round with no English Heritage walls or barriers in sight.

White Castle

The Bridge

This is as good a spot as any to stop for a fairly late lunch, and indeed this is what I choose to do.

The castle itself dates back to shortly after the Norman conquest in 1066 in it's earliest guise (as an earth and timber fortress), but with more work being done over the years - in particular during the reign of Henry III. 

This castle was a key part of the defenses used by the English to hold back the Welsh, until the Welsh ceased to be such a challenge to the English - with the castle eventually passing out of use.

Today it - like many other Welsh castles - is a delight to have a quick walk around. But we are not just here to walk around castles, and so the onward journey must resume. 

The next phase of the walk continues out along the fields to Llantilio Crossenny, and then on along a mix of quiet roads and fields to Llanfihangel Ystum Llewern.

Cutting across the fields

The church at Llanfihangel Ystum Llewern

From here there is plenty more field hopping to be done as the path generally follows the route of the River Trothy - and here the path has been altered in it's route, so map reading skills no longer are required - and instead it is just a case of heading from marker to marker through the fields (which offers an entertaining diversion from the task at hand).

Eventually this route joins a very minor road at Hendre Farm, and here it is time to head up over the hills at King's Woods - and then down into Monmouth to finish for the day.

Walking the fields on the run into Monmouth

Click for the writeup of the second day of walking from Monmouth round to Chepstow along Offa's Dyke Way.

Enjoyment Rating : ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ★ / 5

Disclaimer: This writeup provides a narrative of what to expect rather than a route guide to follow. The route is covered by the 161 and 162 (a tiny section at Monmouth) OS Landranger maps - while there is also an Offa's Dyke guidebook which includes OS mapping (links redirect to Amazon). The route is in general well way-marked and easy to follow.