Climbing Sugarloaf Mountain in Monmouthshire, Wales

Sugarloaf Mountain, Monmouthshire For our full review of our walk up Sugarloaf Mountain visit: https://roamingspices.com/climbing-sugarloaf-mountain/ You can’t help but instantly recognise Sugarloaf Mountain the moment you set eyes on it, with its Volcano shaped conical outline. Once you see it, you just want to climb it and that is precisely what we did! Where is Sugarloaf Mountain Sugarloaf Mountain is situated at the bottom end of the Black Mountains in South Wales, a short distance north-west of the town of Abergavenny. How to Get to Sugarloaf Mountain Sugarloaf Mountain is easy to get to as a number of main roads come within a few miles of the mountain, notably the A40. Sugarloaf Car Park There are plenty of points from which you can commence your ascent of Sugarloaf Mountain. We chose the Llanwenarth car park due to its close proximity to the A40. Just enter the Llanwenarth car park postcode (NP7 7LA) into your sat nav and let technology do the rest. Sugarloaf Mountain Walk (Going up) From the parking area, there is a straight forward Sugarloaf walk if you head north. Walking at the brisk pace, you should be at the summit in around one hour. However, we are not ones to undertake the easy option so we opted for the circular Sugarloaf walk which frankly, looked a lot more interesting if a bit longer. To get started you need to head back down the road on which you arrived until you see a path leading off to the left within about 300 metres. You continue along this open moorland path until an oak woodland comes into sight. When the path starts to descend, it is time to head left into the woodland. For approximately the next 20 minutes you will walk through this beautiful woodland, slowly edging down the valley side until you meet the small stream at the bottom. Climbing Sugarloaf Mountain – The Difficult Part! Continue to follow the stream until it breaks out of the woodland. At this point, you will notice a path that heads to the right. This is the path that you need to take and is the start of the fairly steep climb towards the summit of Sugarloaf Mountain. The initial part of this climb is the steepest but as you reach the first ridge the trail becomes less steep. At this point, the summit of Sugarloaf appears for the first time. For approximately 20 minutes the trail will take you up through grassy open moorland prior to the final steep ascent to the summit. Summit of Sugarloaf Mountain - What can you see? The views from the top of Sugarloaf are commanding offering fantastic 360-degree coverage. You can see the Black Mountains to the north, the Cotswolds to the east, the Brecon Beacons to the west and the Bristol Channel to the south. Sugarloaf Mountain Walk (Descent) There are a number of tracks heading down from the summit of Sugarloaf for you to choose from. If just depends on how you are feeling and how challenging you want the return journey to be. We chose the trail that met the easterly border of the oak woodland we had earlier walked through. Unfortunately, there was a fence that prevented us from passing down through the wood. We followed this trail for about 30-40 minutes, leading us further into the valley but seemingly no closer to our starting point! When we finally arrived at the valley floor, we came to a house where a very friendly and helpful gentleman pointed out where we had gone off track and indicated where we needed to go. We then had to cross a couple of steep farmers’ fields and climb a couple of fences before we found ourselves on the same road that we arrived on earlier that day. Eventually, we arrived back at the Llanwenarth car park. Sugarloaf Mountain Facts and Information How high is Sugarloaf Mountain? 596 metres (1,955 feet) How Long Does it Take to Climb Sugarloaf Mountain? Obviously, this time will vary depending on your level of fitness, the speed at which you walk and how many breaks you choose to take. We completed the walk in 4 hours and this included a 30-minute break for lunch at the summit as well as getting lost on our return! Climbing Sugarloaf Mountain – How Difficult is it? If you are in reasonable physical shape, Climbing Sugarloaf Mountain will be fairly easy for you. How Far is the Walk up Sugarloaf Mountain? This circular walk is approximately 6.4 km (4 miles) in length. Can I Take My Dog up Sugarloaf Mountain? Yes, but they must be kept on a lead at all times. When is the Best Time to Climb Sugarloaf Mountain? Early in the morning if you are firstly going to grab a spot in the car park and secondly avoid the masses.