20 walks/40 pages

The Black Mountains are the first and last mountains of Wales. From the top of the easternmost ridge, and astride the border, you can see why a line was drawn here. To the east lie the fertile undulations of the English midlands. To the west, a succession of untamed ridges stretches to the western horizon. On the northern edge is a spectacular escarpment looking out across the Wye Valley to Mid Wales. A series of tops adorn this ridge, and form the most impressive profile of the range. However these tops turn out to be just the terminal elevations of five main ridges stretching up to fifteen miles south. There are a few small settlements but no real villages within the mountains. Abergavenny is the key town in the area, offering a wide range of facilities and good bus and rail connections with this splendid area.