{"id":6583,"date":"2019-09-30T00:22:40","date_gmt":"2019-09-29T23:22:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=6583"},"modified":"2019-09-30T00:22:40","modified_gmt":"2019-09-29T23:22:40","slug":"capel-y-ffin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=6583","title":{"rendered":"Capel-y-ffin"},"content":{"rendered":"

Capel-y-ffin <\/strong><\/p>\n

Getting to Capel-y-ffin (the Chapel at the end) is not easy. We drove to Llanthony and then along the valley following a narrow windy lane for over 2 miles; parking is restricted. A red kite swooped over us as we travelled. This and the sight of a cyclist (male) in day glow pink leggings and baby pink shoes assured us of an interesting day. Indeed we were following in the footsteps of William and Dorothy Wordsworth; this was one of their favourite areas to walk. Bruce Chatwin used to cycle here as a child, he later called it one of the emotional centres of his life.<\/p>\n

Setting out along the road we crossed Nant Bwch to follow Afon Honddu and could see a large building, to the west, in the distance. This was the Grange, a monastery and ruined chapel built by Joseph Leycester Lyne, known as Father Ignatius, in 1870. He tried to reintroduce the monastic tradition to the Anglican Church. His builders took advantage of his unsuspecting nature and skimped on foundations, damp proofing etc. The monastic idyll disintegrated along with the buildings and the chapel is fenced off with a \u2018Dangerous structure\u2019 sign. The monastery is now a trekking centre.<\/p>\n

Soon we were climbing a fairly steep hill to the south eastern end of the ridge. As we rested to look back at the glorious view of the valley towards Llanthony we met a group of 4 young men coming down. They had come from Birmingham and were walking to Hay-On-Wye (10miles). One of them, an Italian, was blown away by the beauty of the place \u2013 he didn\u2019t know this country held such treasures.<\/p>\n

The path along the ridge was easy though slightly uphill. Dark clouds gathered in the sky creating a dramatic atmosphere. The boggiest section was paved and the surrounding area covered in lines of fleeces. Apparently they help the land to recover. At the end of the ridge, Lord Hereford\u2019s Knob, the spectacular view opened up to the northwest across relatively flat land and you could see for miles. It was lunchtime and we were ready to eat but a fierce wind had got up and we continued to an outcrop of rocks a little to the southwest. Even the rocks couldn\u2019t protect us so we turned our backs on the view and started down the valley. In no time we were on the banks of a small stream in the sunshine \u2013 lovely.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The descent through the valley was gorgeous. A herd of ponies and their foals tossed their manes in the wind. In the protected valley, Nant Bwch shimmered in the sun and heather clad banks glowed. The sheep were the whitest I had ever seen and stones beside tributaries also glowed white in places (presumably limestone).\u00a0And it was so quiet it was heavenly. We had heard no cars, aeroplanes or other manmade noise (apart from voices) all day and only met a handful of people.<\/p>\n

Crossing Nant Bwch we walked along a lane passing Talsarn Farm and the Grange to come back into Capel-y-ffin. Walk 7miles 1500ft ascent. Map OL13<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Capel-y-ffin Getting to Capel-y-ffin (the Chapel at the end) is not easy. We drove to Llanthony and then along the valley following a narrow windy lane for over 2 miles; parking is restricted. A red kite swooped over us as we travelled. This and the sight of a cyclist (male) in day glow pink leggings and baby pink shoes assured […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6cWjO-1Ib","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":15578,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=15578","url_meta":{"origin":6583,"position":0},"title":"Brecon & Llanthony Priory","author":"Alan Williams","date":"28th May 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Brecon\u00a0 This was a delightful walk, we parked north of Brecon and took a footpath through the cathedral grounds. The mixed woodland (oak, beech, hazel and alder trees) of Priory Groves borders the river Honddu, and is about a mile long. Birds sang, the river tinkled, the scent of bluebells\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Footsteps"","block_context":{"text":"Footsteps","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=38"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Footsteps1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6530,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=6530","url_meta":{"origin":6583,"position":1},"title":"Llanthony","author":"Alan Williams","date":"28th August 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Llanthony We parked at Llanthony Priory, in the care of Cadw and freely open to the public. The hamlet of Llanthony nestles in the heart of the beautiful Vale of Ewyas. This is the easternmost valley of the Black mountains, described by Gerald of Wales in 1188 as \u2018encircled on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Footsteps"","block_context":{"text":"Footsteps","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=38"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Picture7.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6082,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=6082","url_meta":{"origin":6583,"position":2},"title":"Cofiwch Dryweryn. Please.","author":"Alan Williams","date":"30th June 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Since the vandalism of the \u2018Cofiwch Dryweryn\u2019 mural near Aberystwyth earlier this year, I\u2019ve noticed \u2018Cofiwch Dryweryn\u2019 signs reminiscent of the original appearing all over Wales \u2013 and all over the world, too. 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