Table Top Mountain: The Hike that Wasn't

A couple of days after my tour of Chepstow I took the train to Abergavenny, and from there a cab to Crickhowell. It was a beautiful day, one of the sunniest we'd had at that time. My intention was to take about a six or seven mile hike in some of the outer hills of the Brecon Beacons (a big national park like the Adirondacks, a mix o public and private land) to the top of Table Top Mountain (its steep but totally flat at the top, and was once the site of a fort for that very reason). The directions I'd found online weren't the greatest, and the only store in town selling Ordnance maps didn't have the grid I needed in stock. I brought a compass along just in case I lost my bearings. There wasn't a real path so I was looking for certain rock groups or burned out houses as landmarks. With things like that there can be a bit of error if the directions aren't updated, and I assumed they wouldn't be.

The hike was very vertical right from the get go, winding up the mountain along the main highway going north out of Crickhowell. After about a half hour I was up above the tree line, high enough to have a view of the valley as I walked. There were droves of other hikers coming back down the mountain, which I took to be a good omen. I wondered why they hadn't circled down around the mountain like I intended to, but to each his own. The top of the mountain was in sight after about an hour and twenty or thirty minutes. I decided it was time to head uphill, and after another fifteen minutes I found the farm I was supposed to cut through to go toward the peak. Apparently the owner had gotten tired of people crossing his land, so his driveway was gated and lined with razor wire. Given the extra wires and contacts on the fence it had all the hallmarks of being electrified. For all that the gate was unlocked, so, ignoring the "no public access sign" I started up the drive. My bad luck came in to play about then, the farmer pulled up the driveway. I was kindly but firmly walked off the property.

I went down the road a bit more and hopped the hedgerow at a low point, but that farmer caught me cutting through his pasture before I made it very far. I was again walked off the property. I'd been walking for about two hours and change when I finally saw a little wooden sign pointing up the path of another farm. The sign said "table top", so I thought I'd finally gotten lucky. I made it all the way to the farmhouse, maybe 180 or 200 feet from the rocky ledges that surround the top of the mountain, before I was yet again stopped. The farmer hadn't been letting anyone through his land that day (explains all the hikers coming back down to town) because he was having a party for his daughter. His daughter must have been 3 or 4 given the horde of children running around. I can understand why they guy wouldn't want strangers around in that case, though I was a bit disappointed. I argued with him half heartedly but gave up easy.

I didn't have anywhere to be for awhile, I'd told the cabbie I wouldn't be down the mountain for about 3 hours or so, so I found an open place with a good view and had lunch. I took my time going back towards town, where I briefly tried to find a way up the mountain on its back side. That was just as futile. The weather was still fantastic so I decided to accept the hospitality of my brethren in the fire services by camping on their lawn. Great spot for some sun. I took out a book I'd brought along and read until I could get some reception on my cellphone to call for a cab.

A short ride back to Abergavenny just in time to make my train home, though it ended up being delayed due to engineering. I was home about a half hour later than I'd planned but after my day it at least kept to a consistent theme. My evening was a lot of unexpected catching up with friends from home, which I certainly didn't mind. It was a nice end to a day that didn't entirely go as planned. I still got to play outside all day in beautiful weather, so I'm not really complaining.