Hay Bluff & Black Hill Challenge Walk: 'Conquer the Border Ridge!'

Join me next summer for a guided challenge walk across some of the most iconic ridges of the Black Mountains. At around 10 miles, (grade = Challenging, see further down for more details), with 1,847 feet of ascent, this is an energetic day out – but the rewards are more than worth it.

We begin from the Hay Bluff car park, climbing steadily up the famous Offa’s Dyke Path onto the high ridge. Our route takes us across Black Hill, celebrated in Bruce Chatwin’s novel On the Black Hill, and along the dramatic Cat’s Back, so named because it resembles the arching back of a cat.

From here, we descend into the secluded and beautiful Olchon Valley, before climbing once more to regain the ridge and follow the Offa’s Dyke Path towards Hay Bluff itself. At 677m, its trig point marks the high point of our day, straddling the border of England…