Sugar Loaf (Wales)

Sugar Loaf (Wales)
Sugar Loaf

The Sugar Loaf from the north-west, with the village of Llanbedr in the valley below
Elevation 596 m (1,955 ft)
Prominence 413 m (1,355 ft)
Parent peak Waun Fach
Listing Marilyn
Location
Location Monmouthshire,  Wales
Range Black Mountains
Topo map OS Landranger 161
OS grid SO272187

Sugar Loaf, sometimes called The Sugar Loaf (Welsh: Mynydd Pen-y-Fal or Y Fâl), is a mountain situated 2 miles (3.2 km) north-west of Abergavenny in Monmouthshire, Wales. It is the most southern and lowest of the summit peaks [1] of the Black Mountains,[2] with a height of 1,955 feet (596 metres).

Contents

View from the Summit

The view from the summit[3] covers the Black Mountains to the north, the Cotswolds to the east, as far as the Brecon Beacons including Pen Y Fan and Corn Du to the west and the Bristol Channel to the south.

Prehistory

A mountain foothill, Y Graig, was discovered in the 1990s to be the site of prehistoric flint tools dating from the Mesolithic, Neolithic and Bronze Age.

Walking

The Sugar Loaf is very popular with walkers and hillwalking enthusiasts and offers easy ascents on foot from the Sugar Loaf car park at about 1000 feet (halfway) or longer ascents from Abergavenny and Crickhowell or Llangenny.[4]

Geology

It is a popular misconception that Sugar Loaf is an 'extinct volcano'; an idea born perhaps from the striking resemblance of its conical outline, particularly when seen from the east, to that of a classic volcano. It is however composed entirely of sedimentary rocks. In common with the rest of the Black Mountains, the hill is formed from Old Red Sandstone which was laid down during the early Devonian period. Its lower slopes (up to around 1000 ft / 300m) are composed of mudstones and sandstones assigned to the Senni Beds Formation whilst its upper reaches are composed of the more sandstone-rich sequence known as the Brownstones Formation. The very summit of Sugar Loaf is formed from sandstones of the Quartz Conglomerate Group which are of late Devonian age. There are a number of landslips on its flanks which are believed to date from early post-glacial times. The former Usk Valley glacier divided to north and south of it as it travelled eastwards, though the mountain itself is largely free from glacial till.[5]

Land use

The mountain is in the ownership of the National Trust who manage its grazing by Welsh mountain sheep. The lower slopes are deciduous mixed woodland with fern, heather and Bilberry, known locally as whinberry, on the upland slopes. The wooded slopes have been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

A vineyard, producing Sugar Loaf British wines, is situated at Dummar Farm at the foot of the mountain on south facing slopes near Abergavenny.

External links

References

  1. ^ Geograph photo
  2. ^ Geograph photo
  3. ^ Geograph photo
  4. ^ Geograph photo
  5. ^ British Geological Survey 50K map sheet 232, Abergavenny, & accompanying memoir.

Coordinates: 51°51′44″N 3°03′31″W / 51.86211°N 3.05859°W / 51.86211; -3.05859


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