COITY MOUNTAIN
The valleys of south Wales are famous, but the mountains that separate them are little known to those outside the area. Many are rather shapeless ridges punctuated by rises and peaks - the long trackways over the ridges are popular with mountain bikers into "single track". Coity mountain overlooks Blainavon, and looks like an easy climb. In the event, finding my way up the steep face of the ridge was tricky, and I ended up within sight of a trig point marking the adjacent mountain a kilometre or two to the south. A rather energy-sapping bound across the deep heather brought me to the summit, and the way down was quick and easy with the benefit of a bird's eye view down the slopes. I was just thinking how great it was not to have wet feet - all my recent runs have been a bit sub-aqua in the heavy weather - when my foot sunk into a hole and I went face down into a stream. Pride comes before a fall, as my mum often says.
View from Coity - Black Mountains in the distance.
Post-industrial valley foreground, Sugar Loaf behind.
Blainavon