Pen y Garn Fawr [North Daren]

About Pen y Garn Fawr [North Daren]

Rising above the Vale of Ewyas in the eastern Black Mountains, this high moorland summit marks the northern extent of the Daren ridge. It offers a remote, wind-scoured character, looking directly down towards the 12th-century ruins of Llanthony Priory, with distant views stretching across to the distinctive, pointed Sugar Loaf.

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Did You Know?

• •The name Pen y Garn Fawr translates from Welsh as the 'top of the great cairn'. Its alternative name, North Daren, refers to its position at the head of the Daren escarpment, a dramatic sandstone edge that drops steeply into the valley to the east.
• •The summit provides a spectacular vantage point for Llanthony Priory. From this height, the layout of the 12th-century Augustinian ruins is clearly visible on the valley floor, more than 300 metres below.
• •To the west, the view from the ridge is dominated by the deep, remote valley containing the Grwyne Fawr reservoir, while the southern horizon is defined by the isolated profile of the Sugar Loaf near Abergavenny.
• •Reaching exactly 2001 feet, this hill avoids the indignity of being 'just another five-hundred-metre moor' by the narrowest of margins—a mere four inches above the 2,000ft threshold.