Esgair Hengae

Rising above the remote Claerwen Valley, this high moorland ridge embodies the quiet solitude of Central Wales. Its broad, grassy slopes are often boggy, requiring steady legs, but the summit provides an uninterrupted perspective over the stark expanse of the Cambrian Mountains and the distant, silver gleam of the Elan Valley reservoirs.

• •The name is derived from the Welsh 'Esgair', meaning a long ridge or shank, and 'Hengae', which translates to 'old enclosure', hinting at the mountain's history as former upland grazing land.
• •The summit offers a commanding view of the Claerwen Dam to the west, a massive gravity dam completed in 1952, and the distinctive twin cairns of Drygarn Fawr on the southern horizon.
• •This area is a stronghold for the red kite; once nearly extinct in the UK, these birds now thrive in the thermal currents rising from the deep valleys surrounding the ridge.
• •Approaching the top is often less of a hike and more of a tactical negotiation with the local peat bogs, which have a legendary ability to swallow a walking pole if you aren't paying attention.