THE BLORENGE

BLAENAVON, PONTYPOOL

You’ve all heard of the Tumble, right? Well, say hello to its evil twin. Climbing the same ridge up to The Blorenge, this secret path is longer, quieter and steeper. In fact, it makes The Tumble look like the Bonneville Salt Flats. Fellow author Jack Thurston introduced me to this climb – it’s the quintessential Welsh ‘lost lane’, lurking in the shadows of its famous neighbour. It’s tough from the very start; passing a few houses, crossing a stone wall, and heading into an endless tunnel of twisting trees. Steep, overgrown banks hem in the narrow and dirty road on both sides. Apart from one tiny dip, it’s hard all the way, and you will lose all sense of time and direction by the time you approach a junction and turn right. Bearing right again and then left, line up for the last leg across the open and exposed hillside to the summit beneath the twin communication towers.