Blorenge, also called The Blorenge (; ), is a prominent hill overlooking the valley of the

River Usk The River Usk (; ) rises on the northern slopes of the Black Mountain (''y Mynydd Du''), Wales, in the westernmost part of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Initially forming the boundary between Carmarthenshire and Powys, it flows north int ...

near

Abergavenny Abergavenny (; , , archaically , ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales. Abergavenny is promoted as a "Gateway to Wales"; it is approximately from the England–Wales border, border with England and is loca ...

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...

, southeast

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. It is situated in the southeastern corner of the

Brecon Beacons National Park Brecon Beacons National Park, officially named Bannau Brycheiniog National Park (), is a National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Wales. It is named after the Brecon Beacons (), the mountain range at its centre. The national park ...

. The summit plateau reaches a height of .

Geography

Blorenge overlooks the

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

and the villages of

Llanfoist Llanfoist () is a village near Abergavenny, in Monmouthshire, Wales, in the community of Llanfoist Fawr. Llanfoist derives from ''Ffwyst'', an early Christian Welsh saint, although the anglicised version of the church patron is ''Saint Faith' ...

Llanellen Llanellen () is a village in Monmouthshire, south-east Wales, United Kingdom. It is located south of Abergavenny. The population was 506 in 2011. Geography The Blorenge mountain towers above the village. The River Usk passes close by, crossed b ...

and

Govilon Govilon () is a small Welsh village located between Llanfoist and Gilwern near Abergavenny in north Monmouthshire. It is part of the community of Llanfoist Fawr. The population was 1,447 in 2011. Attractions The Monmouthshire and Brecon C ...

in the Usk Valley to the north. At the foot of the hill lies the

Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal The Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal () is a small network of canals in South Wales. For most of its currently (2018) navigable length it runs through the Brecon Beacons National parks of England and Wales, National Park, and its present rural c ...

. It drops away steeply to the northwest into Cwm Llanwenarth. To the south, gentler slopes fall away to

Blaenavon Blaenavon () is a town and community (Wales), community in Torfaen county borough, Wales, high on a hillside on the source of the Afon Lwyd. It is within the boundaries of the historic county of Monmouthshire (historic), Monmouthshire and the Pr ...

at the head of the Lwyd valley. Prominent peaks seen from the Blorenge include the

Skirrid Skirrid Fawr ( , ), often referred to as just the Skirrid, is a traditional Christian pilgrimage site and an easterly outlier of the Black Mountains in Wales. It forms the easternmost part of the Brecon Beacons National Park. The smaller hill ...

to the east of Abergavenny and the Sugar Loaf to the north. The high moorland ridge continues to the south of the minor road at Foxhunter car park and assumes the name Mynydd y Garn-fawr. The cairn referenced in the title of this southerly shoulder of Blorenge may be that now known as Carn y Defaid which sits on the county boundary at a height of 503m. It is the most prominent amongst a handful of

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

burial cairns.

Geology

Blorenge is composed in layer-cake fashion of a number of rock types. Its lower slopes are formed from the sandstones and mudstones deposited during the

Devonian period The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era during the Phanerozoic eon, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the preceding Silurian period at million years ago ( Ma), to the beginning of the succeeding C ...

and known collectively as the

Old Red Sandstone Old Red Sandstone, abbreviated ORS, is an assemblage of rocks in the North Atlantic region largely of Devonian age. It extends in the east across Great Britain, Ireland and Norway, and in the west along the eastern seaboard of North America. It ...

. Its higher reaches are formed from a suite of mudstones, limestones and sandstones of

Carboniferous The Carboniferous ( ) is a Geologic time scale, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), system of the Paleozoic era (geology), era that spans 60 million years, from the end of the Devonian Period Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the ...

age. The summit plateau is formed from coarse sandstones that lie at the boundary of the

Millstone Grit Millstone Grit is any of a number of coarse-grained sandstones of Carboniferous age which occur in the British Isles. The name derives from its use in earlier times as a source of millstones for use principally in watermills. Geologists refer to ...

and the Coal Measures. All of these beds tilt south-westwards into the

South Wales Coalfield The South Wales Coalfield () extends across Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, Bridgend, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Merthyr Tydfil, Caerphilly, Blaenau Gwent and Torfaen. It is rich in coal deposits, especially in the South Wales ...

basin. The shape of the hill was modified during the ice ages as the Usk Valley glacier flowed past it to its north. A small glacier nourished by windblown snow from the plateau excavated the hollow on the eastern side of Blorenge which is known as The Punchbowl. Cwm Craf on the hill's north-eastern slopes has a cirque-like form though probably never harboured a full-grown glacier. Small landslips affect Blorenge's slopes, the most well-known of which is the Tumble through which the B4246 climbs towards Keeper's Pond. Wildfire damage Blorenge DMarshall2010

Protected areas

Blorenge is situated within both the

and the

Blaenavon Industrial Landscape Blaenavon Industrial Landscape, in and around Blaenavon, Torfaen, Wales, was inscribed a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2000. The Blaenavon Ironworks, now a museum, was a major centre of iron production using locally mined or quarried iron ...

, a

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

. Much of the hill has also been designated a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

principally for its heather moorland which is important for breeding

red grouse The red grouse (''Lagopus scotica'') is a medium-sized bird of the grouse family which is found in Calluna, heather moorland in Great Britain and Ireland. It was formerly classified as a subspecies of the willow ptarmigan (''Lagopus lagopus'') ...

. The Punchbowl is owned and managed by the

Woodland Trust The Woodland Trust is the largest woodland conservation charity in the United Kingdom and is concerned with the creation, protection, and restoration of native woodland heritage. It has planted over 68 million trees since 1972. The Woodland Tru ...

as a nature reserve.

Access

Most of the hill is open access for walkers and there are a number of footpaths and bridleways which run to and over it. There is a

hillwalking Walking is one of the most popular outdoor recreational activities in the United Kingdom, and within England and Wales there is a comprehensive network of rights of way that permits access to the countryside. Furthermore, access to much uncultiva ...

trail that runs around Blorenge and is a very popular destination for tourists and walkers alike. The ascent on foot to the summit from Llanfoist / Abergavenny via Cwm Craf is very steep but the effort is repaid by the panoramic views from the summit across the valley of the

and the

Black Mountains, Wales The Black Mountains ( or sometimes ) are a group of hills on the England–Wales border. The Welsh part is larger and located in south-east Powys and north-west Monmouthshire, and the smaller English part is in western Herefordshire. The range ...

. Easier access both to the summit and the northern edge of the plateau can be had from the Foxhunter car park.

Recreation

Most visitors are walkers and sightseers. Some come to see the grave of Sir Harry Llewellyn's famous

showjumping Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrian events that also includes eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics. Sometimes shows are l ...

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...

, Foxhunter, who won Britain's only

Gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

in the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After Japan declared in ...

. Foxhunter is buried near to the

to Llanover road on Blorenge. A car park here is named in his honour. Paragliders and hang gliders regularly take off from the summit. Paragliders performing 'top to bottom' flights often land in Castle Meadows beside the River Usk at Abergavenny. Every November a 'category A' fell race takes place on the mountain starting and finishing at St Faith's Church at

. The race route passes under the

Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal The Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal () is a small network of canals in South Wales. For most of its currently (2018) navigable length it runs through the Brecon Beacons National Park, and its present rural character and tranquillity belies its ...

. There is also a Great Taste Award winning

pale ale Pale ale is a golden to amber coloured beer style brewed with pale malt. The term first appeared in England around 1703 for beers made from malts dried with high-carbon coke, which resulted in a lighter colour than other beers popular at th ...

named after this hill and produced not far away in Llanhilleth.

Industrial heritage

The remains of a tramway, built about 1796, linking a

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

quarry A quarry is a type of open-pit mining, open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock (geology), rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some juri ...

on the north side of the mountain with the

ironworks An ironworks or iron works is an industrial plant where iron is smelted and where heavy iron and steel products are made. The term is both singular and plural, i.e. the singular of ''ironworks'' is ''ironworks''. Ironworks succeeded bloome ...

can be seen near . Hill's Tramroad extends around the western flanks of the hill and drops steeply down to Llanfoist by means of a series of inclines beneath Cwm Craf. There are extensive abandoned workings for limestone around the northern and eastern rim of Blorenge and in the vicinity of Foxhunter car park and to its south, abandoned sandstone quarries. Traces of the former practice of

hushing Hushing is an ancient and historic mining method using a flood or torrent of water to reveal mineral veins. The method was applied in several ways, both in prospecting for ores, and for their exploitation. Mineral veins are often hidden bel ...

for

ironstone Ironstone is a sedimentary rock, either deposited directly as a ferruginous sediment or created by chemical replacement, that contains a substantial proportion of an iron ore compound from which iron (Fe) can be smelted commercially. Not to be c ...

can be seen near to Keeper's Pond. The

, formerly the

Brecknock and Abergavenny Canal The Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal () is a small network of canals in South Wales. For most of its currently (2018) navigable length it runs through the Brecon Beacons National parks of England and Wales, National Park, and its present rural c ...

, wraps around the foot of Blorenge to the north and east.

Etymology

It has been suggested that the mountain's name may derive from the Welsh ''plor'' ('pimple') and relating to Middle English ''blure'' ('blister'), or else from ''blawr ais'' ('grey ribbed').

Blorenge in popular culture

Blorenge is believed to be a source of inspiration for Cecil Frances Humphreys Alexander's hymn "

All Things Bright And Beautiful "All Things Bright and Beautiful" is an Anglican hymn, also sung in many other Christian denominations. The words are by Cecil Frances Alexander and were first published in her ''Hymns for Little Children'' of 1848. The hymn is commonly sung ...

". The fourth verse starts "The purple headed mountain, the river running by". "The purple headed mountain" is believed to be Blorenge, "The river running by" the Usk beneath. "Blorenge" is one of very few words in the English language which is a perfect rhyme for "

orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower ** Orange juice *Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...

Cycling 'the Tumble'

The western edge of Blorenge is crossed by the B4246 road between

and

which passes over the climb known as "The Tumble" ("Y Tymbol"), which reaches an elevation of close to Keepers Pond (Pen-ffordd-goch Pond) (at ). The climb is regularly featured in cycle races, and has hosted the finish of the final stage of the Junior Tour of Wales since 1989. It is listed as one of the 100 Greatest Cycling Climbs in Britain. The signs at the summit indicate incorrectly that the elevation is . From

, the climb is long, gaining in altitude, at an average gradient of 9.0%. Stage 3 of the

2014 Tour of Britain The 2014 Friends Life Tour of Britain was an eight-stage men's professional Road bicycle racing, road cycling race. It was the eleventh running of the 2004 incarnation of the Tour of Britain and the 75th British tour in total. The race started o ...

finished at the summit on 9 September 2014, when the stage winner was the Italian rider, Edoardo Zardini.

References

{{coord, 51.80005, -3.06148, type:landmark_region:GB_source:enwiki-osgb36(SO269118), display=title Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Monmouthshire Mountains and hills of Monmouthshire Brecon Beacons Blaenavon