The Blorenge
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| The Blorenge | |
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| Elevation | 561 m (1,840 ft) |
| Location | Monmouthshire,  Wales |
| Range | Brecon Beacons |
| Prominence | c. 134 m |
| Parent peak | Coity Mountain |
| Topo map | OS Landranger 161 |
| OS grid reference | SO269118 |
| Listing | Dewey |
The Blorenge (pronounced /ˈblɒrɨndʒ/, Welsh: Blorens) is a mountain in Monmouthshire, south east Wales. It is 1,833 feet (559 m) high and overlooks the valley of the River Usk to the southern flanks of the Black Mountains, Wales, also in the Brecon Beacons National Park.
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[edit] Location
The Blorenge overlooks the market town of Abergavenny and the village of Llanfoist in the Usk Valley to the north. It is situated within both the Brecon Beacons National Park and the Blaenavon Industrial Landscape World Heritage Site. At the foot of the mountain lies the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal.
[edit] Geology
The Blorenge is composed in layer-cake fashion of a number of different rock types. Its lower slopes are formed from the sandstones and mudstones deposited during the Devonian period and known collectively as the Old Red Sandstone. Its higher reaches are formed from a suite of mudstones, limestones and sandstones of Carboniferous age. The summit plateau is formed from coarse sandstones that lie at the boundary of the Millstone Grit and the Coal Measures. All of these beds tilt south-westwards into the South Wales Coalfield 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 [1].
[edit] Protected areas
The Blorenge has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest principally for its heather moorland which is important for breeding Red Grouse.
A glacial hollow on the southeast flank of the mountain, the Punchbowl Nature Reserve, is owned and managed by the Woodland Trust.
[edit] Hang Gliding Mecca
The Blorenge is owned by the SE Wales Hang Gliding & Paragliding Club whose members regularly take off from the summit.
The rare name is notable for being one of few words in the English language that rhymes with the word orange. It is sometimes referred to as 'the Blancmange', as viewed from Abergavenny [1] - it does look as if it has been tipped from a huge jelly mould.
Harry Llewellyn's famous showjumping horse, Foxhunter which won Britain's only Gold medal in the 1952 Summer Olympics is buried near to the Blaenavon to Llanover road on the Blorenge with a car park sited here in his honour.
[edit] 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 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 River Usk to Abergavenny and the Black Mountains, Wales. Easier access both to the summit and the northern edge of the plateau can be had from the Foxhunter car park.
[edit] References
- ^ British Geological Survey 50K Map sheet 232 'Abergavenny' & accompanying memoir
