Allt yr Esgair

Allt yr Esgair is a ridge-shaped hill in the Brecon Beacons National Park in Powys, Wales. It overlooks the River Usk valley to the west and south, with wide views across Llangorse Lake to the Black Mountains on the far side. The ridge rises to 393 metres and is known locally as ‘The Allt’. A stone viewfinder stands at the top, placed there to remember Eirene Lloyd White, Baroness White of Rhymney. The hill has a prominence of 199 metres, which makes it a Marilyn. The hill’s slopes are made of sandstones and mudstones from the Devonian period. Old sandstone quarries, now abandoned, mark the lower flanks. During the last ice age the hill stood above the glacier that filled the Usk Valley. As the ice melted, water from a much larger Llangorse Lake once flowed through cols at Pennorth and Bwlch into the Usk. Several bridleways run along the ridge, open to walkers, horseriders and mountain-bikers. The summit and the woodland to the northeast are open access for walkers. A car park beside the A40 road south of the hill gives an easy starting point for many routes. An Iron Age hillfort crowns the summit, one of several in the Usk Valley. The Roman road from Y Gaer near Brecon to Abergavenny follows the ridge and is still used today as a bridleway.