The Blorenge

The Blorenge is a steep-sided hill rising to 561 metres above the Usk Valley in Monmouthshire. It stands on the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park and overlooks the market town of Abergavenny. The Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal runs along its northern base while Blaenavon lies to the south. The hill’s slopes include Bronze Age burial cairns and a hollow called The Punchbowl shaped by past glaciers. Its rocks range from Devonian sandstones on the lower slopes to Carboniferous limestones higher up, all tilted south-westwards. The hill draws walkers, paragliders and fell racers to its open moorland. A popular trail circles the plateau, offering wide views across the valley to Abergavenny and the Black Mountains. Near Foxhunter car park a gentler route leads to the summit ridge. Paragliders launch from the top and often land in Castle Meadows beside the river. Every November a fell race starts and finishes at St Faith’s Church in Llanfoist, passing beneath the canal. Industrial remains mark the hill’s past. A tramway built in 1796 once carried limestone from quarries on the northern flanks to Blaenavon’s ironworks. Abandoned sandstone and limestone workings scar the eastern rim, while traces of ironstone hushing can be seen near Keeper’s Pond. The canal wraps around the hill’s foot, linking past and present routes across the landscape.