The Skirrid trail in the Sugar Loaf and Usk Valley, East Wales

This compact but energetic circuit climbs one of Monmouthshire's most distinctive summits, starting and finishing in the small village of Llandewi Skirrid on the eastern edge of the Bannau Brycheiniog. The path leaves the village lanes and rises steadily through Pant-Skirrid Wood, a shaded belt of trees that gives shelter on warm days and frames early glimpses of the ridge ahead.

Above the woodland the route breaks out onto the open flank of Skirrid Fawr, the striking isolated hill that dominates the skyline north-east of Abergavenny. A steady pull up the southern slope brings you to the long, narrow summit ridge, where wide views open across the Usk Valley to the Sugar Loaf, the Black Mountains and, on clear days, deep into the Welsh borderland.

From the top the way loops back down the hillside, with Caer Wood tucked nearby for those who want to extend the walk. The descent returns you through quiet field edges and lanes to Llandewi Skirrid, closing a short but rewarding 3.3 km round with a proper mountain feel.