{"id":1737,"date":"2021-05-28T19:50:16","date_gmt":"2021-05-28T18:50:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/themanualphotographer.co.uk\/?p=1737"},"modified":"2022-03-18T13:00:53","modified_gmt":"2022-03-18T13:00:53","slug":"pen-march-merthyr-common","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thewalkingkev.co.uk\/index.php\/2021\/05\/28\/pen-march-merthyr-common\/","title":{"rendered":"Pen March &#038; Merthyr Common"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"min-width: 260px; max-width: 100%\"><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/www.outdooractive.com\/en\/embed\/211058238\/js?mw=false\"><\/script><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Pen March (535m) and Merthyr Common (531m) are boundary high points for Caerphilly, with Merthryr Common also being a boundary high point for Merthyr Tydfil as well. That means completing these two high points ticks off three hills on the list.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-photo is-provider-flickr wp-block-embed-flickr\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/uponnothing\/51209320418\/in\/dateposted-public\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51209320418_7c44b15d20_b.jpg\" alt=\"Pen March &amp; Merthyr Common\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" \/><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>The track onto open moorland actually leads you a long way towards both tops. | Tamron Adaptall SP 24-48 @ 24mm, f11.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>They are accessible from every direction via open moorland \/ grassland that is home to one of the Southernmost mountains in the Brecon Beacons range, Cefn yr Ystrad. I parked next to the road up, on a small, rough layby. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-photo is-provider-flickr wp-block-embed-flickr\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/uponnothing\/51209118876\/in\/dateposted-public\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51209118876_75e38133f5_b.jpg\" alt=\"Pen March &amp; Merthyr Common\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" \/><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>Cefn yr Ystrad, a true mountain. | Tamron Adaptall SP 24-48 @ 48mm, f11.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>You could head up the road a little way and park next to the cattle grid as well, in fact this is probably a better parking place than the one I used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-photo is-provider-flickr wp-block-embed-flickr\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/uponnothing\/51209119591\/in\/dateposted-public\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51209119591_5a5a16486a_b.jpg\" alt=\"Pen March &amp; Merthyr Common\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" \/><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>The communication tower makes a great point of reference when walking on fairly indistinct moorland. | Tamron Adaptall SP 24-48 @ 24mm, f11.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>You follow the road until it ends, and then you open the gate and you&#8217;re in the wilderness. You can follow a wide, at times very wet and muddy (I did this walk after a couple of weeks of heavy rain though) track that leads you towards a communication tower. You can follow smaller tracks from here and sheep tracks until you find an overgrown pond, that is now really nothing more than a deeper patch of grass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-photo is-provider-flickr wp-block-embed-flickr\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/uponnothing\/51209318588\/in\/dateposted-public\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51209318588_2983233a6a_b.jpg\" alt=\"Pen March &amp; Merthyr Common\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" \/><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>The pond that is not really a pond. | Tamron Adaptall SP 24-48 @ 24mm, f11.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Pen March is a bit to the right of this, Merthyr Common high point a little to the left. There is no indication for either of them, so I just walked a quick loop and snapped some photos and headed back to the car. It was a pleasant enough walk, with some sheep and horses for company and views of Cefn yr Ystrad to the North and many hills to the South &#8211; most of which I&#8217;ve now walked, so always good to have a moment contemplating that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-photo is-provider-flickr wp-block-embed-flickr\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/uponnothing\/51208403432\/in\/dateposted-public\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51208403432_644648e861_b.jpg\" alt=\"Pen March &amp; Merthyr Common\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" \/><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>The view West from Merthyr Common \/ Pen March. | Tamron Adaptall SP 24-48 @ 24mm, f11.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Probably not a place I&#8217;ll return to, unless I ever decide to walk Cefn yr Ystrad again, but if you are nearby and want a peaceful walk there are certainly worse places to have a and a wander and a ponder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-photo is-provider-flickr wp-block-embed-flickr\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/uponnothing\/51209316283\/in\/dateposted-public\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/51209316283_e5fee75aeb_b.jpg\" alt=\"Pen March &amp; Merthyr Common\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" \/><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>The non-pond. | Tamron Adaptall SP 24-48 @ 24mm, f11.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pen March (535m) and Merthyr Common (531m) are boundary high points for Caerphilly, with Merthryr Common also being a boundary high point for Merthyr Tydfil as well. That means completing these two high points ticks off three hills on the list.&nbsp; They are accessible from every direction via open moorland \/ grassland that is home [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2846,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[268,270,262,276,267,259,17],"tags":[48,113,120,121,172,197,206,237,239],"class_list":["post-1737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-caerphilly","category-merthyr-tydfil","category-moderate","category-powys","category-walks-by-county","category-walk-rating","category-welsh-hills","tag-caerphilly","tag-hill-walking","tag-merthyr-common","tag-merthyr-tydfil","tag-pen-march","tag-sony-a7rii","tag-tamron-adaptall-sp-24-48mm","tag-welsh-hills","tag-welsh-valleys"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":6}},"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewalkingkev.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1737","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewalkingkev.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewalkingkev.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewalkingkev.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewalkingkev.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1737"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thewalkingkev.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1737\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2847,"href":"https:\/\/thewalkingkev.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1737\/revisions\/2847"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewalkingkev.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2846"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewalkingkev.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewalkingkev.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewalkingkev.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}