I’d seen the sign pointing the way to Capel-y-ffin each time I passed the narrow road on my way between the campsite and the festival site in Hay-on-Wye. I was there for the festival and had booked lots of events, but I made sure I also built in time for exploring some of the local area.
When I had pretty much a whole day free to explore I decided to turn up this narrow road and see what it had to offer.
It turned out to be a whole lot. I spent the day driving over and exploring the Gospel Pass and stopping off not just at Capel-y-ffin, but also at several other places as well. If you’d like to have a similar day exploring the Gospel Pass – Wales’s highest road, here’s what you can expect.
Exploring the Gospel Pass
First, the Gospel Pass itself. What is it and where can you find it?
The Gospel Pass is a narrow, mostly single-track road that winds it way up through the Vale of Ewyas in the Black Mountains from Hay-on-Wye to Abergavenny. At its highest the road runs 549m above sea level. End to end the distance is about 18 miles.
As the road is single-track it meant I had to do quite a lot of reversing when I met on-coming traffic. Fortunately there are plenty of passing places so I never had to reverse too far. I’m quite used to single-track roads from all my trips to Shetland, but I can imagine it could be a bit hair-raising to someone not so used to it, especially if you’re also in a hire car you’re not used to driving and if you’re trying to get used to which side of the road to drive on!
How to use a passing place
On a single-track road you drive down the middle. When you meet an oncoming vehicle and have to use a passing place, the vehicle with the passing place on the left goes into the passing place and the other vehicle stays on the main part of the road. If you are driving slowly and there is a faster vehicle behind you then you should use passing places to allow them to overtake. The overtaking vehicle needs to overtake on the right so if the passing place is on your left you drive into the passing place to let the other vehicle overtake. If the passing place is on your right you stop alongside it and let the overtaking vehicle drive in and out of the passing place to get around you.
If you don’t happen to be at a passing place when you meet an oncoming vehicle one of you will have to reverse. Ideally, one of you will have just passed a passing place and so it makes sense for that person to reverse rather than the other one having to reverse a long way. If you meet an oncoming vehicle on a hill, then the driver going downhill should give way to the driver coming uphill and do the reversing. Of course, sometimes it will make more sense for the uphill driver to reverse, for instance, if they’re very close to a passing place or if they have a straight bit of road to reverse down and the other vehicle would need to reverse up a very windy bit of road.
Never park in a passing place.
In parts the road goes through hamlets and wooded areas, but mostly you will be on a high road with stunning views. There are plenty of parking places so you can stop frequently to take photos, go off and explore or just sit and gaze at the view.
St Paul is said to have come this way bringing the gospel to Wales. Crusaders are also said to have passed this way on their way to their crusades. Take your pick for which one you want to believe the Gospel Pass is named for.
Hay Bluff is probably the best-known of the hills you will pass from the road. If you have time you can park in a handy car park and nip up the side of the hill to the 677m peak. From the top you’ll get good view over the county of Powys, the Wye Valley and the book town of Hay-on-Wye. I didn’t do this as it was quite misty when I passed by on my way out and on my way back I was getting short of time as I had a book festival event to attend that evening. On my way back there was an ice-cream van parked here which seemed to be doing good business with people coming down from the hilltop.
It’s worth stopping at the car park even if you don’t intend climbing Hay Bluff. This is the highest part of the road and is the bit of the road that is actually Gospel Pass. Not only are there fantastic views from the car park, but it’s right alongside a standing stone.
It’s actually part of a stone circle, though I really struggled to make out the circle and gave up in the end. The largest stone is the obvious one which looks like a standalone standing stone. It’s supposed to be 1.5m high, but seemed a lot shorter to me. I googled pictures of it and it’s definitely the right one. Maybe it’s just shrunk a bit since it was last measured. The stone has what is believed to be a cup mark on it. These are quite rare in this part of Wales.
Cup marks are neolithic art and are circular depressions roughly the diameter of cup. They can be patterned or plain and can be singular or part of a group.
A bit further along the road is Capel y ffin. This is a tiny hamlet with a white cottage and little white chapel. It’s so pretty. In case it wasn’t picturesque enough they’ve thrown in a red phone box too.
The chapel is surrounded by yew trees and old gravestones, some of them really leaning over. Down the path at the side of the chapel is another, older chapel, but this one is in disrepair and not particularly pretty. It’s not possible to go inside this one.
But you can go inside the younger, white chapel. St Mary the Virgin was built in 1762 on the site of a 15th century church. With an interior of just 8 metres by 4 metres it is one of the smallest churches in Wales. The inside is simple and tranquil even down to the window. Instead of the usual elaborately coloured stained glass windows, the window behind the altar here is plain glass engraved with the words, ‘I shall lift up my eyes to the hills whence cometh my salvation’. The words, from Psalm 121, are appropriate because the hills can be clearly see rising up beyond the clear glass.
A little side road leads from Capel-y-ffin, over a bridge to a gate and a path leading up into the woods. Following this path will take you to a viewpoint of a derelict monastery. The monastery is in the grounds of a privately-owned house and so isn’t accessible, but it’s a nice little walk and you do get a view of it.
In 1924, Eric Gill moved here with his family and founded an artistic community in the disused monastery. Gill was associated with the arts and craft movement and was known as a sculptor, printmaker and typeface designer. He designed the Gill Sans font which might look familiar. If it does, it’s because it’s based on the font used by London Underground. This font was created by Edward Johnson in 1916. Gill wasn’t really plagiarising Johnson as he’d been involved in the developmental stages of the font and so it was kind of his work too.
Gill wasn’t just known for his artistic endeavours. Unfortunately he’s also known for rather unsavoury sexual proclivities. He could have invented the term ‘sex-addict’ and seemed to think he should have his way with every female he came across. This included his daughters, sisters and even, allegedly, his dog.
Leaving the monastery I made my way back through the woods to my van. Capel y ffin means ‘chapel at the end’, but this isn’t the end of the road. A few miles drive and I was at Llanthony. This is bigger than the hamlet of Capel-y-ffin, but not by much. However the derelict priory here is huge in comparison to the tiny St Mary the Virgin chapel.
The priory was originally founded in the early 12th century by William de Lacy after he had a mystical experience. It did well for a while, but 100 years later the buildings had disappeared and the Augustinian monks who had resided here had moved to Gloucester and Hereford. The priory was rebuilt in the 13th century and it is the remains of this building that can be seen today.
I spent quite a bit time exploring the ruins, wandering under soaring arches and flitting between stone pillars. Before leaving I had a look in the church opposite. Sadly, I didn’t get time to go in the pub in the crypt.
If you’re looking for an old-fashioned, back to basics campsite, you can find one here. Next to the priory car park is a field with a cold tap. The toilets are the public toilets in the car park and there are no showers. This is the campsite and it costs only £3 a night. It’s my favourite kind of campsite and if I hadn’t already have been booked into the site in Hay I would’ve been tempted to stay here.
As it was I didn’t have time to follow the road the remaining few miles to Abergavenny. The Hay Festival was calling and I had wind my way back along the Gospel Pass to Hay-on-Wye. This was such a fantastic day out exploring the Gospel Pass though and I’d highly recommend it to anyone staying in Hay or elsewhere in the Wye Valley.
Just a word of warning though …
Beware of werewolves … the Gospel Pass features in the opening scenes of the film, ‘An American Werewolf in London’.
Would you like to spend a day exploring the Gospel Pass – Wales’s highest road? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
NB: If you’d like to attend the Hay Festival next year you’ll be able to find details on their website. Tickets go on sale around March.
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