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Black Mountains Wellbeing Walk 2025

A full day's mental wellbeing hike with Mind Over Mountains. Your opportunity to spend an amazing day walking, talking and being listened to by our qualified wellbeing team. A wonderful walk taking in some of the highlights of the Black Mountains, giving views out over Mid Wales and back to the Brecon Beacons.

You can expect to come away from the day with a huge sense of achievement, new friends, relaxed and revitalised - with helpful guidance and tools for going forward in day to day life.

We are here to support your mental fitness - in a positive, friendly way. Enjoy a walk alongside our professional counsellors & coaches, with a relaxed group of likeminded people.
This walk is graded
Our walk grades
1: Finding the right event for you

Finding the right event for you

These definitions are designed to give you an idea of the type of walk, so you can consider which might be suitable for you. They are a guideline only.

Various factors will affect the grading e.g. distance, terrain, ascent, time of year, general environment & individual experience. 

Retreats only: Be aware with our retreats that it is two days walking, with a longer walk with more ascent on the first day. On retreats you need to be able to walk for 2 days whilst carrying a daysack.

If you feel unsure - please contact us & we will do all we can to guide you. We really want to welcome you along with us on the right pathway forwards for you.

1: Introductory

Introductory

  • These walks are usually half days/part days.
  • Taking place on very good paths with minimal ascent/descent.
  • Less than 6km (3.7 miles) distances.
  • Generally urban, park or forest walks.
2: Easier

Easier

  • Half to full day walks around 5km – 12km (3 - 7.5 miles)
  • Clear well-walked footpaths, grass or bridleways.
  • Walks are fairly flat or with gentle inclines.
  • A great first step for less experienced walkers.
3: Moderate

Moderate

  • These are normally full day walks around 10-15km (6.2 - 9.3 miles).
  • There may be some more difficult paths (e.g. rough or loose underfoot). Generally hilly terrain & there may be short sections of steeper ascent/descent.  
  • Assumes a basic level of fitness and mobility.
     
4: Harder

Harder

  • Full day walks around 10-15km (6.2 - 9.3 miles).
  • There will be more difficult paths (e.g. rough, rocky, loose) with more ascent/descent including steeper sections.
  • These routes may be in more remote areas.
  • Good mobility & confidence on feet is required.

 

5: Challenging

Challenging

  • A longer full day with 7hrs + walking.
  • Higher level of fitness & walking experience required.
  • These can be challenging due to the length; or a combination of length & terrain including ascent/descent.
  • These are generally our Step Out or other Challenge walks.

Event Date

Event Time

Start at 9.30am - finish 5pm (approx)

Event Details

A wonderful walk taking in some of the highlights of the Black Mountains, giving views out over Mid Wales and back to the Brecon Beacons.  

Starting from Gospel Pass we backtrack down the road a short way before contouring round  Darren on a bridle track  We then potter gently NW along up a wonderful track to the main ridge and the trig at Pen Rhos, before turning back East for a gentle climb up onto Twumpa and then the drop back down to Gospel Pass.

Event Distance

9.5miles /15 km

Total Ascent

1500ft / 450m

Start Point

Gospel Pass Car Park

Parking

Gospel Pass Car Park


Googlemaps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/DTRgoE2dCKVXkzjh6

What3Words: ///listen.scope.hardback

Toilets

n/a

Pre-Event Zoom Briefing

This usually takes place the Thursday before your walk at 6pm (look out for the zoom link which will be sent to you by email). It is a relaxed and informal opportunity to meet each other & the team. There will be an introductory coaching & mindfulness session, alongside a brief from our Walk Leaders, with an opportunity to ask any questions before the walk.

Post-Event Zoom Briefing

This usually takes place the Tuesday after your walk at 6pm (zoom link will be emailed to you) - Following our day in the hills, we will reflect on our achievements together, consider what has become clearer and focus on your next steps to move forward.

What's included

  • A day of guided hill-walking with professional mountain leaders
  • An introduction to mindfulness techniques
  • An opportunity to share your story with others in a safe, non-judgemental space, supported by our qualified counsellors & coaches
  • A day of respite from the stresses of our hectic modern lives
  • Build confidence and resilience with physical, emotional and mental challenges
  • Virtual check-ins before and after the day out with us

What's Not Included

  • Travel to the meeting point
  • Food/drinks during the walk
  • Walking equipment (although we will carry some spare essentials if you need to borrow anything, and we recommend Kitsquad who can help if you are on a low income and need some good kit.

Please take a moment to read this before you book, thank you. The spaces on our mental wellness walks are generously funded for you by our charity partners, and your place is a precious thing! In booking you commit to attending, or to telling us in advance if you cannot, so that we can re-allocate your space to someone else who needs it. Thank you so much.

As we are a mental health charity committed to supporting as many people as we can, we request that you book a maximum of 3 funded walks with us each year. Thank you so much for your support.

Walk cancellation by you: please advise us at the earliest opportunity if you can no longer attend. We have waiting lists for each event & need to give others the opportunity if you cannot join us.

Cancellation by us: We will notify you of cancellation as soon as possible if it is necessary for any reason, no less than 1 week before. Mind Over Mountains cannot be held liable for any accommodation / travelling costs due to cancellation.

Walk alterations: While every effort will be made to run walks as planned, Mind Over Mountains reserves the right to make changes due to weather conditions, participant fitness or as a result of risk assessments on the day.

Spaces available on this walk

  • £0.00
Mind Over Mountains welcomes all, regardless of race, gender, religion or sexual orientation. Our inclusive retreats and walks ensure a comfortable, supportive environment. Join us to experience nature's healing power and a community where everyone is valued and respected. 
Mental Health Continuum

Select one of the 5 options that applies to you. You may need to scroll on mobile.

Walk Booking Form

Thank you so much for joining us for this event - we really look forward to welcoming you.

Please complete ALL the fields on this form so we have all your info and can fully support you. You will need to reply to each one in order to submit your form.

We are here to help you at any time - all questions are welcome. You can email us info@mindovermountains.org.uk with your question, & ask us to give you a quick call if you would like.

Please input the name of the person attending the event.
Optional

We ask for this information so that in the event of a medical situation or emergency, our team can take the appropriate actions, protect you from risk and provide appropriate information to medical professionals. Your medical information will be removed from your data record held by Mind Over Mountains after the event.

Depending on your answers, we may get in contact with you for further information or we may need your doctor's consent before you can participate in the activity.

Type Yes or No
Type Yes or No
Type Yes or No
Type Yes or No
Type Yes or No
Type Yes or No
Yes or No (if yes - please give full details & medication info here)
Yes or No (if yes - please give full details & medication info here)

Thank you so much - looking forward to seeing you on the day!

Frequently asked questions

We are a walking charity - with walks/hikes which vary in how easy or challenging they are - so we give each of our walks a grading to give you a guide. Do take a look at the section on each walk or retreat listing titled 'Is this the right walk/event for me?' to help you. If you are still unsure please just contact us using the form below and we will get back to you quickly. Our fundraising challenge events do require higher levels of fitness & we are always happy to chat about what's involved.

Our walks & retreats are for anyone who would benefit from the opportunity to take some time walking in nature, with likeminded people, and listening support if needed from our coaches & counsellors. Or just a break from the day to day, to reset, reframe, refocus. We are all about mental fitness, wellness, and overall wellbeing. Managing overwhelm, anxiety, stress - or freeing you to make decisions that are feeling a bit much. We create a safe, confidential space to talk openly with no judgement, no pressure, and we enjoy wonderful walks and time in a group in the beautiful outdoors.

We recommend our walkers wear walking boots with ankle support, walking shoes or off-road running trainers - the most important thing is having a more rugged sole/grip to prevent slips and potential injuries on rocky, muddy or uneven terrain. This doesn't have to be expensive or high-quality brands at all - Go Outdoors or Mountain Warehouse are generally very good value. 

We do work with a fantastic organisation called KitSquad who can help with providing second-hand kit so please do feel free to contact them with what you need and hopefully they can help.

Dogs, other than registered assistance dogs, are not permitted on our events. Sorry! Please advise us in advance if you need to bring an assistance dog. Thank you.

Walks

Vaping/Smoking: We try to discourage vaping/smoking on our walks if possible; but if you do need to vape/smoke we ask that you only do it during breaks in the walk; and that you are 10 metres away from the group, to be mindful of others.  Please ensure any cigarette butts are carefully and thoughtfully disposed of to respect the natural environment.

Retreats

Vaping/Smoking: We try to discourage vaping/smoking on our walks if possible; but if you do need to vape/smoke we ask that you only do it during breaks in the walk; and that you are 10 metres away from the group, to be mindful of others.  Please ensure any cigarette butts are carefully and thoughtfully disposed of to respect the natural environment. At the retreat accommodation there is a no vaping/smoking rule in the venue, and we ask that you remain a minimum of 10 metres away from the main building outside.