Actual weather at 8.00am: Rain - typical.
We gradually moved from drizzle on our departure at 10.30am to pleasant overcast conditions by the time that we arrived at the Cwmcarn Forest Visitors Centre, only thirty five minutes later with no sign of any wet roads.
Leaving the car park the route started with the first ascent of the day almost immediately as we left the village of Cwmcarn far below, taking the path into the dense woodland. This circular route saw us gain further height before joining an open forest track for the next three miles, with the first view of Twmbarlwm seen in the distance from Rhyswg Fach across the Craig-Y-Glyn wooded horseshoe valley.
I was soon to establish the real reason for my presence as Lord Twynyrodyn summoned me to act as his Sherpa due to his dodgy back! Although including waterproofs in the rucksack they would not be required today.
The scramble up a particularly steep bank to photograph the fungus in the woods was precarious, but I was reassured as his Lordship kept a watchful vigil!
The second climb took us from the open forest track up onto the opposite ridge and eventually to a country park picnic site on the Forest Drive route, located in a strategic position overlooking the Pant Gwyn valley below. From here the main target of the day, Twmbarlwm, was clearly visible less than a mile away on the horizon to the south west. 
As we climbed onto the open moorland of Mynydd Henllys we were treated to a spectacular panoramic view of the Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary, which was laid out before us stretching from Cardiff in the west to Newport and beyond in the east including both the old and new Severn Bridge crossings. The coast of Somerset was also clearly visible across the Channel.
The top of Twmbarlwm features the remains of what is presumed to be a Bronze or Iron Age hill fort, believed to have been built by the Silures, the Celtic tribe that inhabited the area before and during Roman times. There was also possibly a Roman signal point or beacon and there is also a substantial Norman motte and bailey castle incorporated into the eastern end of the fort, probably of early Norman construction.
The mountain top itself is a well known local landmark visible on the skyline for many miles and is indeed seen as a symbol of Monmouthshire/Gwent. It is very popular for hill-walkers who trek the Gwent Ridgeway and mountain bikers who use the extensive tracks around Cwmcarn Forest Drive. It features heavily in local folk legends with tales of a giant buried here, and treasure, supposedly guarded by swarms of bees. Local legend says the druids supposedly regarded it as a sacred site and a place of judgement.
The trig point at Twmbarlwm of 419 metres is the highest point of Caerphilly County.
Soaking up the views we sat on the hill-fort that has been immortalised in the work of local writer W. H. Davies, the Newport born poet and author of "Autobiography of a Supertramp" who wrote of Twmbarlym:
Can I forget the sweet days that have gone
When poetry first began to stir my blood
And from the hills of Gwent I saw
The earth torn in two by Severn's silver flood
The steep descent from Twmbarlwm brought us into contact with a mountain biker from Chepstow at Tegwyn Y Bwlch, a cross road for the walking track and bike trail, who explained that the Twrch trails in Cwmcarn Forest was now considered some of the best mountain biking terrain in Britain. He had been speaking to two guys earlier who had driven from London that morning specifically to experience the ride on the trails.
After this brief stop we continued downhill joining a section of the Raven walk, past the lake in the Lower Nantcarn valley and returned to the Visitor Centre at 2.15pm.
This is a really well designed building that has been recently constructed and the facilities inside are excellent. After a well earned Panini and mug of tea we left the Visitor Centre following an exhilarating days walking in really good weather conditions – perhaps the weather forecasters did get it right after all!
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