Keeper's Pond / The Tumble from Govilon

4.5km of constant pain, very good place to do an FTP test outside. Using it for my alpine training

Loved it. The first km or so lulled me into a false sense of security, but as soon as I came over the bridge and around the tight left hander I realised that I had brought the wrong bike, and I was going to struggle with a lowest gear of 34 on the front, and 27 on the back. And I was right. I managed to convince myself that at the signpost for Carn Ddryrs House I was stopping to take in the view, and as soon as the view had reduced my heartrate back to below 140BPM I was off again. As I crossed the cattle grid and the gradient softened to 8％ and the view opened out, I was happy to have the 30mph headwind there just to cool me off (and to be sure that the lack of gradient didn't make it too easy).

No idea why people call it the Tumble. Everyone I know who lives around the climb calls it the Keepers (after the pond). Notice all the stones towards the top of the climb. It used to be a village called Garndyrus, which was the real-life setting of the fictional book 'Rape of the fair country' by Alexander Cordell; based on events of the mid-late 19th Century. Off the right-hand side of the road 3/4 of the way up is a big dip in the grass. This was a balance pond; a place where they used to lower and raise coal carts down the hillside to the Monmouthshire and Brecon canal below

Nice steady climb. Good road surface throughout (lowest section freshly tarmaced in Sept 22). Amazing views across valley. Keeper's Pond at the summit is pretty (see pic), a spot for open water swimmers.