A Break in the Brecon Beacons

I feel I've travelled a fair amount in my modest time on earth. Having travelled around England, New Zealand and Europe quite extensively. Growing up I got the chance to visit lots of different countries and I'm very lucky in that regard. Although, one place that I'm ashamed to say that I had never been is Wales. It's only a two hour drive from my home in Surrey to Cymru and at 26 years of age I felt it about time I went. So, with 3 days booked off, my girlfriend and I set off for a break in the Brecon Beacons.

Why the Brecon Beacons? Well, its only around 2 and a half hours from my home to the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Its actually the closest mountains to London. I'd started to read and watch more and more about the area and felt a strong pull to the wild and windswept-looking peaks. We decided not to camp this trip- due to the time of year- and opted instead for a cozy cottage in Sennybridge, top and centre of the Brecon Beacons. This gave us a great base to see and do all the things we wanted on our short stay.

There was one thing in particular that I had in mind. Pen Y Fan. The highest point in Southern Britain, I simply had to say I'd climbed it. I knew it was an accessible but impressive mountain and I thought it'd be the perfect climb for my partner and I on a relaxing holiday with some steady, and yet, rewarding walks.



Pen Y Fan is a busy mountain. They refer to the footpath that leads to the peaks of Pen Y Fan and Corn Du, as the highway. When we'd managed to find a parking space in the busy car park at the bottom of the popular route up, I got the feeling that I wasn't going to enjoy the walk as much as I'd thought. Strangely, it had the opposite effect. There were a lot of people around on the way to the summit, that's true. Its also true that I usually go on walks and head to National Parks to get away from the crowds. However, there was something quite nice about watching kids, grandparents, dogs, fit people and unfit people ascending the grassy slopes to the top. It was just nice to see people out and enjoying the natural environment. And what an environment it is. The central Beacons area, in which Pen Y Fan lies, looks like nowhere else I can think of. The escarpments look like huge grassy tsunamis making their way across the landscape. We were somehow lucky enough to have fantastic views the entire walk as the weather held out for the rest of the day.



The route up the mountain that we decided on, was just a short 4 mile walk. It took us up the main path to the first peak of Corn Du. The summit of Corn Du sits at 873m high, just shy of the 886m Pen Y Fan which stands just behind. Both mountains sit on a ridge that includes a series of peaks. Corn Du, Pen Y Fan, Cribyn and Fan Y Big all make a horseshoe ridge that you can easily walk along from one to another. Each one of the summits are easily recognisable as we reached the small plateau-like peak of Pen Y Fan. A quick snap at the highest point in Southern Britain and we make or way back towards the car. If you did want to avoid the crowds however, then try some of the other routes up Pen Y fan or even some of its equally impressive neighbours.



Revelling in the fact that we had the weather on our side, and just ticked off another iconic mountain from my list, we headed to our cottage to relax and plan the following days activities.

The Brecon Beacons cover a huge area. Its made up of four main parts. The central Beacons of Old Red Sandstone that include Pen Y Fan and Cribyn, have the regions of Black Mountain and Fforest Fawr to the West and the very similarly named Black Mountains to the East. We decided that the notorious gorges and rivers of Fforest Fawr would be a great contrast to the first days walking on the mountains.

The following morning, we head for waterfall country. Its the name given to an area of the Fforest Fawr massif that has more than its fair share of cascades. West of Merthyr Tydfil, the Vale of Neath is home to some fantastically impressive and easily accessed waterfalls. Parking at the Porth Yr Ogof carpark, just south of the village of Ystradfellte, we loosely followed what is known as the four waterfalls walk. We followed the public footpath along an old track lined with mossy covered dry stone walls. A lovely start to the walk, the path took us past beautifully old farms before quickly descending into the densely tree-covered gorge of Afon Mellte. The atmosphere quickly changed from that of a quiet and quintessential country lane, to that of the noisey and wild river gorge.

                  

Passing the falls of Sgwd Clun-Gwyn we decide to make this walk slightly shorter and only visit three of the four waterfalls on the trail- missing out the final falls of Sgwd Yr Eira. The recent wet weather had not only made the river and falls impressively lively, but made for slow progress on the muddy, well trodden path. We were lucky enough, when arriving at the falls of Sgwd Yr Pannwr, to be the only ones there. We had the huge wall of water all to ourselves.



We made our way up river, towards the final falls on our afternoon amble. This section of the route took us close to the waters edge. Along the river, we saw three dippers on a log. They were hunting for food and doing they're comical bobbing and dipping for which they are aptly named. Luckily, I had brought my binoculars, as I was aware of what a good place the Brecon Beacons is for birdlife. The many varieties in landscape mean that there is an abundance of birdlife to match. Over the short time that we stayed in the Beacons, I saw many species for the first time. The final falls, Sgwd Isaf Clun-Gwyn, is a series of cascades in a steep sided section of the river. Getting down to water level and back up to the path involved some surprisingly steep scrambles. Its well worth doing however, as you get a view up stream of the many tiers that make up this fantastic falls.



It was a lazy evening in front of the log burning stove that followed our reasonably relaxed day next to the river. Unfortunately, the next day we'd need to head home and back to reality. But, in the morning, there was one stop we needed to make before we hit the road.

After waving goodbye to our beautiful Airbnb, we headed to the neighbouring village of Defynnog to see something truly awe inspiring. The ancient yew tree in Defynnog churchyard is a strong claimant for the oldest tree in Britain. Some expert put the tree at over 5000 years old! It sits in the pretty and unassuming churchyard at Defynnog. No huge sign or theatrics, it just sits there, in the same spot it has for millennia. Its hard not to get moved or reflective when in the presence of something so old. We did a short lap of the church yard and stood a while, admiring the gnarly-looking yew. The Brecon Beacons is a place of surprises and variety. Its a unique landscape that you'd struggle to confuse with anywhere else. This won't be my last visit the Brecon Beacons, or to Wales for that matter!

On Foot Note

Four Waterfalls Walk

Brecon Beacons National Park 

Pen Y Fan