Brecon Beacons, Wales

Brecon Beacons, Wales

The Brecon Beacons are a mountain range running through South Wales, including the two highest peaks in the region, Pen y Fan and Corn Du. Pen y Fan (“the top peak”) has an elevation of 886 metres, and the walk up features a sandstone footpath. Corn Du is the second highest peak in South Wales at 873 metres. Both summits are quite similar—flat and anvil-shaped—and both marked by a Bronze Age cairn. The burial cairns dotting Brecon Beacons speak to the legacy of the prehistoric Neolithic and Bronze Age settlements that once thrived in this area.

The mountain range is in the heart of the Brecon Beacons National Park, which also includes the Black Mountains (Y Mynyddoedd Duon) to the east, the similarly named Black Mountain (Mynydd Du) to the west, and the Fforest Fawr (Great Forest), an extensive upland area in Powys, Wales that used to serve as a royal hunting area.

A walking tour of Brecon Beacons provides breathtaking views and scenery on any walking route or on the numerous cycling routes. In addition to the national park, Brecon Beacons is also home to two National Trails and various pathways that offer tranquil ways through country lanes, beautiful waterfalls, and amazing wilderness.

The Henrhyd Falls and Nant Llech walking trail takes you on an adventurous walk to the highest waterfall in South Wales. Henrhyd Falls falls from a height of 27 metres, and this walk follows a footpath through a trail of sessile oak and ash trees on the side of the valley.

Of course, those who want a more strenuous exercise through the national park should take the Pen y Fan and Cor Du circular walk, a scenic mountain walk to the high peaks of South Wales. It’s a steady climb up a well-made footpath, and the saddle between the summits of Corn Du and Pen y Fan offers fantastic views of the green valleys and reservoir above the Welsh town of Merthyr Tydfil. From here is a final push to the summit of Pen y Fan, which surely will give any Welsh visitor a sense of achievement for scaling South Wales’ highest summit.

There is also an outdoor education centre in the Brecon Beacons mountain range called the Stoney Arms, a great place to begin your walks, or to spend time with loved ones and family.

Articles about Great Britain published by Odyssey Traveller

The following list of articles published by odyssey Traveller for mature aged and senior travellers to maximise their knowledge and enjoyment of Britain when visiting;

• A Traveller’s Guide to Medieval Chester
• Roman Roads in Britain
• Understanding British Churches
• Medieval British life
• Icons of British Villages
• Studying Gargoyles and Grotesques
• New Discoveries About Britain’s Stone Circles
• Victorian Country Life
• Britain’s Neolithic past
• Lumps and Bumps, How to Read the British Landscape
• The Lake District Poets
• English Village History
• Britain’s National Trust

For all the articles published on Britain by Odyssey Traveller, please click through on this link to view.

External articles to assist you on your walk in Britain

• Walking in the Brecon Beacons
• Henrhyd Falls and Nant Llech walk
• Pen y Fan and Corn Du circular walk
• Brecon Beacons: Things to Do
• Explore the Brecon Beacons
• Brecon Beacons National Park
• National trust; Britain’s best walks with Julia Bradbury
• National Parks of Britain.
• Ten books about Walking in Britain from the Guardian
• UNESCO World Heritage sites of Britain