The Brecon Beacons
Only about 3-4 hrs drive from London, the Brecon Beacons National Park can be a perfect weekend get away. Recently we spent a couple of days in the Brecon Beacons, climbed Pen y Fan – the highest peak, Cribyn, Sugar Loaf and followed river trails through forests and admired beautiful waterfalls.
Pen y Fan
There are many routes to Pen y Fan, Brecon Beacons’ highest peak. Probably the most popular route is from the Storey Arms car park. From the summit the views are rewarding however we wanted to take on some of the other mountains as well. We found a spectacular walk, starting from Taf Fechan. This circular walk takes on Cribyn, as well as Pen y Fan and Corn Du and then follows the mountain ridge. On a clear day there are great views along the entire walk. We were lucky enough to complete the 10 mile trail on a sunny day and enjoyed every bit of it.
Cribyn
We climbed up to Cribyn from Llanfrynach as well. It was a circular walk with excellent views. From the village we walked across some grazing fields and then headed towards Cribyn. There was a short but very steep climb to the summit where from we enjoyed the fine views towards Pen y Fan. We then continued to Fan y Big and then followed the ridge with further great views and descended back to Llanfrynach.
Waterfalls
From Pontneddfechan we followed a trail beneath trees along the River Neath. Soon we reached the first waterfall and then continued on a well trodden trail in the lush forest. There were several waterfalls to admire en route. We continued along the river, walked across some fields and arrived at the beginning of the Four waterfalls trail. We walked along Afon Mellte and admired Sgwd Clun Gwyn, Sgwd Isaf Clun Gwyn, Sgwd y Pannwr and then Sgwd yr Eira waterfalls. The names were very confusing and hard to remember but the waterfalls were spectacular.
