One’s destination is never a place, but always a new way of seeing things.Henry Miller
Hiking the Brecon Beacons Circuit
2018 was the summer which not many in UK would forget as it truly was one of the most hottest and sunniest – something which is very rare with the British weather.We were on the move with quite few walks and hikes over the summer when Li suggested Hiking Brecon Beacons in South Wales. Wales is one of our favourite escapade and we have had multiple trips there now. The Brecon Beacons is the chosen testing ground for one of the most revered fighting forces in the world – the Special Air Service(SAS). This last true wilderness in Wales did gather some negative publicity in 2013 when 3 military personnel lost their life up here during a quest in this gruelling and deceptive environment.
Battling through London traffic on a Friday evening we reached the outskirts of the Brecon Beacons where we had our pit stop for the night. After a relaxing sleep we were up early and drove to the base of the Brecon Beacons. We had decided on doing The Beacons Circuit – A circular walk starting and ending at the carpark at the base of the mountains.
Car Parks:
• Storey Arms Outdoor Education Centre, Libanus, Brecon LD3 8NL
• Pont ar Daf Car Park, Brecon LD3 8NL
The Walk starts at the Storey Arms Education Centre. This outdoor pursuit center located smack in the middle of the Central Beacons is a named after its landowner and is not a Pub/Inn. Actually there was an Annual Run up the Beacons and it was quite busy out here. Honestly hats off to the Endurance of these runners who were in Combat type Attire and carrying these heavy rucksacks on their way up.
Cross the A470 and cross the gate and stile to the left of the center. There are 2 paths here — One a Stone path heading straight up and the other a less obvious track off to the left. Take the latter and head up – cross the remains of an old stone wall and head straight up. At the Top of Y Gyrn(619m) cross the stile over the fence and now the path becomes harder to see. Follow it down the gentle slope as then it curls around to walk along Craig Cwm Llwch Ridge, passing Tommy Jones’s Obelisk on the way. Little Tommy(Aged 5) , became lost on the night of 4 August 1900 while walking to the remote farmhouse of Cwmllwch and died of exposure at this very spot.
Continue to the summit of Corn Du (873m) – here you can see the Ice age glacial lake in the hollow beneath. We rested our legs and took some time off to take in this amazing landscape. This is a place which I would personally cherish as the views were breathtaking and sit on the edge of the cliff gave some sort of Tranquility.
Further Drop into the Saddle and back up to Pen-y-Fan (886m). This is the highest mountain in South Wales and South Britain. The Panoramic views here are sensational and commands much of the national wave with its waves of rolling green hills.
Head down in the South Easterly direction before climbing to the top of Cribyn (795m). Further head down the gentle decline off Cribyn along Craig Cwm Cynwyn to meet the wide, stony track at Bwlch ar y Fan, otherwise known as ‘The Gap’. This is a north-south route through the central Beacons.
At the bottom of the Gap turn right and follow the stony path downward for 2km towards Neuadd Reservoirs – a reliable source of water for the industrial valleys to the south. Above the deep cutting in the track opposite to the lower reservoir turn right to go through a metal field gate , bear right and on reaching the tarmac road turn left down the hill to go through the reservoir complex and filter house. Walk across the dam wall and go through a field gate and go uphill onto the open hill to the Trig point at 642m.
Once at the top turn right and walk along the ridge for almost 2KM along a stony path taking in spectacular views of the Beacons and the reservoir. At Bwlch Duwynt, a junction of the paths below Corn Du, turn left down towards the forestry at Pont yr Daf. At the bottom cross the bridge over the Taff Fawr and once in the car park turn right and walk along the road back to Storey Arms.
It took us over 6 hours to finish this beautiful circular track – just in time to watch England’s Quarterfinal win over Sweden at the football World cup 2018. This was one of the most beautiful hikes we have done in the UK – the landscape, the rolling hills, the calmness and tranquility up in the beacons made it worthwhile. Unlike Tommy or the military personal we were lucky to not end up on the wrong side of this unforgiving terrain.
If you are planning to do something more around the Brecon Beacons then there are 2 attractions I would personally recommend –
• Sgwd-yr-Eira Waterfall
Also known as the Snow waterfall, this is one of the best waterfalls we’ve been to in the UK. Walking behind the water cascade reminded me of the Seljalandsfoss Waterfall in Iceland. The walk from the car park is quite Easy and flat going and takes around 40 minutes and is well marked
Car Park – Dinas Rock car park Coed-Y-Rhaidyr, Pontneddfechan, Neath SA11 5NU
• National Showcase Centre
We always have a fascination for the world underground and how could we miss the caves of Dan yr Ogof Cave, Cathedral and Bone Cave in South Wales. These offer an unique underground experience ranging from the enormous passageways of Cathedral Cave or the beautifully decorated passageways of Dan-yr-Ogof. This Place has a lot to offer if you are coming with the Kids – more like a Dinosaur theme park. However we stuck to the beautiful underground world.
Opening times: Apr–Oct daily from 10am, last entry 3pm.
Car parking :The National Showcases Centre, Abercrave, Swansea Valley,SA9 1GJ
Entrance Charges – Adults £15.00
Another Recommended Hike in Wales is Mount Snowdon.
Please leave a comment below if you need any additional information.
This is Aldrin and my partner Amoli. We bring you "Earths Pilgrim" - a unique insight into our travel escapades while leaving life in a cubicle. If you are looking for some inspiration to break the shackles of a regular life, then you are the right place. Read more about us- Click here.
With the rolling hills and views, this looks a lovely place to go hiking. The waterfalls look pretty also!
I really like the Sgwd-yr-Eira Waterfall. Looks like a beautiful spot for a rest or a picnic!
Pictures are just awesome, Keep enjoying and sharing.
Loved this post on hiking Brecon Beacons in South Wales. Looks like a lot to explore from beautiful nature to waterfall to caves! What variety. Always happy to lean about new travel destinations and this is one of them for us!
We just got back to the UK a couple of months ago after a year of travel and we are looking for places to go hiking close to come. We didn’t know much about the Brecon Beacons but we do now… it looks perfect for our next hiking trip 🙂
Great.. Good Luck with it… I’m sure u’ll love it
Amazing photographs.Looks like you guys had an amazing hike.I especially loved the caves .I would love to visit caves of Dan yr Ogof Cave, Cathedral and Bone Cave of South Wales. The pictures of the caves makes me want to go right now.Thanks for sharing!
Thanks a lot for your feedback
You guys had some awesome weather for the Beacons! It definitely isn’t alway like that! Ha Looks like you had an awesome trip. Thanks for sharing it 🙂
Yeahhh.. It was one of those lucky days.. The weather was good and it was England playing in the World cup quaterfinals 😉
What a beautiful view you had from top of the mountains! I’m glad you weren’t lost though.
Like you, absolutely love Wales! And fully agree that the Sgwd-yr-Eira waterfall is simply spectacular. Your photos are super, but they do show the region as sunny … which in a heartbeat it is not, full of cold swirling mist and raw weather. One of the reasons the SAS train there. 😉
Well i must say I was slightly lucky on my day with the weather in wales 😉