Cambrian Way: the Brecon Beacons

Monday 12th August 2024

I had difficulty sleeping on the night before this walk because it was too warm and no breeze was blowing through my tent so I didn’t get much sleep for the start of the toughest and most demanding section of Cambrian Way. Stage six starts in the town of Crickhowell, but to reduce the length of this stage I had started it the afternoon before and walked for about four miles to a wild camp in Waun Ddu. In the morning, I set off through the thick bracken that surrounded the bog and brought me to a farmer’s track a short distance away from a road. My Cicerone guidebook recommends avoiding the fast road by following a track that parallels the road, however at this time of the year it was choked with bracken which made the walking difficult and later I began to climb above the crags of Craig y Castell even though the guidebook recommends descending to the road at that point. I was forced to walk across the top of the crags until I was at the far end where I battled through thick bracken down to the road. It was still very warm and humid with weather forecasts promising the hottest day of the year in Britain, although maybe not in the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park as the weather was initially very changeable with fleeting sunshine and attempts at rain, though for most of the morning it was just overcast. I was not looking forward to the promised hot weather reaching Wales as that would make an already strenuous walk even more difficult.

At the end of the road I took to a track that led me out onto the open moor and with the earlier sunshine gone and bleak, open moorland before me under overcast skies I put my trust in the clear path that led me to an trig point and later to Ogof Fawr, a cave used by the Chartist movement in the nineteenth century. Soon after the cave I should have turned off the track as it curved to the south, but I missed the faint path and by the time I realised it was too late to turn back so I turned north crossing the pathless heather moorland until I reached the route of the Cambrian Way which was almost non-existent on the ground and brought me to a quarry access road. A track branched off the road and took me around the Cwar yr Hendre limestone quarry soon providing me with misty views into the quiet valley of Dyffryn Crawnan. At a waterfall I crossed the stream and walked along a terraced path with views down the valley until I eventually realised I was going the wrong way and retraced my steps back to the bridge to follow the stream up past a distressing array of industrial waste. Plastics and tyres littered the ground on the edge of the quarry until I finally moved onto open moorland just as the mist dropped and the weather deteriorated so with no path navigation was an interesting challenge.

There was nothing to see in the bleak grassland until the ground steepened below Bryniau Gleision and I reached a ridge, but the ground was still no better with deep ruts left behind by off-road vehicles. However, the weather was now improving with views to my right into the valley that houses Talybont Reservoir while to my left Pontsticill Reservoir was surrounded by thick conifer plantations. I have planned to walk along this ridge on many occasions and for many years, but I don’t think I ever have, so I was devastated to find it in such a terrible state and the desolations continued beyond the trig point at the top of Pant y Creigiau with terrible scarring where the ground steepens from vehicles trying to climb the hill. At the bottom of the pass, I took to a muddy path that crossed the hillside to the stream Nant Bwrefwr where a clear, well-made path leads up the hillside. This is part of the Beacons Way, a long distance trail that I first considered doing twenty years ago, so it is great that I was now finally doing a walk that traverses the whole of the national park. As the sun broke through the clouds, a little later than it had done on the previous two days, I made my way across the open top of Waun Cerrig Llwydion to the escarpment edge above Craig Cwmoergwm. After my exertion it was great to now have a relaxing stroll with great views in all directions with the distinctive peaks of the Brecon Beacons ahead of me and arrayed in splendid sunshine.

The path above the escarpment brought me towards Fan y Big, but I stuck the route of the Cambrian Way which bypasses the top, and never seriously considered the option. From the pass, Bwlch ar y Fan, I had a choice of whether to follow the Beacons Way in bypassing the next peak, Cribyn, or to stick to the precise route of the Cambrian Way and climb Cribyn. I had decided to base my choice on the time, as recommended by the Cicerone guide, and since it wasn’t even three o’clock yet I braved the steep slopes and climbed all the way up to the top of Cribyn. The climb rewarded me with fantastic views in all directions including Twmpa, in the far distance to the east. where I had been two days ago. Now a steep descent led me to another ridiculously steep ascent that led me all the way up to the top of the highest point in the Brecon Beacons, Pen y Fan, where the stunning views continued stretching for many miles to the north. This is one of those mountains that draws the crowds so I didn’t stay for long at the top before making my way along the ridge that connects Pen y Fan with its neighbour, Corn Du, where I began my descent keeping to the escarpment edge until I reached an obelisk that commemorates the death of a five year old child. It is probable that I have not previously visited this memorial very often with the last time being in 2006, but the Cambrian Way makes the diversion so I did again before crossing the pathless grassy slopes onto the main path that led me down the hill to the Storey Arms.

This was an epic day with a lot of arduous walking across featureless moorland in grey, miserable weather until finally in the afternoon the weather cleared just as the landscape became much more interesting for a stunning traverse of the Brecon Beacons. Pen y Fan was the highest point on the Cambrian Way so far and would not be surpassed until I reached Cadair Idris more than a week later.

Cambrian Way: out of the Black Mountains

Sunday 11th August 2024

At the end of my previous day on the Cambrian Way I had stopped a little short of where I’d originally planned, but later than I should have walked after a strenuous day. I was near the head of the short valley that contains the stream Nant Bwch which flows into the Vale of Ewyas in the Black Mountains. This is an area that I have many fond memories of walking and I loved the opportunity that walking the Cambrian Way gave me to revisit these delightful hills. After a good night’s sleep I woke to overcast skies but once I was back on the ridge I had far reaching views across the Wye Valley and a brisk wind. My first climb was up the sprawling grassy hill of Rhos Dirion and to avoid going in the wrong direction I needed to keep to the edge of the escarpment that overlooks the wide valley, but I soon lost the views as I plunged into the low cloud that enveloped the hill. My excesses of the day before had left me aching and these now continued, especially on the steepest sections of the walk, so with more than two weeks strenuous walking ahead of me I was careful to take my time as I slowly climbed to the trig point that marks the top of Rhos Dirion. At the shallow col beyond I turned right to descend the escarpment a short distance in search of some water from the stream that flows through Cwm Cwmstab, which despite being a mere trickle was enough to fill my water bottles and quench my thirst until other sources of water could be found. Back on the path I continued along the ridge slowly climbing through the misty conditions until eventually I reached the top of Waun Fach, the highest point in the Black Mountains and now much improved compared with my first visit in 2002 when the top was bare mud.

Turning right I descended the ridge over Pen Trumau and enthused at the easy walking that the broad grassy ridges of the Black Mountains provides, so despite the poor weather I enjoyed walking along the curving ridge that led me down to a pass and up to Mynydd Llysiau where heather now decorated the landscape. At the next hill, the Cambrian Way obstinately climbs to the top of Pen Twyn Glas even though the clear path skirts around it, so I had to tackle the bogs that defended the approach before turning right at the top to rejoin the path and head along the ridge to Pen Allt-mawr where a steep ascent ensured that I was so tired when I reached the trig point I collapsed in the nearby shelter to hide from the strong winds and have my lunch. Soon after leaving the summit along the eastern edge I passed someone who commented that the weather had turned out good, which was a surprise for me to hear until I later realised that while I had stopped for my lunch the mist had cleared to reveal blue skies and sunshine. Although views ahead of me, to the south, were hazy, when I reached Pen Cerrig-calch and finally turned around I found that there were extensive views back along the ridge all the way to Waun Fach. I felt sure that I had walked over Pen Allt-mawr and Pen Cerrig-calch before, but I could not remember when and I cannot find any record of it. Fortunately the Cambrian Way was bringing me to places that I had not walked in over twenty years, if at all.

I was disappointed to have missed out on the views throughout the morning, and all too soon the views across my beloved Black Mountains disappeared as I turned back to the south and descended the broad slopes with views across the Usk Valley beyond. The sharp peak of Sugar Loaf, which I had climbed the day before, was to my left while Blorenge, which I had climbed a month before, was on the other side of the valley. My gradual descent brought me to Table Mountain and the Iron Age fort of Crug Hywel that overlooks and lends its name to the modern town of Crickhowell. Rather than walk all the way around the earthworks I soon came back down descending through bracken that towered above my head with the heat increasing significantly as I descended with the day becoming disagreeably hot. When I reached Crickhowell I had completed the fifth stage of the Cambrian Way, and since it was only half two in the afternoon I took the opportunity to rest for a while and keep out of the hot sun. With stage six being very long and arduous I wanted to keep going so eventually I left Crickhowell, across the River Usk and up to the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal where a short but delightful walk brought me to some disused lime kilns where a straight route, formally a tramway, led me up the hill and towards the awesome cliffs that line the valley.

A very steep ascent up an old incline was torture at this late time of the day though thankfully it was initially under the cover of trees and the earlier heat was beginning to fade, but the ascent was unrelenting and I was more than relieved when I finally reached the level path that runs along the base of the disused quarries. With stunning views across the valley I had a majestic walk across the side of the hill that gave me a chance to catch my breath. At a bend in the escarpment is the large, open cave of Eglwys Faen, but I could not find it despite searching several paths that led to treacherously steep drops into tiny openings in the hillside. I didn’t want to risk injury hunting for the cave so I returned to the path where I was able to admire the impressive crags of Chwar Mawr before continuing along the path that descended to the open moor of Waun Ddu in the National Nature Reserve of Craig y Cilau where I camped well away from the path. This was a much better day than the previous when I had struggled with tiredness and a lack of energy, but much of the walk was relatively easy along the grassy ridges of the Black Mountains that are always a pleasure that has been enjoyed many times over the past twenty-five years. I loved the opportunity to return on this occasion but I would have many more places to visit while on the Cambrian Way.