The Waterfalls Walk

Tuesday 27th August 2019

I love walking through wooded gorges with steep sides beside a narrow river as it meanders along the bottom in amongst dappled sunlight. These places are usually completely wild and totally given over to nature allowing it to fill every corner with abundant vegetation in the damp atmosphere. Apart from the vitally important footpath that enables me to walk through these landscapes there is wild nature everywhere, completely unspoilt by the ruinous hand of man. They are magical places that I adore wherever I have encountered them from the Ingleton Waterfalls in the Yorkshire Dales to the narrow glens that flow out of the Ochil Hills in Scotland. The start of my love affair must have happened in 2000, early in my walking career, when I first came to the Waterfall Country in the Brecon Beacons National Park. I returned in 2003 for a slightly longer route around this stunning area and for my twentieth anniversary tour of Wales I wanted to retrace my steps of that second walk to return to the scenery that sparked my love of wooded gorges. Since all other waterfall walks that I had done since have been measured against this one, this is, for me, the original Waterfalls Walk. I started in the same place as on all my previous visits, in the village of Pontneddfechan and parked near the Angel Inn.

Initially I enjoyed a wide path beside the river through dappled sunlight despite wet conditions underfoot following overnight rain. Previously this walk has been a wet weather alternative and although there had been some rain at the start of the day this had largely cleared by the time I started walking and during the day the weather would gradually improve. I was already enamoured with the experience as I walked through the narrow glen with trees overshadowing everything and the sun making a brief appearance peeking through the leaves before hiding behind clouds until the afternoon. After turning the corner into the side valley of the Afon Pyrddin I discovered just how muddy and slippery the path was when I slipped over onto my knee, as if I didn’t already have enough problems with my knees. Brushing myself off I now more carefully made my way towards the first of the great waterfalls on this walk: Sgwd Gwladus. This tall, slender fall is majestic and beautiful and has a special place in my heart remembering the times when I have explored all around the amphitheatre in which it sits getting up close and personal with the Lady Falls.

This time I didn’t get so intimate and was happy to just gaze in awe from afar and take a load of pictures before returning to the Nedd Fechan to continue along the riverside path as it weaves a course up the hillside that is narrow and at times satisfyingly tricky with steep drops to the ravine below. Eventually the path descends to the horseshoe waterfalls with many more falls coming in rapid succession culminating in the thunderous Sgŵd Ddwli. There were so many waterfalls they all seemed to merge into one in memory although the stunning wooded scenery provided me with the perfect backdrop of sylvan beauty that matches any mountaintop any day. When safe to do so I dropped down onto the river bed and took many pictures looking up and down the river towards the falls and over the top of them as I absorbed myself in the surroundings thoroughly enjoying myself. Eventually I reached the car park at Pont Melin-fach where I took the signposted path that takes a rough undulating route along the eastern bank of the river and although there are not so many stunning waterfalls on this section I really enjoyed the walking along a challenging and exhausting path.

At Pont Rhyd-y-cnau I finally left the Nedd Fechan behind to take a heavily eroded track up out of the valley, onto the road at the top of the ridge and down the hill on the other side to the caves of Porth yr Ogof. I have no desire to venture into dark, claustrophobic caves and am most happy when I have sky above my head, but I did go down to the mouth of the cave and peered into its vast, dark, waterlogged depths before climbing back up top to have my lunch. With the sun now beginning to come out I headed south and investigated the opening where the river emerges from the cave system before I once more resumed my trek beside the river on a relatively easy path in gorgeous sunshine and idyllic scenery. Eventually I reached the big waterfall of Sgŵd Clun-gwyn, which is larger than anything I had seen on the Nedd Fechan, and was justly drawing in the crowds, although getting a good view of it was not easy. Continuing south beside the Afon Mellte I saw a sign warning of a dangerous path, which just drew me on along the narrow and wet route that did not seem to me particularly difficult compared with any other paths that I have been on.

This path brought me to another big, wide waterfall, Sgŵd Isaf Clun-gwyn, which I had remembered having difficulty accessing on previous visits to the area, but now it was clustered with many people, and the crowds continued around the third waterfall on the river, Sgŵd Pannwr, brought out by the good weather and a bank holiday. I was unable to continue walking beside the river so at this point I had to climb steeply up the side of the valley completely wearing myself out in the warm weather. There was now just one waterfall left on the walk, and this one is, if not the greatest on the walk, it is certainly the most exciting. Descending steeply back down into a side valley, to the Afon Hepste, I came before the great Sgwd yr Eira, and carefully made my way over wet rocks to the foot of the waterfall and walked behind it. It is a fabulous feeling to stand behind a waterfall and to have the glorious sight of water falling in torrent just a short distance in front of me. I took many pictures, despite the sun not shining, before taking the path on the other side of the river steeply up the bank to the top where I realised the sun had come out again so I descended back down and took even more pictures.

Eventually I tore myself away and finally climbed back up the steep hillside and happily took the path that slowly led me all the way to the Dinas Rock car park and passing through Pontneddfechan returned to my car. It is astonishing that it has taken me sixteen years to do this walk again when there are walks in the Lake District that I have done countless times, again and again, even though this is a fabulous walk. The walks that I am doing on this holiday are so iconic they have totally shaped the way I now approach walking and my perception of what makes a great walk. This walk is without doubt a great walk, if not one of the greatest. It is, most definitely, the waterfall walk.