i’mamountaineer

Seeing a friend who’s always up for an adventure one weekend in late May, we had the chance to get over to the Brecon Beacons, and the promise of good weather. With Snowdonia so much closer than the Beacons, I’ve rarely done much more than driven through in the past. Naturally, I looked for a route up the highest/most interesting points in the range, and had soon  decided on the Brecon Horseshoe which included a slightly longer/quieter ascent of Cribyn, and then onto Pen y Fan.

Kit

With a steady trail and some grassy sections in store for the day, I decided to give my Sportiva Nepal Evo GTX boots I’d bought for the Alps, their first outing on the hills. Apart from that it was the usual, with a few extra bits of clothing in case cloud cover/wind picked up and made things cold up high. The route on a nice day whilst a little muddy in sections doesn’t really need any kit; my friend was comfortable in her day to day trainers and jeans.

Route

The first challenge is to find the car park! I’d used a Pathfinder guidebook (18 Brecon Beacons and Glamorgan) for the route and eventually found the single lane track out South of Brecon (easier to find if enter Brecon via the roundabout that’s South-West of the town) by a pub called the Drovers Arms. After that by following signs for a training camp and sticking to what appears to be the main “road”, we reached a National Trust car park.

After walking up the road through the car park, the main path is clearly visible straight ahead, instead we went to the left down into a wooded area to  cross the river (via a bridge). Up the bank and then through some undergrowth, we soon found the beginning of a trail along the side of the hillside now infront. This carries on a little way until things open up to your right and you’re at a wall and gate. If you can avoid going up to the gate, then stay up high and turn right into Cwm Sere, there is a path down by the wall but it was boggy, whereas the one starting about 10-15m to the side is much better. Into the cwm are fantastic views of Cribyn, which is quite some way from where you begin the walk in.

The boggy path to the left, the better path is faint to the top right.

And from then on it’s a case of just enjoying the walk in, with fantastic views all around until the path begins to drop down to the side of the river. Then it’s a case of working out how you want to make your way up to meet the Northern ridge of Cribyn.

The ascent up to the ridge is quite steep, and by far the most difficult part of route physically. My stiff boots (rated B3) meant side to side traversing over some sections before I relented and re-laced them looser to allow more flex around the top. And then onto the ridge, which is pretty dramatic due to the gradient when approached, even if it’s not at all exposed to the sides for the person walking it.

From the top of Cribyn, the views back down into the cwm and over toward Pen y Fan are fantastic. So good that the blustery wind on top didn’t bother us as we sat enjoying lunch, watching small clouds race overhead. The rest of the walk from there on is made up of a steady ascent of Pen y Fan, which we did with constant changes in temperature as the clouds/wind took away the heat of the sun off us. The summit itself whilst a little dull through being flat, has fantastic views in all directions (if you get the weather) and being accessible attracts large numbers that crowd the top. From the summit the main trail is obvious when looking North, which is easy going apart from a small stretch of rocky ground just below the top.

Walking in the Brecon Beacons was a nice change of scenery from my now regular Snowdonia outings, and reminded me just how many fantastic places there are in the UK for me to get out and explore. The route was scenic and whilst I wouldn’t call it difficult, my legs told me I’d done a decent walk when I woke up the next day. So whilst it may be a little while until I return, I’m really looking forward to my next walk in the Brecon Beacons.

Finally, if you’re wonderiing why I called the route “Mini”, it’s because the guidebook suggests carrying on to Corn Du before heading back, we decided to make our way to the car park from the top of Pen y Fan.