The Beacons Way (Welsh: Ffordd y Bannau) is a waymarked
long distance footpath in the
Brecon Beacons National Park,
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
. It is a linear route which runs for east to west through the
National Park, and passes many of the most important
landmarks and mountain peaks in the mountain range. It also includes a few of the towns in the park as well as popular attractions such as
Carreg Cennen Castle
Carreg Cennen Castle (Welsh: ''Castell Carreg Cennen'') is a castle sited on a high rocky outcrop overlooking the River Cennen, close to the village of Trap, four miles south east of Llandeilo in Carmarthenshire, Wales. ''Castell Carreg Cennen' ...
near
Llandeilo
Llandeilo () is a town and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales, situated at the crossing of the River Towy by the A483 on a 19th-century stone bridge. Its population was 1,795 at the 2011 Census. It is adjacent to the westernmost point of the ...
at the western end of the path.
The route
Black Mountains
The Beacons Way as originally conceived started in
Abergavenny,
Monmouthshire, at the eastern end of the National Park and headed northeast to
Ysgyryd Fawr. It was later changed so that it started on the
B4521 road immediately south of the hill at coordinates though the connection with Abergavenny has since been reinstated, albeit on a slightly different route: it now starts at
Abergavenny railway station
, symbol_location = gb
, symbol = rail
, image = Abergavenny Railway Station (geograph 6111784).jpg
, caption = Abergavenny station (April 2019)
, borough = Abergavenny, Monmouthshire
, ...
. Beyond Ysgyryd Fawr the route drops down to
Llanfihangel Crucorney, passing
The Skirrid Mountain Inn before joining the
Offa's Dyke Path
Offa's Dyke Path ( cy, Llwybr Clawdd Offa) is a long-distance footpath loosely following the Wales–England border. Officially opened on 10 July 1971, by Lord Hunt, it is one of Britain's National Trails and draws walkers from throughout th ...
to climb
Hatterrall Hill. It then runs along the
Welsh–
English border for a few miles before descending into the
Vale of Ewyas
The Vale of Ewyas ( cy, Dyffryn Ewias) is the steep-sided and secluded valley of the River Honddu, in the Black Mountains of Wales and within the Brecon Beacons National Park. As well as its outstanding beauty, it is known for the ruins of Ll ...
at
Llanthony beside
Llanthony Priory
Llanthony Priory ( cy, Priordy Llanddewi Nant Hodni) is a partly ruined former Augustinian priory in the secluded Vale of Ewyas, a steep-sided once-glaciated valley within the Black Mountains area of the Brecon Beacons National Park in Mo ...
.
From Llanthony the route climbs to the ridge below
Bal Mawr, follows this south and then makes for the village of
Partrishow and over the slopes of
Crug Mawr before dropping into the valley of the
Grwyne Fechan to the north of
Llanbedr
Llanbedr () is a village and community south of Harlech. Administratively, it lies in the Ardudwy area, formerly Meirionnydd, of the county of Gwynedd, Wales.
History
Ancient monuments at Llanbedr include Neolithic standing stones; the St ...
. It climbs again to the spectacular
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...
hillfort
A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...
of
Crug Hywelbr>
and then descends to the small town of
Crickhowell
Crickhowell (; cy, Crucywel , non-standard spelling ') is a town and community in southeastern Powys, Wales, near Abergavenny, and is in the historic county of Brecknockshire.
Location
The town lies on the River Usk, on the southern edge ...
.
Pen y Fan
From Crickhowel
the Beacons Way skirts the mass of
Pen Cerrig-calch to reach
Cwmdu in the
Rhiangoll valley then heads up onto the southern ridge of
Mynydd Llangorse which it then follows southwards to the village of
Bwlch. The Way crosses the
River Usk to enter
Llangynidr and heads up around
Tor y Foel making for the head of Glyn Collwn above
Talybont Reservoir. The route then crosses the highest peaks in the central Beacons:
Pen y Fan and
Corn Du. In good weather, the peaks are usually crowded with visitors.
After dropping down to the
Storey Arms on the
A470 road, it heads northwest to the summit of
Craig Cerrig-gleisiad
Craig Cerrig-gleisiad is a subsidiary summit of Fan Fawr in the Fforest Fawr section of the Brecon Beacons National Park, South Wales. It makes up half of the Craig Cerrig-gleisiad and Fan Frynych National Nature Reserve with its sister peak Fa ...
in
Fforest Fawr
Fforest Fawr is an extensive upland area in the county of Powys, Wales. Formerly known as the Great Forest of Brecknock in English, it was a royal hunting area for several centuries but is now used primarily for sheep grazing, forestry, water cat ...
, and then continues southwest over
Fan Dringarth and
Fan Llia
Fan Llia is a subsidiary summit of Fan Fawr in the Fforest Fawr section of the Brecon Beacons National Park, Wales. In common with other peaks in the Fforest Fawr uplands it lies within the county of Powys.
The hill has the form of a broad ridg ...
to cross the
Afon Llia at Blaen Llia.
The Black Mountain Range
The route then follows a section of the
Roman road known as
Sarn Helen
Sarn Helen refers to several stretches of Roman road in Wales. The route, which follows a meandering course through central Wales, connects Aberconwy in the north with Carmarthen in the west. Despite its length, academic debate continues as t ...
before cutting off west through the
Ogof Ffynnon Ddu national nature reserve to
Penwyllt. The Beacons Way passes by
Craig-y-Nos Castle, once home to
Adelina Patti, and up along
Fan Hir and
Fan Brycheiniog, significant eastern peaks of the
Black Mountain rising above
Llyn y Fan Fawr, before entering
Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as ...
. It traverses the three main summits of the Carmarthen Fans, these being
Fan Foel,
Picws Du and
Waun Lefrith, passing above
Llyn y Fan Fach before dropping down to
Llanddeusant.
A low-level alternative runs beneath the Black Mountain escarpment, east of Llyn y Fan Fawr and north of Llyn y Fan Fach. In the west, the route climbs to
Carreg Cennen Castle
Carreg Cennen Castle (Welsh: ''Castell Carreg Cennen'') is a castle sited on a high rocky outcrop overlooking the River Cennen, close to the village of Trap, four miles south east of Llandeilo in Carmarthenshire, Wales. ''Castell Carreg Cennen' ...
and
Garn Goch. The route originally finished at the railway station at
Llangadog
Llangadog () is a village and community located in Carmarthenshire, Wales, which also includes the villages of Bethlehem and Capel Gwynfe. A notable local landscape feature is Y Garn Goch with two Iron Age hill forts.The Welsh Academy Encycloped ...
but was later modified to stop at the village of
Bethlehem
Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...
. The original finish has since been reinstated.
Completing the walk
It is a strenuous walk with plenty of ascents and descents. Parts of the route across open moorland can be difficult to navigate in poor weather - this and the isolation of these sections can make following parts of the route hazardous. The Beacons Way can be walked in its entirety in about 8 days but could easily take twice as long as there is so much to explore and enjoy en route. There are a few camping sites along the route, and accommodation is available in the towns and villages on or near the route.
Development of the route
The Beacons Way was conceived by the
Brecon Beacons Park Society
Brecon (; cy, Aberhonddu; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the count ...
and local walkers, particularly the Society's Secretary John Sanso
Arwel Michael and Chris Barber and was developed as recently as 2005. The alignment has been modified on several occasions, the most recent (as of October 2019) being put in place in spring 2016. The path crosses several
peat bog
A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...
s, where stone pavements have been laid to protect the vegetation and assist walkers.
References
External links
Brecon Beacons Park Society route infoBrecon Beacons visitor website guide to the routeThe Brecon Beacons National Park Authority's information on The Beacons WayGooglemap of a 6-day version of the Beacons Way route
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beacons Way
Recreational walks in Wales
Long-distance footpaths in Wales
Brecon Beacons National Park
Footpaths in Powys
Black Mountains, Wales