The Brecon Beacons ( cy, Bannau Brycheiniog, ) are a
mountain range in
South Wales. In a narrow sense, the name refers to the range of
Old Red Sandstone
The Old Red Sandstone is an assemblage of rocks in the North Atlantic region largely of Devonian age. It extends in the east across Great Britain, Ireland and Norway, and in the west along the northeastern seaboard of North America. It also exte ...
peaks which lie to the south of
Brecon
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 ...
. Sometimes referred to as "the central Beacons" they include South Wales' highest mountain,
Pen y Fan. The range forms the central section of the
Brecon Beacons National Park
The Brecon Beacons National Park ( cy, Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog) is one of three national parks in Wales, and is centred on the Brecon Beacons range of hills in southern Wales. It includes the Black Mountain ( cy, Y Mynydd Du) i ...
(), a designation which also encompasses ranges both to the east and the west of "the central Beacons". This much wider area is also commonly referred to as "the Brecon Beacons", and it includes the
Black Mountains to the east as well as the similarly named but quite distinct
Black Mountain to the west. The highest peaks include
Fan Brycheiniog
Fan Brycheiniog is the highest peak at a height of (above sea level) in the Black Mountain (''Y Mynydd Du'') region of the Brecon Beacons National Park in southern Wales. There is a trig point at the peak and on the edge of the escarpm ...
to the west and
Pen y Fan in the central part. They share the same basic geology as the central range, and so exhibit many similar features, such as the north-facing escarpment and glacial features such as lakes and cwms (
cirque
A (; from the Latin word ') is an amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion. Alternative names for this landform are corrie (from Scottish Gaelic , meaning a pot or cauldron) and (; ). A cirque may also be a similarly shaped landfo ...
s).
Geography
The Brecon Beacons range, in its narrower sense comprises six main peaks: from west to east these are:
Corn Du
Corn Du is a summit of the twin topped Pen y Fan and the second highest peak in South Wales at 873 m (2,864 ft), situated in the Brecon Beacons National Park. The summit itself is marked by a well structured Bronze Age cairn with a cen ...
, ,
Pen y Fan, the highest peak, ,
Cribyn
Cribyn is a small village in Ceredigion, Wales, about 7 miles (11 km) north of Lampeter and with the villages of Troed y Rhiw, Mydroilyn and Dihewyd to the north.
History and amenities
Once a thriving community with two pubs, a garage ...
, ,
Fan y Bîg, ,
Bwlch y Ddwyallt, , and
Waun Rydd
Waun Rydd is a mountain in the Brecon Beacons National Park, in southern Powys, Wales. Its height is 769 m (2,523 ft) and it tops a large boggy plateau rising to the east of Pen y Fan.Nuttall, John & Anne (1999). The Mountains ...
. These summits form a long
ridge
A ridge or a mountain ridge is a geographical feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for an extended distance. The sides of the ridge slope away from the narrow top on either side. The line ...
, and the sections joining the first four form a horseshoe shape around the head of the
Taf Fechan
The River Taff ( cy, Afon Taf) is a river in Wales. It rises as two rivers in the Brecon Beacons; the Taf Fechan (''little Taff'') and the Taf Fawr (''great Taff'') before becoming one just north of Merthyr Tydfil. Its confluence with the ...
, which flows away to the southeast. To the northeast of the ridge, interspersed with long parallel spurs, are four cwms, four round-headed valleys or
cirque
A (; from the Latin word ') is an amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion. Alternative names for this landform are corrie (from Scottish Gaelic , meaning a pot or cauldron) and (; ). A cirque may also be a similarly shaped landfo ...
s; from west to east these are
Cwm Sere,
Cwm Cynwyn
Cwm may refer to:
* Cwm (landform), a rounded, glaciated valley, also known as a corrie or cirque
* Cwm (software), a general-purpose data processor for the semantic web
* Cwm railway station, a station in Cwm, Blaenau Gwent, Wales, 1852–1963
* ...
,
Cwm Oergwm
Cwm may refer to:
* Cwm (landform), a rounded, glaciated valley, also known as a corrie or cirque
* Cwm (software), a general-purpose data processor for the semantic web
* Cwm railway station, a station in Cwm, Blaenau Gwent, Wales, 1852–1963
* ...
and
Cwm Cwareli
Cwm may refer to:
* Cwm (landform), a rounded, glaciated valley, also known as a corrie or cirque
* Cwm (software), a general-purpose data processor for the semantic web
* Cwm railway station, a station in Cwm, Blaenau Gwent, Wales, 1852–1963
* ...
.
The Brecon Beacons are said to be named after the ancient practice of lighting signal fires (
beacon
A beacon is an intentionally conspicuous device designed to attract attention to a specific location. A common example is the lighthouse, which draws attention to a fixed point that can be used to navigate around obstacles or into port. More mode ...
s) on mountains to warn of attacks by invaders.
The round of the Taf Fechan skyline forms a ridge walk commonly known as the Beacons Horseshoe.
Geology
The mountains are formed from
Old Red Sandstone
The Old Red Sandstone is an assemblage of rocks in the North Atlantic region largely of Devonian age. It extends in the east across Great Britain, Ireland and Norway, and in the west along the northeastern seaboard of North America. It also exte ...
which dates from the late
Silurian and
Devonian times.
History
The area was inhabited during the
Neolithic and the succeeding
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...
, the most obvious legacy of the latter being the numerous burial cairns which adorn the hills of the centre and west of the National Park. There are especially good examples of
round barrow
A round barrow is a type of tumulus and is one of the most common types of archaeological monuments. Although concentrated in Europe, they are found in many parts of the world, probably because of their simple construction and universal purpose. ...
s on
Fan Brycheiniog
Fan Brycheiniog is the highest peak at a height of (above sea level) in the Black Mountain (''Y Mynydd Du'') region of the Brecon Beacons National Park in southern Wales. There is a trig point at the peak and on the edge of the escarpm ...
,
Pen y Fan and
Corn Du
Corn Du is a summit of the twin topped Pen y Fan and the second highest peak in South Wales at 873 m (2,864 ft), situated in the Brecon Beacons National Park. The summit itself is marked by a well structured Bronze Age cairn with a cen ...
. The former was excavated in 2002–4 and the ashes in the central
cist
A cist ( or ; also kist ;
from grc-gre, κίστη, Middle Welsh ''Kist'' or Germanic ''Kiste'') is a small stone-built coffin-like box or ossuary used to hold the bodies of the dead. Examples can be found across Europe and in the Middle East ...
dated to about 2000 BCE using
radiocarbon dating. A wreath of
meadowsweet was likely placed in the burial.
Over twenty
hillforts
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-Rom ...
were established in the area during the
Iron Age. The largest, and indeed the largest in
South Wales, were the pair of forts atop
y Garn Goch
Y Garn Goch is a hill in the Brecon Beacons National Park in the east of Carmarthenshire, Wales. The name means the 'red cairn'. It lies near the village of Bethlehem, three miles southwest of Llangadog and four miles east of Llandeilo on the so ...
near
Bethlehem, Carmarthenshire – y Gaer Fawr and y Gaer Fach – literally "the big fort" and "the little fort". The forts are thought to have once been trading and political centres.
When the Romans came to Wales in 43 CE, they stationed more than 600 soldiers in the area.
Y Gaer
Y Gaer () is a Roman fort situated near modern-day Brecon in Mid Wales, United Kingdom.
Y Gaer is located at (Landranger 160).
History
Y Gaer was built around AD 75 and sits on a crossroads of Roman roads in the valley of the River Usk at a ...
, near the town of Brecon was their main base. During the Norman Conquest many castles were erected throughout the park. One of the most famous is
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 Cenne ...
but there are many more.
Brecon Castle
Brecon Castle ( cy, Castell Aberhonddu) is a castle in the town of Brecon, Wales. It was built by the Norman Lord Bernard de Neufmarché in 1093, and was frequently assaulted by the Welsh in 13th and 15th centuries. The castle's ownership changed ...
is of Norman origin.
There are many old tracks which were used over the centuries by
drovers to take their
cattle
Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...
and
geese to market in England. The drovers brought back
gorse seed, which they sowed to provide food for their
sheep.
The area played a significant role during the
Industrial Revolution as various raw materials including limestone, silica sand and ironstone were quarried for transport southwards to the furnaces of the industrialising
South Wales Valleys.
The Brecon Beacons National Park
The Brecon Beacons are one of four ranges of mountains and hills in
South Wales which make up the Brecon Beacons National Park. The National Park was established in 1957, the third of the three Welsh parks after
Snowdonia in 1951 and the
Pembrokeshire Coast National Park
Pembrokeshire Coast National Park ( cy, Parc Cenedlaethol Arfordir Penfro) is a national park along the Pembrokeshire coast in west Wales.
It was established as a National Park in 1952. It is one of three national parks in Wales, the others ...
in 1952.
Mountain rescue
Mountain rescue
Mountain rescue refers to search and rescue activities that occur in a mountainous environment, although the term is sometimes also used to apply to search and rescue in other wilderness environments. This tends to include mountains with tech ...
in south Wales is provided by five volunteer groups, with the police having overall command. In serious situations they are aided by
RAF helicopters from RAF Chivenor or
RAF Valley
Royal Air Force Valley or more simply RAF Valley ( cy, Llu Awyr Brenhinol Y Fali) is a Royal Air Force station on the island of Anglesey, Wales, and which is also used as Anglesey Airport. It provides both basic and advanced fast-jet training ...
. The five groups are:
* CBMRT – Central Beacons Mountain Rescue Team
* BMRT – Brecon Mountain Rescue Team
* LMRT – Longtown Mountain Rescue Team based in the east
* WBMSART – Western Beacons Mountain Search and Rescue Team
* SARDA South Wales – Search and Rescue Dog Association covering South and Mid Wales
The groups are funded primarily by donations. Their work is not restricted to mountain rescue – they frequently assist the police in their search for missing or vulnerable people in the community.
Military training
The Brecon Beacons are used for training members of the UK armed forces and
military reservists. The
Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
’s
Infantry Battle School
The Infantry Battle School, Brecon is a British Army training establishment at Dering Lines in Brecon, Wales.
History
The Infantry Battle School was established at Brecon in 1939 at the start of the Second World War. The Parachute Regiment forme ...
is located at Brecon,
and the
Special Air Service (SAS) use the area to test the fitness of applicants.
In July 2013 three soldiers died from overheating or
heatstroke
Heat stroke or heatstroke, also known as sun stroke, is a severe heat illness that results in a body temperature greater than , along with red skin, headache, dizziness, and confusion. Sweating is generally present in exertional heatstroke, b ...
on an SAS selection exercise. An army captain had been found dead on
Corn Du
Corn Du is a summit of the twin topped Pen y Fan and the second highest peak in South Wales at 873 m (2,864 ft), situated in the Brecon Beacons National Park. The summit itself is marked by a well structured Bronze Age cairn with a cen ...
earlier in the year after training in freezing weather for the SAS.
See also
*
Brecon Mountain Railway
The Brecon Mountain Railway ( Welsh: ''Rheilffordd Mynydd Brycheiniog'') is a narrow gauge tourist railway on the south side of the Brecon Beacons. It climbs northwards from Pant along the full length of the Pontsticill Reservoir (also cal ...
*
Brecon Beacons Food Festival
References
External links
Tourist Information Brecon Beacons Park Official Brecon Beacons Tourism Association
{{Authority control
Landforms of Merthyr Tydfil County Borough
Landforms of Powys
Dark-sky preserves in the United Kingdom
Mountain ranges of Wales
Mountain ranges of the Brecon Beacons National Park
de:Brecon-Beacons-Nationalpark