The Caerfanell is a river which rises in 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 (range), Black Mountain ...

Powys Powys (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh succession of states, successor state, petty kingdom and princi ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. It rises as Blaen Caerfanell on the plateau of

Gwaun Cerrig Llwydion Bwlch y Ddwyallt is the name commonly applied to the high point of the plateau of Gwaun Cerrig Llwydion in the eastern part of the Brecon Beacons in south Wales. It is a top of Waun Rydd. The plateau reaches its highest point of 754m above sea ...

and drops steeply down southeastwards into the head of Glyn Collwn before turning east then north-east into

Talybont Reservoir Talybont Reservoir ( cy, Cronfa Ddŵr Tal-y-bont) is the largest stillwater reservoir in the central Brecon Beacons at . Talybont-on-Usk is downstream of the dam. Construction of the current dam started in 1931 by Newport Corporation, and in ...

. It emerges from th
hydro turbine
beneath the dam just above the village of

Aber Aber may refer to: Places * Aber and Inver (placename elements) * Aber, Ceredigion * Abergwyngregyn, popularly known by the short form "Aber" * Aberystwyth, popularly known by the short form "Aber" * Aber Village, Powys, Wales * Abergavenny, M ...

and continues northwards to its confluence with the

River Usk The River Usk (; cy, Afon Wysg) rises on the northern slopes of the Black Mountain (''y Mynydd Du''), Wales, in the westernmost part of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Initially forming the boundary between Carmarthenshire and Powys, it fl ...

at the hamlet of

Llansantffraed Llansantffraed (Llansantffraed-juxta-Usk) is a parish in the community of Talybont-on-Usk in Powys, Wales, near Brecon. The benefice of Llansantffraed with Llanrhystud and Llanddeiniol falls within the Diocese of St Davids in the Church in Wales ...

. Its principal tributaries are the Nant Bwrefwr, Nant Tarthwynni, Clydach and Cwy.Ordnance Survey Explorer map OL12 'Brecon Beacons National Park: western area'

Access

The river is shadowed for much of its length by the

Beacons Way The Beacons Way (Welsh: Ffordd y Bannau) is a waymarked long distance footpath in the Brecon Beacons National Park, Wales. It is a linear route which runs for east to west through the National Park, and passes many of the most important landmar ...

and by the eastern loop of the

Taff Trail The Taff Trail ( cy, Taith Taf) is a popular walking and cycle path that runs for between Cardiff Bay and Brecon in Wales. It is so named because it follows the course of the River Taff. Along much of its length, it follows the National Cycle ...

. Its uppermost reaches are within open country and accessible to walkers. Paths descend beside the river at Blaenyglyn where it drops over a series of falls which are a very popular natural attraction during both summer and winter months.

References

{{authority control Brecon Beacons Rivers of Powys Rivers of the Brecon Beacons National Park