Fan Hir is a peak at the eastern end of the Black Mountain (''Y Mynydd Du'') in 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 ...

(''Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog'') in southern

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 subsidiary summit of

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 ...

. It falls within the county of

Powys Powys (; ) is a county and preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh successor state, petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain. Geog ...

and is also a part of the traditional area of

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 ...

. Its Welsh name means "long peak", a fitting description, particularly if seen from the east when its steep eastern face is seen to advantage. It is about 2.5 miles or 4 km long and faces east. Its summit is 2490 feet (about 760m) above sea level. Fan Hir is separated from its higher neighbour to the north-west,

(2633 feet or 802 metres) by a col known as Bwlch Giedd, where a path rises from Llyn y Fan Fawr via a stone staircase. The hill is drained to east and north by streams which make their way into the

River Tawe The River Tawe (; cy, Afon Tawe ) is a long river in South Wales. Its headwaters flow initially east from its source below Llyn y Fan Fawr south of Moel Feity in the Black Mountains, the westernmost range of the Brecon Beacons National ...

Geology

The peak is formed from sandstones of the Brownstones Formation and the overlying Plateau Beds Formation of the

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 ...

laid down during the

Devonian period The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, w ...

. In accord with a regional trend, the beds dips southwards into the

South Wales Coalfield The South Wales Coalfield ( cy, Maes glo De Cymru) extends across Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, Bridgend, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Merthyr Tydfil, Caerphilly, Blaenau Gwent and Torfaen. It is rich in coal deposits, espe ...

basin. A notable feature of the hill is the prominent ridge of Fan Fechan (the 'little peak') which parallels the main ridge below it to the east. It is largely composed of broken Old Red Sandstone and has been interpreted as either a

glacial moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice she ...

or as a pro-talus rampart. The peak is within the

Fforest Fawr Geopark Fforest Fawr Geopark is a Geopark in the Brecon Beacons National Park, south Wales. It is the first designated Geopark in Wales having gained membership of both the European Geoparks Network and the UNESCO-assisted Global Network of National ...

designated in 2005 in recognition of the area's geological heritage.British Geological Survey 1:50,000 map sheet 213 'Merthyr Tydfil' & accompanying memoir

Archaeology

The escarpment overlooks a famous Welsh stone circle, Cerrig Duon (or black stones) which are likely of British Bronze Age date, although it has never been excavated scientifically. There is a large standing stone, Maen Mawr, and a small stone avenue close by which are associated with the circle. The standing stone is about 5 feet high, and can be seen from a distance when driving down the

Trecastle Trecastle ( cy, Trecastell) ("the town of the castle") is a village in Powys, Wales, situated on the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park ( cy, Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog) and in the community of Llywel. The village has a populatio ...

Abercraf Abercraf ( en, Abercrave) is a village within the historic boundaries of the county of Brecknockshire, Wales, administered as part of the unitary authority of Powys, and in the community of Ystradgynlais. Between 1965 and 1991, the village was t ...

road. The monuments are close to the road further on, but cannot be seen directly from there, so the visitor must cross the

and climb the bank to view the site. There is another standing stone further north and east, and not far from the same minor road. There are many other ancient remains extant on the moor, such as

hut circle In archaeology, a hut circle is a circular or oval depression in the ground which may or may not have a low stone wall around it that used to be the foundation of a round house. The superstructure of such a house would have been made of timber an ...

s and house platform as well as traces of cultivation such as

lynchet A lynchet or linchet is an Terrace (earthworks), earth terrace found on the side of a hill. Lynchets are a feature of ancient field systems of the British Isles. They are commonly found in vertical rows and more commonly referred to as "strip lyn ...

s. The climate was much warmer then and the area well wooded showing that timber was available locally for structural use.

Access

The entire hill is open country and thus available for walkers to roam at will, although there is much

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 ...

off route, which can be difficult to cross. The path along the ridge is popular and forms a part of a circuit. The views from the edge of the escarpment are spectacular with

Pen y Fan Pen y Fan () is the highest peak in South Wales, situated in the Brecon Beacons National Park. At above sea-level, it is also the highest British peak south of Cadair Idris in Snowdonia. It is the highest point ( county top) of the historic c ...

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 c ...

visible on the skyline to the east, and

Fan Gyhirych Fan Gyhirych is a mountain in the Fforest Fawr section of Brecon Beacons National Park in south Wales. It lies within the county of Breconshire, and administered as part of the unitary authority of Powys. Its highest point at 2379 feet (o ...

closer in

. 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 lan ...

long distance footpath runs beneath Fan Hir on the east affording close-up views of this impressive hill. The path leads to the glacial lake of Llyn y Fan Fawr and then climbs up the escarpment via a stone staircase of even gradient to the bwlch below

. The stone path is well drained and dry, and there is little exposure to steep drops.

References

{{reflist

External links

images of Fan Hir and area on Geograph website
Hewitts of Wales Nuttalls Mountains and hills of Powys Black Mountain (hill)

Geology

Archaeology

Access

See also

References

External links