Pen y Fan

[llywela]

Picspam ahoy! As always, click on the thumbnails for a closer look.

As mentioned in previous updates, I've had a bit of time off work lately - a week and a half, in fact; bliss - and one of the things I did during my time off was hike up Pen y Fan, the highest peak in South Wales. At 886m above sea level, it's a tiddler by the standards of many mountains, but still a good steep hike for a sunny September afternoon.

This was the target: the twin peaks of Pen y Fan and Corn Du, here shrouded in mist, as seen from the fields around the National Park Mountain Centre at Libanus. The shape of these twin summits was once known as Cadair Arthur (Arthur’s Seat)


I went with Himself, and as it was a bit misty first thing we spent the morning pootling around the fields and footpaths around the Mountain Centre – it’s a lovely area and it was a beautiful day


After lunch, we set off for Pen y Fan, picking up the mountain trail off the A470, just south of Storey Arms.


Target in sight – away in the distance there you can see Corn Du, with Pen y Fan hidden behind from this angle


It’s a popular hike, so there are always plenty of other walkers on the trail, and the views as you ascend are gorgeous. Just as well, really – snapping these photos gave me a good excuse to stop regularly to catch my breath!



Looking back to see how far we’ve come – you can just pick out the A470 down below


Further up and the road is now out of sight


But there’s still a long way to go!


A close up of Corn Du – the shape of the plateau is quite distinctive


The final approach to Corn Du with Pen y Fan visible behind – this end of Corn Du is quite steep to scramble up, so we took the path that skirts around behind the peak to take in Pen y Fan first


On the path to Pen y Fan, with the peak of Cribyn visible beyond – you can walk the mountain ridges from one peak to another in a vast horseshoe, if you’ve got the energy, a strong bladder and all day to spare!


The path behind Corn Du gives a beautiful view down into the valley beyond and the Upper Neuadd reservoir


The final push to the summit of Pen y Fan


Looking back at Corn Du from Pen y Fan


View west from Pen y Fan – here you can see Llyn Cwm Llwch, one of the few natural lakes in the Brecon Beacons, formed by glacial excavation. Very dark and very deep.


Me! At the summit of Pen y Fan


Views from the summit of Pen y Fan - you can see a few villages from here, including Libanus, and the larger town visible in the distance is Brecon



The next peak along is Cribyn; we opted not to push on quite that far, but we saw a platoon of marines jogging across in full kit. This is a regular training run for them!


Next stop – Corn Du!


Looking back to Pen y Fan from the summit of Corn Du, with Cribyn beyond


View north-west from Corn Du


View along Corn Du’s western ridge as it drops toward Y Gyrn and Llyn Cwm Llwch


And then, all of a sudden, there was a glider, swooping around scaring the sheep as it circled the thermals, trying to gain height


View south – there’s the path back down to the A470 and our car. And there’s the glider again, having an absolute blast


The glider buzzed us – we could practically reach out and touch the wing!


And then, after all that excitement, there was nothing left to do but scramble down from the plateau and begin the hike back down the mountain and home again. What a lovely day!

Comments

[sherrilina.livejournal.com]

What a gorgeous countryside! <333 I've heard before that only North Wales is worth visiting, in terms of the sightseeing, but this shows how wrong that is. And heh, of course there'd be an Arthur's chair! ;)

Who is Himself? :)

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

Who would tell you such stories? Heresy, heresy! :D No, Snowdonia is stunning, but we do have beautiful mountains and valleys in south and mid Wales, as well. The mountains are shorter down here, but still pretty! And there's beautiful countryside and beaches out west, also.

Himself is my boyfriend, only rarely mentioned on here, because I'm chary of discussing such things.

[sherrilina.livejournal.com]

Well and of course Cardiff is well worth visiting in of itself! ;) Speaking of sons of Cardiff, have you started watching Ioan Gruffudd's new show?

And ah okay awesome! I remembered you broke it off with someone else, and didn't realize you had begun seeing someone else--congrats! :) Hope things are going well then.

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen Ioan Gruffudd's new show yet, no, although I'm glad for him that he has one. Man, I still think of gangly teenager Gareth Wyn from Pobol y Cwm whenever anyone mentions Ioan Gruffudd! The boy done okay for himself. :D

[catsdownunder.livejournal.com]

Good news Agent 1.3.

Not a hike for the not so fit and very beautiful scenery for those who visit the area.

Thanks for sharing.

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

Definitely not a hike for the not so fit - it isn't all that far to walk, really, as the main road runs so high through the mountains, so you only have to walk the final stretch up to the summit and the footpath is well maintained...but it's very steep! I had to stop so many times along the way!