IMAGE: AWL IMAGES
WEEKENDER
TRUNK CALL
Blink and you’ll miss the tiny hamlet of Defynnog, near Sennybridge, which would be a shame for all lovers of ancient trees. Here a mighty yew, which was a sapling during the Bronze Age, spreads its 5,000-year-old branches across the churchyard.
THREE MORE WALKS ON THE WILD SIDE
Ideal for a post-lockdown ramble, these half-day hikes let you sidestep the crowds and immerse yourself in the Welsh wilderness. The national park was closed at the time of writing, so be sure to check restrictions before hitting the trail
BRECON BEACONS HORSESHOE No Brecons trip is complete without puffing up the highest peak: 9,537ſt Pen y Fan. Ticking off a quartet of summits — Corn Du, Pen y Fan, Cribyn and Fan y Big — the Horseshoe Ridge walk is a longer, more dramatic alternative to the popular straight-up stomp to the top. Beginning at the Lower Neuadd Reservoir, the trail ascends steeply along a ridge, where views crack open to reveal bald, sheer-sided mountains and valleys blasted with glacial moraine. From Pen y Fan, you can see all the way to the Cambrians, Black Mountains and Bristol Channel on clear days. And if the descent can be boggy and tough-going at times, spare a thought for the SAS; they run these tracks in full gear.
nationaltrust.org. uk/brecon-beacons/trails
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nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel
LLYN Y FAN FACH If you’re convinced you’ve taken a wrong turn as you negotiate a single-track lane patrolled by unruly sheep, seemingly on the road to nowhere, keep on driving. Out on its lonesome near Llanddeusant, in the lesser- explored western Brecons, the four-mile circular trail to Llyn y Fan Fach is immediately spectacular. The path shadows a burbling stream to a steel-blue glacial cirque lake, encircled by sheer slopes buckled and contorted by elemental forces over millennia. Ascend the ridge for views that take on a near-mystical quality when curtained in cloud and mist. Llyn y Fan Fach is the backdrop for the Lady of the Lake legend, a tale of hopeless love that appears in the Welsh folk epic, the Mabinogion.
YSTRADFELLTE A warm day is best for striking out on the five-mile Four Falls loop walk at Ystradfellte, which can easily be tied in with a visit to the nearby Penderyn Distillery. Heading through pine forest and deep into an ivy-draped, fern-cloaked wooded gorge, the trail leads up and down steps and over footbridges to four cascades. The two-tier spectacle of Sgwd Clun-Gwyn (‘white meadow fall’), a canyoning and whitewater raſting hotspot, is pure drama, but arguably the highlight here is the wispy Sgwd- yr-Eira (‘waterfall of the snow’), where you can actually walk behind the falls and feel the spray. Arrive early in the day to snag a parking space and experience the falls at their most peaceful.
MORE INFO Skirrid Mountain Inn.
skirridmountaininn.co.uk Penderyn Distillery.
penderyn.wales Beacons National Park.
breconbeacons.org Visit Wales website.
visitwales.com
HOW TO DO IT A car is a must for exploring the remote reaches of the Brecon Beacons, but if you’re coming by train, Abergavenny is a good gateway, with trains to London (via Cardiff) and Manchester. The A40 is the main road through the Brecons. In Crickhowell, simple doubles at The Bear start at £117, while Gliffaes has double rooms from £149 in low season.
bearhotel.co.uk gliffaeshotel.com
ABOVE: Scwd Ddwli falls, near Ystradfellte, a stop on the Four Falls loop
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