Brecons Horseshoe from Cwmgwdi

BRECON BEACONS

WALK

Brecons Horseshoe from Cwmgwdi

Saturday 14 May 2016

This walk was one in a series of YHA based walks that we did by going ‘a little mad’ one evening after seeing a 25% off discount offer for YHA bookings made before a certain date. As I would be leading the walk I thought it would be nice to cover the popular highlights of the Brecon Beacons and so planned a 10-mile circular route from the car park at Cwmgwdi.

We had walked this route a few years before and on that occasion, we had taken the path from the car park right up on to the open access land below Allt Ddu which meets the path to Cefn Cwm Llwch but on this occasion, I had opted for a longer route that goes back down the road to the car park and then immediately right on the road to Twyn.

About 400 metres along the road there is sharp left bend with a track immediately on the right-hand side to Plas-y-gaer and through fields to Pont y Caniedydd.

From there you simply follow the road, which eventually becomes a track, all the way up to Bwlch ar y Fan with fantastic views up the valley to Fan y Big and Cribyn.

From Bwlch ar y Fan the view back down the valley is equally fantastic and is a good excuse to stop, take some photos, and grab a snack before making the 120-metre ascent to the summit of Fan y Big (719) which is a Hewitt and one of the Welsh Nuttalls.

After admiring the views it was back down the steep slope to Bwlch ar y Fan and up the next one, along with Craig Cwm Cynwyn, towards Cribyn (795m).

The views from the path above Craig Cwm Cynwyn were so amazing the photos do not really do them justice. The weather was perfect, warm and sunny but not too warm and virtually no clouds in the blue sky.

From the col, at Bwlch ar y Fan, the climb to Cribyn is almost 200 metres over a distance of approximately 1km with most of the climb in the first few hundred metres so it feels like a bit of a slog and we were all pleased to get to the top and take a break. Cribyn (795m) is also a Hewitt and a Nuttall.

As you can imagine, the views were again, excellent!

After a spot of lunch and a drink, we had rested enough to continue down the other side of Cribyn to meet the Beacons Way and take the path above Craig Cwm Sere. This is a descent of some 130 metres but it is steep and hard on the knees.

The track takes us up to Pen y Fan (886m) which is the highest point of our walk and highest peak south of Snowdonia. I think this was the first time that I have ever been to the summit of Pen y Fan and had clear views so it was not surprising to find that the summit was busy with people coming up from the Story Arms to admire them. Luckily we managed to persuade one of them to take our summit photo!

From Pen y Fan it is an easy stroll with great views over to Corn Du (873m) which was our last Nuttall on the walk before taking the track down passed the obelisk above Craig Cwm Llwch and to the Llyn Cwm Llwch itself.

The final section of this walk is along the Cwm Llywch river until you hit the road and then the last mile is on the tarmac. It is not an ideal end to a walk but it was a small price to pay for such an amazing day in the Brecon Beacons.

View of Cribyn, Pen y Fan and Corn Du from Fan y Big

The ridge down from Corn Du with Llyn Cwm Llwch

The Route

Distance : 10 Miles

Starts and ends at the National Trust car park at Cwmgwdi.

Click HERE for a GPX file of the route.

David Welch – View Profile

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