133
Pass at 542 m (1,778 ft) with dramatic
views over the Wye valley.
ª Keep going north from Gospel Pass
to Hay-on-Wye and park in the large car
park at the back of the castle on B4348.
5 Hay-on-Wye
Powys; HR3 5DB
Hay is a characterful Welsh market
town with winding streets, built on a
hillside beneath the ruins of a Norman
castle. Home to cafés and many, many
bookshops, Hay is considered by
some the second-hand book capital
of the world. The largest bookshop is
that of Richard Booth, who has been
promoting Hay as a book centre since
- The Hay Festival of Literature
(www.hayfestival.com) is held at the end
of May and attracts high profile poets,
writers and politicians.
Take the B4351 from Broad St to
Clyro, a pretty village on the outskirts
of town that was once home to the
Reverend Francis Kilvert, a great
Victorian diarist, who depicted the
rural life of his parish during the 1870s.
ª Leave Hay on B4350 (signed Brecon)
and join A438, then A479 through
Talgarth. Turn right onto B4560, then
right in Llangorse to lake car park.
7 Brecon
Brecon, Powys; LD3 9DP
An old market town at the confluence
of the Honddu and Usk Rivers in the
Brecon Beacons National Park, Brecon
contains a mix of medieval, Tudor,
Jacobean and Georgian architecture
around its central square, The Bulwark,
and 16th-century Church of St Mary’s.
The central Brecknock Museum and
Art Gallery (closed 1st Mon of month) has
an interesting collection of artifacts
such as a canoe from Llangorse Lake,
dating from AD 760–1020, and one of
Wales’s best-loved spoon collections.
Visit also the South Wales Borderers
Museum (www.rrw.org.uk; open weekdays)
on the Watton (B4601), covering Welsh
regimental history including the
defence of Rorke’s Drift (1879), where
139 soldiers faced 5,000 Zulu warriors.
Founded as a Benedictine priory in
1093, Brecon Cathedral has some of
the best monastic buildings in Wales- mostly built in the 13th and 14th
centuries. The decorated Norman font
with its birds, grotesques and beasts is
the oldest object. The Havard Chapel
has many millitary memorials and the
regimental colours from Rorke’s Drift.
There’s also a Heritage Centre and café.
ª Leave on the B4061, then take the
A470 towards Cardiff. At Libanus turn
right to the Brecon Beacons National
Park Visitor Centre (signposted).
DRIVE 12: Borderlands to Beacons
Eat and Drink: inexpensive, under £25; moderate, £25–£50; expensive, over £50brushwood and reeds, and held a royal
hall and church and was linked to the
shore by a causeway. At the Llangorse
Crannog Centre visitors can learn more
about the lake. Enjoy lakeside walks to
Llangorse village – a centre for pony
trekking, and a starting point for trails
in the Brecon Beacons National Park.
ª From the lake road, turn left back
into Llangorse and follow the signs to
Brecon on the A40 and B4601.EAT AND DRINKHEREFORD
The Stewing Pot moderate
This contemporary restaurant serves
local produce such as rib of Hereford
beef or goats’ cheese tart.
17 Church Street, HR1 2LR; 01432 265
233; http://www.stewingpot.co.uk
HAY-ON-WYE
Old Black Lion inexpensive–moderate
A historic inn with a reputation for fine
food, it serves traditional Welsh produce- guinea fowl in the restaurant, or hearty
steak and kidney pie in the bar.
Lion Street, HR3 5AD; 01497 820 841;
http://www.oldblacklion.co.uk
Kilverts inexpensive-moderate
This very popular pub serves good bar
food, with a mix of traditional and
Mediterranean flavours.
The Bullring, HR3 5AG; 01497 821 042;
http://www.kilverts.co.uk
Other options
For delicious low-fat sheep’s milk ice
cream, try Shepherds inexpensive (9
High Town, HR3 5AE; 01497 821 898;
http://www.shepherdsicecream.co.uk)..) For
wholesome food, with good vegetarian
options, try the Granary inexpensive
(Broad St, HR3 5DB; 01497 820 790).
Below The popular Granary Café, by the
clocktower in Hay-on-WyeAbove left Pastoral landscape in the fertile
Vale of Ewyas Above right Hereford Cathedral,
home to much ancient and modern art6 Llangorse Lake
Brecon, Powys; LD3 7TR
The largest natural lake in South Wales,
Llangorse Lake was created during
the last Ice Age. In the summer, it is a
popular watersports centre with boats
for hire from the Lakeside Caravan &
Camping Park (www.llangorselake.co.uk).
The lake is also good for fishing and
its reedy shallows attract waterfowl
which can be viewed from lakeside
hides. At the north edge of the lake is
the tiny man-made islet, or crannog,
Ynys Bwlc. This was built around AD
900 by piling stones and earth onto