Back Roads Great Britain (Eyewitness Travel Back Roads)

134

Above View looking into the hills of the

Brecon Beacons National Park Below Sheep

grazing on the verdant upper slopes of the

Brecon Beacons

BACK ROADS GREAT BRITAIN

Where to Stay: inexpensive, under £80; moderate, £80–£150; expensive, over £150

A two-hour walking tour

From the far end of the car park next to

the Visitor Centre 1 carry straight on

to the grassy track. A signpost shows

the way (do not veer left up the slope).

Look out for gorse clumps with yellow

flowers – these are popular with

songbirds such as stonechats, meadow

pipits and chaffinches. The path then

leads up a gentle incline with the

Brecon Beacons landscape on the

right. Follow the broad grassy path

straight ahead, past the pond on the

right and across a road, past a

sign pointing back to the

Visitor Centre. After a while

the path dips down to a farm

road and then up again to the

peak ahead. Cross the road

and the boggy watercourse

and head up the path to the

trig point on top of Twyn y

Gaer 2 , the site of an Iron

Age hillfort, at a height of

367 m (1,204 ft). From here

there are great views around, and all

the way down to Brecon. To return,

take the worn pathway to the right of

the pillar and follow it back round the

hill and down to the farm road again.

Look for “pillow mounds” – banks of

earth created in the 18th century for

rabbits to breed and feed the growing

populations of the industrial towns to

the south. Cross over the road and

head uphill, veering right towards the

boundary fence where there is a clear

pathway following a Roman road –

Sarn Helen 3. This was the old route

linking the Roman forts between Y

Gaer and Coelbren, and is still traceable

further along the common. Follow the

path beside the fence until

the fence turns abruptly right.

Leave the fence and walk

straight ahead, across gently

sloping common land on the

path downhill to a road. Cross

the road keeping an area of

flat land with a pond 4 on

the left and follow the path

back down to the Visitor

Centre, enjoying the

dramatic vistas on the way.

ª Return to Brecon and take the A40

east. Go left after the Kestrel pub and

left at the end of the road, and park

outside the gates of Tretower.

Sign from Blaenavon

World Heritage Site

8 Brecon Beacons National Park

Powys; LD3 8ER

This walk is a figure of eight across a plateau in the shadow of the

Brecon Beacons. While enjoying the scenery and waymarked trails,

listen out for birdsong – especially the sky larks in summer.

WHERE TO STAY AROUND

TRETOWER COURT AND CASTLE

Ty Gwyn inexpensive

Beautifully restored Georgian building,

with three attractive ensuite rooms and

lots of character, in Crickhowell on the

A40 from Tretower to Abergavenny.

There’s a pretty garden and local

produce for breakfast.

Brecon Rd (A40), Crickhowell, NP8 1DG;

01873 811 625; http://www.tygwyn.com

VISITING BRECON BEACONS

NATIONAL PARK

National Park Visitor Centre

Libanus, Brecon, LD3 8ER; 01874 623

366; http://www.breconbeacons.org

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