Brecon and North Brecon Beacons Tourist Information

Brecon Wildlife & Walking Information

The Brecon Beacons area of the National Park is a mix of farming countryside, upland mountains of old red sandstone and some limestone, all dominated by Pen y Fan and Corn Ddu, the highest mountains. Most of the land within the Brecon Beacons has rights of access. Walking, pony trekking, cycling, fishing and watersports are all popular in this part of the National Park.

One of the most popular walks in all the Brecon Beacons is up to Pen y Fan and Corn Ddu. These are the impressive looking old red sandstone mountains instantly recognisable from their sharp ridges that stand out against the skyline. Although a popular walk, it is not without incident - due to rapidly changing weather conditions Pen y Fan has earned the infamous title of being the most dangerous peak in Wales - so make sure you re prepared. The name for the SAS Fan Dance - a 40 mile training exercise which potential recruits are subjected to - comes from here as Pen y Fan is included in the route. You'll often see military vehicles all over the National Park. The most direct route is a five mile round trip from Pont ar Daf, half a mile south of Storey Arms on the A470. A longer, but quieter, route is from the south on the other side of the Beacons that leads up to the two peaks from the "Gap" route (thought to be a Roman main road) that winds its way north from the Neuadd reservoirs through the only natural break in the sandstone ridge of the central Beacons.

There are some important areas for wildlife in the Brecon Beacons like the National Nature Reserve Craig Cerrig and Gleisiad a Fan Frynych. This incorporates two important wildlife and geological sites and is good for upland walks. It is just south west of Brecon on the A470, accessible from the lay-by just north of the Storey Arms. The site contains two limestone amphitheatre where rare plants are able to cling on to the cliffs as remnants from the ice age. These include purple saxifrage and mossy saxifrage which occur here at their southernmost limit in the UK. Trees and shrubs are surprisingly able to survive on the steep, scree covered slopes including ash, hawthorn, rowan and again some rarities such as the whitebeams.

There are ruins of an Iron Age settlement and there is evidence of medieval farming practices in house platforms and field patterns. There are several walks through the reserve from a stream walk at the base of the cliffs to more challenging upland walks along the edges of the cliffs. The leaflet contains more information and can be obtained from Tourist Information Centres or from the wooden box on the left as you enter the nature reserve at the end of the wide, surfaced path from the lay-by.

• Brecons Beacons Holiday Cottages
• Brecon Beacons Accommodation

Brecon Beacons National Park Mountain Centre

A good starting point to plan your break is the Mountain Centre at Libanus. This is the main National Park Visitor Centre as you pass Brecon and get out into the countryside of the Brecon Beacons. It is situated 1100 feet (330 metres) above sea level and has fantastic views of the highest mountains in the National Park - a fantastic introduction to the area. If you fancy getting straight out for a walk the adjacent moorland ridge known as Mynydd Illtyd is common land that offers some fine easy to moderately graded walking.

It's jam packed with information about everything to do with the National Park including free leaflets on walks, wildlife sites, events as well as maps and books you can purchase giving you a more a in-depth view of different aspects of the Brecon Beacons history, wildlife and geology. There is a very informative exhibition on the geology of the Brecon Beacons and the National Park Guides are happy to help you out with information on what to do and where to go in the National Park. They also run specialist courses for subjects like Mountain Safety Skills and a variety of activities for the kids. If that wasn't enough there is a fab cafe under the visitor where you can sit inside or out admiring the view while you tuck into some of the homemade dishes on offer. Nice big portions mean you won't need to stock up until after you've burnt it off with a walk!

Admission is free although there is a charge for parking (as there is in most visitor centre car parks). The Mountain Centre is signposted from the main A roads and is located just off the A470 from Brecon to Merthyr Tydfil.

• Brecon Beacons Hotels
• Brecon Beacons B&B

Tracks, Trails, Forests and Reservoirs

South of the Beacons are several valleys carpeted in conifer forests in which are the Neuadd reservoirs reservoirs. This is quite a focus for recreation and several waymarked paths pass through here.

The Taff Trail is a 55 mile 'multi-purpose' route between Cardiff waterfront in the south and Brecon in the north. This means it's aimed for all kinds of recreational activities like walking, cycling, mountain biking and horseriding. It aims to bring slithers of countryside into the towns in South Wales and lead to a route out into the wider countryside of the Brecon Beacons. It is a picturesque route with many sites along the way that document the industrial archaeology of South Wales. It is also part of the Sustrans National Cycle route number 8. Surprisingly, quite a bit of the Trail is traffic-free which has been managed by incorporating routes of former tramways, railways and canal towpaths including original rights-of-way, embankments, cuttings and viaducts. There are arms off the main route for more challenging mountain biking and links to other areas along the way.

The Usk Valley Walk is another beautiful valley walk along the river Usk, a section of which goes through the Brecon Beacons and the Black Mountains in the east of the National Park. It takes you through pretty villages such as Llangattock and Talybont on Usk through which the Brecon and Montgomery Canal passes which is open to boat traffic.

• Brecon Beacons Bed and Breakfast
• Brecon Beacons Holiday Cottage

Brecon Mountain Railway

The Brecon Mountain Railway weaves its way up from Merthyr into the Brecon Beacons National Park past industrial sites such as former limestone quarries and iron works. Today the journey takes you through peaceful countryside where you can hop on and off train and take a walk through forests and reservoirs of the Neuadd area.

The route of this now tourist line was originally the Brecon and Merthyr Railway opened in 1859 and built with Merthyr iron. Read the painstaking restoration story, which began in the late 1970s, on the Brecon Mountain Railway weblink right. A wonderful day out, there are locomotives and various railway memorabilia at Pant Station, a restaurant, gift shop plus a kids play area at Pontsticill. Special events run throughout the year, with a Santa train and the like popular with younger children.

The Railway usually runs from March to October. The main station is at Pant, check the website or ring direct for the most up-to-date information.

• Holiday Cottages in Brecon Beacons
• Brecon Beacons Hotels

Conservation Issues in the National Park

There are several conservation issues in the Brecon Beacons National Park. Pipeline protests are currently being made by protesters who are camping out just off the A40 blocking access to the to the construction site. Proposals have been approved by the DTI for a gas pipeline to be installed that will cross the Park.

This plan raises some serious conservation issues for the National Park and the National Park Authority are opposed to the plans. It would seem that the necessary assessments have not been carried out, such as a Strategic Environmental Assessment. This should be completed to assesses the sustainability of projects - a subject that is close to the National Park and Geopark's heart. The current plans threaten ancient woodland and will disturb a variety of protected species such as dormouse and lesser horseshoe bats. Although mitigation will have been proposed, without an assessment of the sustainability of the project this is likely to be tokenism. There is already the presumption that unsustainable human demands for fuel overrides the conservation of wildlife. The disturbance or destruction of habitats like ancient woodland, that now only remain in fragmented pockets, cannot be replaced. The "stringent conditions" the DTI say will be placed on the development do not seem very much more than the bare minimum that should be done anyway. There are worries that not only affecting wildlife, the pipeline will disrupt local communities and could affect tourism.

Overgrazing of the uplands has always been a bit of a problem. These mountains and hills could be clothed in greater areas of heather moor, but the brown acid grassland that largely swathes some of the uplands, like the Black Mountain in the west, are due to prolonged sheep grazing where the sheep nibble out the heather and bilberry plants so that the grasses can out-compete them. Afforestation is a big issue in a lot of Wales. Great swathes of countryside have been covered in lifeless conifer plantations due to past Government policy that placed a great importance on the need for timber. The market has slumped drastically and these plantations are now having to be used for other things to justify their existence. Many of the large Welsh conifer plantations are being developed for recreation and the Forestry Commission are very keen to open them up for walking, mountain biking and horseriding. There is room for wildlife conservation and some tentative efforts have been made to introduce broadleaved trees in some areas. In Wales, due to the wet climate, some plants such as a variety of ferns, mosses, liverworts and lichens are able to survive in these dark plantations. Overall these new recreation centres appear to be very successful. In the Brecon Beacons the area south of the Beacons is one such area.

Tourism and recreation raise conservation issues when not managed sustainably. This can be seen with the problems that have been experienced at Llangorse Lake where artificial enrichment of the water from power boating and fishery management and the appearance of non-native plants and animals have led to issues for the future conservation of the lake. The National Park Authority has sustainable tourism at the heart of its ethos and have a plans that aim to work with a range of people to balance the effects of tourism with conserving the wildlife that made this such an attractive place to visit.

• Brecon Beacons Accommodation
• Brecon Beacons B&B