Walking in the Brecon Beacons: Cwm Caerfanell

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by
Tristan Bawn

Although we arrived at the car park in drizzly rain we decided to go for it anyway. At first the route takes you up a fairly steep path for about 25 minutes but soon flattens out along the ridge. Unfortunately for us the rain was non-stop all the way along the ridge, but eventually eased as we approached the meeting of the paths. We even spotted sunshine in the distance and a view appeared. From then on we started to dry out and had more time to take in the surroundings. After a fairly simple walk along the tops of the hills, we descended into a scenic valley with a nice waterfall to finish. We even had time to sit down and watch a group of kids canyoning with an instructor. Overall this is a nice walk with plenty to see and is a little quieter than the surrounding hills. This would also be a great walk after freshly laid snow!

Vicky relaxing in the valley

Route on OS Explorer OL12:
Start at the car park *SO056175* Walk towards the entrance of the car park and on your right there is a gate with a path heading up the hillside to Craig y fan Ddu *SO054185* Follow this path all the way along the ridge to *SO058205* Here the paths joins another. From here you can either head east off the paths to tick off the highest point *SO062207* or turn right onto the path leading to Waun Rydd *GR065203* From here head down the slope to the memorial at *SO062200* Walk along this ridge to *SO066193* Walk down the slope following a rough path to the valley at *SO061182* Here you will find a path which follows the natural route of the stream to *SO059174* On your right will be another path which will take you past the waterfall and up through the woods back to the car park *SO056175*.