Friday Walk - South Britain’s best ridge walk: The Black Mountain (Y Mynydd Du) from Glyntawe [Brecon Trip]

Length: 21.9 km (13.7 mi) [shorter walk options available, see below] 

Ascent/Descent: 1062m

Net Walking Time: 6 ½ hours 

Toughness: 8 out of 10

 

Meet at 08.50 next to the Market Tavern, where it borders the Morrison’s car park. Car drivers bring their cars into the car park. We will then allocate walkers to cars. The start of the walk is in Glyntawe at the bus stop by the bridge over the River Tawe (called: Glyntawe, near Field Study Centre). This is on the A4067, south west of Brecon, Grid Reference SN 846 167. Both publicans in Glyntawe have expressed their strong preference that walkers who spend all day on the hill, do NOT park their cars in the pub car parks. Please use one of the few side roads off the A-road (and not the small lay-by by the church either).

 

Spare walkers will take the 09.08 bus T6 (direction Ystradgynlais for Abertawe/Swansea) from Stand 5 to Glyntawe (near Field Study Centre), arrives 09.38. This bus also calls at Brecon, Free Street and in Llanfaes across the river. The walk will not start before the bus has passed through. 

For the easiest short option of walking SWC 86 instead (see below), the next buses at 10.08 or even 11.08 would suffice. 

Return buses: 16.25, 17.28, 18.33 and 19.31.

 

The Black Mountain (Y Mynydd Du in Welsh), in the Western Brecon Beacons, is often referred to as the last wilderness in the Brecon Beacons National Park and a walk along it as South Britain’s best ridge walk. It traverses a series of high peaks along a sequence of steep dramatic escarpments and features some of the most spectacular upland scenery in Britain. The route involves remote and rugged terrain, with a couple of glacial lakes and superb mountain views and leads almost entirely through open country.

From the Tawe Valley you rise steeply up a grassy hillside onto the first ridge, Fan Hir, and soon follow its edge with some far views to the two famous peaks in the Central Beacons: Pen y Fan and Corn Du. After dropping into a saddle, you re-ascend to Fan Brycheiniog and then onto the northerly top Fan Foel. The views of the moorland and open country to the north are spectacular, and reveal the isolation of the range. Turn west through a deep saddle to conquer the even more spectacular ridge of Bannau Sir Gaer.

The return route along the bottom of the steep escarpments, past some glacial lakes and moraines, reveals a different and fascinating perspective of the high buttresses and some steeply carved valleys below.

Walk Options: 

Fully written up, shorter circular or out-and-back options, as well as a start from a car park near the northerly end, are described on the webpage and in the pdf. 

For a very straight-forward short option with easy-to-follow minimal text, consider walking SWC 86 . 

An alternative return route from the last top initially leads through open pathless, sometimes boggy, moorland, then through a veritable moonscape of shake holes, swallow holes, pot holes and limestone pavement before dropping back into the Tawe Valley (Cwm Tawe in Welsh).

 

Lunch: Picnic on the ridge or in a saddle (if windy).  

Tea: Tafarn Y Garreg (open to 23.00, food served from 18.00) or The Gwyn Arms.

 

For all walk options, a summary, route map, height profile, photos, walk directions or gpx/kml files click here . T=swc.279