Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons)
A park that changed its name in 2023, hides a waterfall you can walk behind, and has skies dark enough to count the Milky Way.
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Quick Facts
- Location
- South and mid Wales, stretching from the Black Mountains near the English border west to the Black Mountain above Carmarthenshire
- Designated
- National park since 1957
- Renamed
- Brecon Beacons became Bannau Brycheiniog as its main public-facing name on 17 April 2023
- Highest point
- Pen y Fan, 886 m, the highest peak in southern Britain
- Size
- About 1,345 square kilometres
- Dark skies
- International Dark Sky Reserve since 2013, the first in Wales
- Geopark
- Includes Fforest Fawr, a UNESCO Global Geopark
- Name meaning
- Peaks of Brycheiniog, the old Welsh kingdom of Brychan
The park that got its old name back
In April 2023 the Brecon Beacons National Park adopted Bannau Brycheiniog as its main public-facing name, a name far older than the English one. It means the peaks of Brycheiniog, the early medieval Welsh kingdom said to be founded by a ruler called Brychan. The English name had its own story. Beacons were fires lit on hilltops to spread warnings, and these high, bare ridges were obvious places for them. The park itself was designated in 1957, protecting a long sweep of moorland, glacial valleys and limestone country. It isn't one mountain range but four main areas: the Black Mountains in the east, the central Brecon Beacons, Fforest Fawr, and the Black Mountain in the west.
Pen y Fan and its flat-topped neighbours
At 886 metres, Pen y Fan is the highest summit in Britain south of Snowdonia. Next to it stands Corn Du at 873 metres, with Cribyn close by, and together they form the famous steep-sided, flat-topped skyline of the central Beacons. The north faces drop away in huge scooped-out cwms, carved by ice-age glaciers. Layers of red Old Red Sandstone show in the crags, which is why the ridges look so stepped from a distance. On a clear day the view from the top reaches across mid Wales and, in the right conditions, towards the Bristol Channel.
The little boy on the mountain
On 4 August 1900, five-year-old Tommy Jones was visiting relatives at Cwm Llwch with his father. He turned back alone towards Login and disappeared. He was missing for 29 days; his body was found on 2 September. A stone obelisk on the north side of Pen y Fan marks where it was found. It is still a place many walkers stop at, and a sobering reminder of how quickly things can go wrong up here. The mountain's other reputation comes from the military. The SAS has used these hills for its selection tests, and the route known as the Fan Dance, a hard slog over Pen y Fan, is part of that.
Waterfalls, caves and a Batman cameo
The southern part of the park, around Fforest Fawr, is known as Waterfall Country. At Sgwd yr Eira on the Four Falls Trail, the path actually runs behind the cascade, so you can stand dry-ish behind a curtain of falling water. Henrhyd Falls drops about 27 metres, making it the tallest waterfall in south Wales. It also appeared in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises (2012), where the hidden path behind the water became the entrance to the Batcave. Underground is just as dramatic. Dan yr Ogof is the biggest show cave complex in Britain, and the limestone beneath the park is riddled with some of the country's longest and deepest cave systems. The region's geology is the reason it holds Geopark status.
Legends of a lake and a sky full of stars
Below the northern escarpment of the Black Mountain, beneath Picws Du, lies Llyn y Fan Fach, home of one of Wales's best-loved legends. A farmer's son married a lady who rose from its waters, and their sons became the Physicians of Myddfai, legendary healers whose remedies were later written down. Lower down, Llangorse Lake is the largest natural lake in south Wales. It holds a crannog, an artificial island dwelling built in the early medieval period. At night the park comes into its own. Its Dark Sky Reserve status, awarded in 2013, recognises skies dark enough to see the Milky Way with the naked eye. The Monmouth and Brecon Canal, which runs along the eastern side of the park, is another quiet route to explore before the sun goes down.
What to look out for
Weather can turn quickly on the high ridges, so even the popular route up Pen y Fan deserves proper boots and a map. The quieter Black Mountains, with their long grassy ridges and wild ponies, give a different feel. Look for red kites overhead, hill ponies on the moors, and the rounded stone walls and small farms of the valleys. Market towns like Brecon, Crickhowell and Hay-on-Wye make easy bases, the last famous for its second-hand bookshops.
Notable people
- Brychan
- Tommy Jones
- Christopher Nolan
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