Andy Howell said:I was thinking of doing 3 or 4 days on the Brecon Beacons
but it's a while since I've been there. I don't think I'll
have time for the 5 days or so it will take to do the full
East/West traverse. What do folks think would make a good
three day walk based around wild camping, campsites or a
mixture of the two?
Well a little more information would be helpful. How far do
you like to walk each day? One way walk or circular? Do you
want to visit every summit enroute or are you happy to
bypass them?
Anyway, without knowing any of the above, here's a
suggestion;
Beacons. Start from Pencelli (there is a very nice camp site
there if you want to use it before you start). Follow the
path SW up to Bryn and along the Gist Wen ridge up to Waun
Rydd. From there head west doing the main Beacons summits.
From Storey Arms continue west up over the col (missing out
Fan Fawr) and drop down to the head of the Dringarth valley.
There are some decent spots to camp wild in the vicinity of
where Nant y Gwair meets Nant y Gaseg. It's a very quiet
spot and will get you away from the hordes just to the east.
Forest Fawr. Next day continue heading west. Pick your own
route depending on whether you want to visit each summit or
bypass them. There are very few paths in this area and no
obvious line from summit to summit. If you want to visit
each summit you'll either have to put up with a lot of ups
and downs or walk a lot further if you prefer to contour and
stay high. Simpler to bypass most of them. Plan your route
by the contours. The going is mostly easy but there are a
few rough patches. From Fan Gyhirych head NW over Cefn Cul
and then up to Llyn y Fan Fawr. There are plenty of spots to
wild camp along the upper Afon Tawe but it's worth making
the extra effort to get up to the lake. It's a great place
to wake up to the sunrise. There's an inflow on the NW
corner of the lake which gives you a good water supply.
Mynydd Du. Continue west. Take the path up to Bwlch Giedd
and then Fan Brycheiniog, then Bannau Sir Gaer and Waun
Lefrith (although you could contour around to the north of
the escarpment below the summits if you prefer - less
effort and good views of the cliffs). From Waun Lefrith
cross the boggy col to Carreg yr Ogof then travel south
along the rocky Garreg Las. Then west across Foel Fraith
and Garreg Lywd (or you could follow the river just north
of these summits).
If you wanted to end it at this point you could follow the
road north to Llangadog (you could probably hitch a lift
there). How you'd arrange transport from there I don't know.
On the other hand, if you wanted to stay an extra day there
are plenty of wild camping opportunities in this area, for
example at the head of the Sawdde valley or just west in the
Blaenclydach area. Another very quiet area.
Western Mynydd Du. You could continue travelling west along
the smaller summits until they finally fizzle out at Tair
Carn Isaf. The going can be a bit rough here, this is very
rarely visited by people. At the end you could make your way
to Glanaman, Ammanford or even Llandeilo. You might want to
pay a visit to Carreg Cennen Castle while you're in the
vicinity (most dramatically located castle in Wales IMO).
Hope this helps.
Paul
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