The Brecon Beacons National Park

This is walking country and the peaks and valleys are crisscrossed by numerous waymarked trails. Well, not totally walker's country; they must share the Beacons with sheep - who vastly outnumber the humans here!

The Brecon Beacons is famous for its waterfalls, caves, and gorges, the result of its millstone and limestone underpinnings being worn away by acidic rainwater leaching down from the peat uplands.

The caves provided refuge for early settlers in Britain and remains of New Stone Age settlements and burial chambers can be seen at Crickhowell, Talgarth, and Brecon. There are also stone circles, over 30 of them, scattered about the park.

There is also the "Mountain Centre", located 5 miles south west of Brecon. It was opened in 1966 with financial assistance from the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust. The Mountain Centre, which is how everyone refers to it in South Wales, is run by the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority. It is consistently the most popular visitor attraction in the National Park.

Some 1100ft / 335m above sea level offering its location offers stunning views of Pen Y Fan the highest mountain in South Wales. An adjacent moorland ridge known as Mynydd Illtyd offers some fine easy to moderately graded walking.

It's easy to see why the Brecon Beacons is the major center for walking in South Wales. The remoteness of the Carmarthenshire Fans, the "wild west", the long ridges of the Black Mountains and the sheer splendor of the Brecon Beacons Central Massif make this a popular choice with walkers. In addition there are 1250 miles of public footpaths. Walking opportunities include canal towpaths, gorge walking, challenging high ridges, and waterfall country.

This truely is an amzing area, and the setting for the next great walking club weekend.....