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Squelching in the Brecons
Friday 28th October 2011 dawned cool and clear, with mist pooling in the valleys and pure blue above. However it had persisted down for most of the previous 24 hours which means only one thing in the western end of the Brecons – wet feet.
The single track road climbs steeply round two sharp hairpin bends out of the Senni valley to a pass where those of an idle disposition (like me) can start this walk.
First up was Fan Nedd. An obvious path follows the fence and wall from the parking spot for a couple of hundred yards before bearing slight left, making a bee line for the north end of the hill.
That first climb is essentially a steady trudge uphill, but with plenty of opportunities to test how water resistant Gortex gaiters really are. The climb steepens briefly before flattening out by a large cairn - no idea where the stones came from, there weren’t many lying about. The true summit is a couple of hundreds yards further south, but the ground is fairly flat. Perhaps not the most exciting of hills, but the views in all directions on a clear day like this made up for it.
Retrace steps back towards the large cairn, but start heading off towards the northwest before reaching it, descending to the boggy saddle of Bwlch Duwynt. Boggy? No I meant wet. Having resorted to clinging to the wire of a fence to save myself from an apparent risk of drowning in a black and seemingly bottomless pool I made it to firmer ground on the slopes of Fan Gyhirych. This is the shapeliest of the hills in these parts, boasting a 500 ft steep sided bowl above a forbidding looking bog at the base.
A bulldozed track runs along the top of the wide ridge, and in drier times may prove a quick means to reach the final upper slopes. The hill overlooks the Cray reservoir to the north, but the view westwards reveals the fine prospect of the whole of the Carmarthen Fan ridge. The Trig Point on Fan Gyhirych is notable in that it has a moat that has to be jumped, or waded….
I decided to use the track to return to the Bwlch, but it did prove to be a sticky mess of red mud, as the bulldozers were still at work. A digger had a sticker on its rear end showing a man plummeting accompanied by the words ‘Danger of Death’. How exciting! ‘Keep off my digger’ is clearly not warning enough in these parts.
There is no need to re-climb Fan Nedd, there is a by-pass path that follows the fence to the north of the hill, high above the beginnings of the Senni Valley. This takes you back to the starting point and hence the walk can be ended at this point.
However, for me it was onwards and upwards to Fan Llia. Cross the road and head east towards the shoulder of Bryn Melyn. It may be tempting to follow the fence, but that way leads to more dread dark pools. Better to move to the left a few yards, slightly downhill. Having crossed the Roman road Sarn Helen and gained the shoulder, simply head south east towards the summit of Fan Llia. It is here that a feature of these hills becomes all too apparent – they are further away than they look.
It is a long slog upwards across boggy and almost featureless grassland, crossing the occasional ditch that has been cut into the slope in an attempt to drain it. Once the ridge line has been attained – I use the term in its broadest sense – a wide and obvious path will be found. Here most will spend a few futile seconds looking for the summit cairn but there isn’t one. Rather there are just a few fragments of stone lying close together on the ground on a slight rise just off the path so it is easily missed in mist.
However, on a fine day like this, the views across to Pen y Fan and the Black Mountains beyond make the struggle worthwhile.
Next up was the 4th Hewitt of the day, Fan Frynych. Its white Trig Post is visible from Fan Llia and the walking is easy, but be warned it is roughly 4 miles between the two despite looking much closer. The wide and clear path follows the broad ridge line northwards before dropping eastwards into yet another boggy but this time also muddy saddle, above Craig Cwm-du. Skirt the slopes of Craig Cerrig-gleisiad to it’s north to reach the next saddle where a sign pronounces that you are entering the nature reserve of Fan Frynych. Follow the track for a few hundred yards to reach a path that heads up a slope to the left, and onwards to the summit Trig Point, and more fine views of the Beacons and the Black Mountains to the right, and to Carmarthen Fan to the left.
Return to the saddle, and this time continue straight on up the steeper slopes with grass that has been nibbled short by the mountain ponies. The climb is quite short, and leads to the noticeable cairn of Craig Cerrig-gleisiad.
Now it is decision time. Fan Fawr is directly to the south, but is the best part of two miles away and the final slopes are steep. A glance right reminds you just how far away your starting point is. It would be perfectly feasible to include Fan Fawr, but the total distance for the walk as described would be around 20 miles.
For me discretion (and aching knees) won, and I began the long trudge back across the moor. A final highlight was rejoining the Roman Road, and crossing the ford with delightful cascades above and below it. Then a final short climb over the shoulder of Bryn Melyn, and then back to the car to change into dry clothes.
Total distance 16 miles, 5 Hewitts, a very good day.
