Hiking up Pen Y Fan in the Brecon Beacons!

Molly Davies
Oct 29, 2017
2 min read

I thought I'd brave it and take the day off to walk in the hills of the Brecon Beacons. I chose the Friday, as the weather was looking out to be 16 degrees and sunny! Waking up at usual time, 6 AM, and leaving the house by 7 AM sharp. Crossing the bridge into Wales by 8 AM, with a phenomenal sunrise with all kinds of pinks & purples to greet me into the country of Wales. It wasn't long till I was in the Brecon Beacons and surrounded by sheep, hills & beautiful lakes. I pulled off at a lake 7 minutes away from my final destination; later on I would realise you could see this lake from the top of Pen Y Fan.

The lake is massive, with fur trees surrounding the outer edge and fisherman up early to catch fish. The mist was just skimming the waters edge, and the reflection of the trees was so clear on the calm water. Definitely a place to stop on the way, a possible destination for a picnic etc, but no swimming!

Anyway, on to the final destination... With little time to plan my trip, I chose the National Trust website to follow their walking trail for Pen Y Fan (Link below). I'd recommend getting there early enough to get a parking space, by the time I descended the mountain the car park was jam packed. It was obvious where to go once I'd arrived, there was only one way up from here and no way of getting lost... yet. After being told my jeans weren't acceptable for the walk by a National Trust guide at the gate, I would just say I think you could walk this in fancy dress. I can't say I didn't find the walk hard at points, but I think that may be because of my unfitness. The weather was kind to me this day, and it took me just over an hour to plod to the top of Pen Y Fan peak. The view was exceptional, seeing some absolutely gorgeous views. I even managed to spot some wild ponies with their foals whilst being at the summit.

Next time I visit the Brecon Beacons I will have to prolong my stay and visit more of the national parks sites. Pen Y Fan was beautiful and a good hike for us unfit humans!

National Trust Walking Trail -- Pen Y Fan -- https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/brecon-beacons/trails/pen-y-fan-and-corn-du-circular-walk