Brecon Nature Reserve and Hidden Valley
Brecon Nature Reserve and Hidden Valley
We parked in the lay-by, on A470, at Brecon Nature reserve about a mile north of Storey Arms. A notice stated ‘In just a few hundred metres you will find yourself enclosed within a shady, atmospheric amphitheatre created by the soaring craggy cliffs of Craig Cerrig Gleisiad. The lofty exposed moorland of Fan Frynach separates this area from a second, equally spectacular curtain of cliffs at Craig Cwm Du. The steep rocky slopes, sharp escarpments and crags are home to rare arctic-alpine plants at their southernmost location in the UK and not found again until the Alps. A history of lower levels of grazing has resulted in a richer variety of wildflowers in the reserve compared with surrounding areas of the National Park.’
‘A glacier carved out this valley during the last ice age. As it melted about 18,000 years ago it exposed the steep rock walls of Craig Cerrig Gleisiad. Sometime later a catastrophic landslide cascaded millions of tonnes of rock from these crags down the slopes. You can still see the tension cracks in the bedrock. The extent of this landslide is visible as the steep bank you can see from the A470. Up until 11,500 years ago a smaller glacier occupied the back of the hollow, leaving a series of ridges of small rocks and debris called moraines.’
We took the right hand path, climbing immediately and were soon in the ‘amphitheatre’. We were wrapped in a silence broken only by birdsong. The place felt so peaceful and the whole area was covered in swathes of bluebells. Larks soared as we passed and the harsh call of members of the crow family echoed from the heights.
Gazing at the awesome hills around us their height seemed daunting but we gradually moved through the Nature reserve and found ourselves at Carnedd Cairn, 1 mile into the walk with a climb of 1,000ft under our belts – the hardest climb of the walk.
It was a fairly flat walk to the trig point at Fan Frynach(629m), where we took in the spectacular views: to the east Pen y Fan and to the west, in the distance, Carmarthen Fan with rolling farmland to the north and below us in the next valley.
We started to descend and after about 200 metres picked up a good path heading north to connect with Sarn Helen (a Roman metalled road which continues to Ystradfellte and its waterfalls). The path was well defined with a ditch at the side, a farm track perhaps or an old drover’s road? But looking at the land rising away from us we could see paths across it at regular intervals – so most probably old forestry commission land which has been returned to its
‘original’ state. We watched a pair of red kites soaring above us until they were driven away by crows.
On Sarn Helen we met a farmer sitting side-saddle on an off-roader with her 2 dogs. Soon a motor cyclist kicking up loads of dust approached us, closely followed by 4 more that slowed down and exchanged smiles.
Now we arrived at the Cwm Du valley, time for lunch; we walked a short way and sat beside the stream, Nant Cwm-du. The land was dotted with distinctive craggy trees sculpted by the harsh climate. We were enjoying the peaceful atmosphere, listening to the babble of the stream and watching a tiny caterpillar which wafted in front of us on an invisible thread. The silence was destroyed by the sound of a car engine, as a number of 4x4s drove along Sarn Helen. They were soon gone and peace reigned.
Walking up the valley, beside the stream, was easy to start, then and as we climbed became more difficult, making us crisscross the stream, until eventually we came to a waterfall, a vertical edge with excellent footholds enabling a climb out of the valley. We rested near the top on a large flat rock to admire the valley and absorb the atmosphere of the place. Then up to the Beacons Way – so nice to be on a footpath again and Pen y Fan came back into view.
Soon we were facing a steep descent back to the A470, taking a zigzag path on the steepest sections we eventually got to the bottom. Looking back at it was scary!
Throughout the walk we had heard the call of the cuckoo, we had seen lots of wildflowers, including tormentil, welsh poppies (not in flower), violets, speedwell and saxifrage. There were very few sheep and quite a few horses grazing the area. The weather was perfect, hardly any wind, cloudy with occasional weak sunshine, excellent visibility, cool temperature and most importantly – no rain. We had seen only 6 other walkers all day – a brilliant day. Walk 6½ miles, ascent 2000ft. MapOL12.