On the first day of December Phil stepped in at short notice and took eleven fellow ramblers on a linear walk in the Brecon Beacons National Park. Parking at Libanus, the dry morning soon turned wet and the bus was fifteen minutes overdue because of a breakdown, which meant they had to huddle in the bus shelter to hurriedly don overtrousers and gaiters. But it actually did the group a favour as most of the heavy rain fell during the bus journey back towards Llwyn-on.
From a lay-by near Garwnant and the top end of the Llwyn-on reservoir and in drier conditions the group set off where wide forestry paths led them onto the lower slopes of Garn Ddu. Trekking uphill along a muddy wet track at the rear of the forest the only stile of the day led them onto the open moorland.
The track across Waun Wen is notoriously boggy underfoot and after weeks of steady rainfall had not improved. But the good news – the water had frozen, which thankfully made underfoot conditions a little easier and they shared the open moorland with runners taking part in the annual Ultra Brecon 40 race.
Beginning at 7.30am that morning at Talybont-on-Usk, the route which can attract up to 150-runners covers 42 miles and goes above the 700 metre mark in the central Beacons. The conversation of course turned to how long it would take to run 42-miles and would they all get back before darkness fell.
Turning north above the Taff Fechan Forest some fancy footwork was required to stay out of the bogs where the frost and ice had started to melt and a shower of rain mixed with sleet fell, as black clouds scudded across from the west obliterating the mountain tops ahead.
The rain passed fairly quickly as did the clouds and a well-earned stop was made for morning coffee before moving on to the 642 metre trig point and carrying on along the ridge at Graig Fan Ddu, from where there were fantastic views of the Upper and Lower Neuadd reservoirs in the valley below, the sun put in an appearance which was greatly welcomed by the group.
Ahead of them Fan y Big and Cribyn were visible and Sugar Loaf Mountain was bathed in weak sunshine, but the tops of Pen y Fan and Corn Du were shrouded in low cloud and walking straight into a hefty wind which was really cold, the group continued along the rocky ridge.
There were a considerable amount of other walkers of all ages including several groups of youngsters who were wrapped up in balaclava’s, scarves and gloves and who appeared to be having a brilliant time.
Because of the keen, icy wind the group stopped on the hillside with a little bit of shelter for a swift lunch break.
The views stretched down the Taff Fechan valley towards the Pentwyn and Pontsticill reservoirs and Pentwyn was the first reservoir to be constructed in 1859-63 by the Merthyr Board of Health.
Serious leakage of water occurred because the dam was constructed on a major fault known as the ‘Neath Disturbance’ and this reservoir is also known as the Dolygaer reservoir. Because of the problems the Lower Neuadd reservoir was the next to be built in 1884 with a temporary railway line from Torpantau halt on the Brecon/Merthyr Railway.
The Upper Neuadd reservoir built 1896-1902 from locally sourced limestone quarried near Dowlais brought in using the railway line is situated at a height of 459 metres (1,506ft) and as such is the highest reservoir within the Brecon Beacons National Park. The last reservoir at the base of the valley is the Taf Fechan or Pontsticill reservoir completed in 1927 which can hold up to 3290-million gallons of water.
The group didn’t hang around too long as fingers soon froze with the cold and moving swiftly on reached the base of Corn Du, which translated means Black Horn. Standing at 873-metres (2864ft) it is the second highest peak in south Wales but still covered in low cloud so there was little point in climbing it.
The rough track on the hillside below Corn Du led to the ridge of Craig Cwm Llwch and tucked away below in a small rocky hollow the dark icy-looking waters of the glacial lake of Llyn Cwm Llwch. Still being overtaken by the runners in the race, including one runner with two Siberian huskies (and no sledge!!!) the group reached the Tommy Jones obelisk and were reminded of the tragic tale.
On 4 August 1900, five year old Tommy Jones and his father had walked from Brecon railway station en route to visit his grandparents at Cwm Llwch Farm and made their way to the Log in where soldiers were camped for rifle practice nearby to enjoy some refreshment. By chance they bumped into Tommy’s grandfather and cousin and the two young lads ran on together towards the farm. But Tommy became frightened and wanted to return to his father and although his cousin reached the safety of the farm young Tommy was missing. Search parties of soldiers assisted the family to try and find Tommy and the Police and members of the public soon joined in but failed to locate the boy. His body was found 1300-feet above the Log in, on the hillside above Llyn Cwm Llwch 29-days later on 2 September and the stone obelisk to his memory was hauled up the mountainside by horse-drawn sledge the following year.
Turning above Cwm Llwch and following narrow pathways in the hillside which were slippery in places, the group began to descend the lush green slopes on Pen Milan as the cloud eventually lifted making the tops of the peaks above visible.
At the bottom, the holly trees were smothered with bright red berries as the group passed through a gate, paddled through a small stream and passing a holiday cottage joined a quiet lane which led them downhill.
At the bottom of the lane stands Felin Fach (Little Mill) originally a stone built working water-powered corn mill dating back to 1820. This stunning three storey building was converted into a dwelling house during the 1970’s and is now holiday accommodation with the River Tarell (Afon Tarell) which rises high in the Brecon Beacons on its journey to join the River Usk, running through the garden.
Crossing the stone river bridge the group returned to Libanus and victoriously ended the day with a drink in the Tai’r Bull Inn where unfortunately the Welsh rugby team were not so victorious in their match against Australia who scored an unexpected final try in the dying seconds of the match to win the game that Wales thought was theirs 14-12, before the group journeyed home.
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