Fan Fawr

Thursday 15 July 2021

Another early start for a day out in the Welsh hills. Left home at 7:00am for the two hour drive to the layby on the A470 a couple of miles north of the Storey Arms (SN 971222). The journey was very straightforward and uneventful, all the way on only two roads; M4 & A470.

 

The walk started uphill through woodland beside a stream, and on reaching the open countryside followed a wall northwards for a kilometre before veering away from the wall to ascend to Twyn Dylluan-ddu. Here an almost 180° change of direction to follow a red coloured track ascending the north-east ridge of Fan Frynych. The summit is about 150m west of the track and the trig pillar adorned with a red Welsh dragon on all four sides. A nice spot for the customary banana break (but without a banana as I forgot it!), admiring the view of Corn Du and Pen-y-fan to the east.

The route continued south along the crest of the cliffs to the next summit, Craig Cerrig-gleisiad (which is a national nature reserve). The top is marked by an untidy pile of stones.

The next summit, Fan Fawr, was a 2.5km plod across featureless moorland, descending gently to a col, and then rising more steeply to the summit. As I ascended the grassy, pathless hillside I noticed to my left a line of soldiers ascending to the summit on the next ridge. At the summit they were reporting in at a tented check-in point before descending on the south-west ridge. I moved a short distance away from the summit cairn to eat my lunch.

After a leisurely break I descended the north-east ridge on an initially steep and rocky path down to the Storey Arms. A well worn track led all the way down. Somehow I managed to painfully twist my right ankle twice within a 100m, but luckily I managed to walk it off. Initially I thought I may have to abandon the next summit.

Crossing the A470 at the Storey Arms, I then followed the well-trodden highway that ascends to Corn Du and Pen-y-fan. At about the 590m contour I left this track and turned left to make my way over a grassy hillside to the summit of Y Gyrn. There was no path as such, but  a quad-bike had clearly marked the route to the summit.  A small pile of stones and a wooden post marked the summit, but when I crossed the wall/fence to begin my descent I found another small pile of stones. I think this was more likely the true summit as it was to the side of the wall where the OS spot height was marked.

The descent westwards off Y Gyrn was unpleasant to say the least. Very steep in places and pathless through heather. In the last 200m before reaching the old drover’s road the heather gave way to waist high bracken (in places shoulder high) which I just had to plough through as best I could. The gate which Nuttall said to use was chained and pad-locked, so had to be climbed over.

A final 800m on the drover’s road before turning left and ascending through a steep field back to the A470 opposite the start.

A glorious summer day.

	Summit	Height (m)		Status
	Fan Frynych	629		Hewitt, Nuttall
	Craig Cerrigy-gleisiad	629		Hewitt, Nuttall
	Fan Fawr	734		Hewitt, Nuttall
	Y Gyrn	619		Sub-Hewitt, Nuttall

More photos here

Allt Lwyd, Waun Rydd and Bwlch y Ddwyallt

Tuesday 15 June 2021

As the weather forecast was so good, a last minute decision to do a day trip to the Brecon Beacons to climb three Nuttalls that have so far eluded me. After an early start and an uneventful journey I arrived at the little parking area on the narrow road skirting the western side of the Talybont Reservoir at about 9:15am.  The weather looked perfect for a day out in the hills; warm with clear blue skies. I had a leisurely coffee whilst getting ready to set off.

Half a kilometre of walking, firstly on a forestry road and then a green lane, brought me to a stile which marked the start of the CRoW access land.  A further 0.75km following the edge of the Talybont Forest and then I was on the open hillside with an easy, grassy climb past a small tarn up to the summit of Allt Lwyd. I cannot remember how the summit is marked as I omitted to photograph it. Time for the customary banana break.

 

A grassy ridge lead easily up to the summit plateau of Waun Rydd, but I did not go directly to this summit, instead following the path that crosses the plateau westward to the summit of Bwlch y Ddwyallt (it seems a bit incongruous that a summit can be a bwlch). A large heap of stones marks this summit. I walked a few metres from the summit to take an unhurried lunch perched on the edge of the precipice falling away into Cwm Cwareli. Magnificent views westwards towards Pen-y-fan and its satellites. Three pairs of walkers passed me as I lunched, but not one of them deviated from the path the 5m necessary to visit the summit.

Retracing my steps for 500m, at the col I left the path and struck up hill to the summit of Waun Rydd. An unremarkable summit on a grassy plateau, marked by the usual untidy little pile of rocks, but elevated by the superb view west to Pen-y-fan and Corn Du.

Heading South-east from the summit I soon found myself back on the excellent path on the plateau which led eastwards to Carn Pica, a prominent cairn at the eastern end of the plateau. Images of this on the web show it as a well constructed 2m high dome of red coloured stones. Sadly on my visit it had crumbled away and collapsed on one side. Whether this was due to weathering or wanton vandalism I could not tell.

Apart from the initial steep descent, made easier in places by stone steps laid in the path, the return was now easy on a good path descending eastwards over Twyn Du leading off the hills and finishing across fields back down to the road a couple of hundred metres from the start.

A final relaxing coffee on the edge of the Talybont Reservoir before commencing the drive home.

A great day on the hill.

	Summit	Height (m)		Status
	Allt Lwyd	654		Sub-Hewitt, Nuttall
	Bwlch y Ddwyallt	754		Nuttall
	Waun Rydd	769		Hewitt, Marilyn, Nuttall

More photos here