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Explore the Beautiful Brecon Beacons Area of Wales
Walk Trails

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Route Accuracy The routes were believed to be accurate and navigable when published, but things do change over time and we would be grateful to be advised of any inaccuracies or necessary diversions you encounter on a route. Nevertheless Bootsbikesbunkhouses.com cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions in these routes, or for any adverse consequences resulting from any reliance on the route descriptions.

Liability Bootsbikesbunkhouses.com has taken all reasonable steps to ensure these routes are safe and achievable by people with fitness levels commensurate with the grading of each route. However, all outdoor activities involve a degree of risk and Bootsbikesbunkhouses.com accepts no liability for death or injury to any persons undertaking these routes, nor for loss or damage to personal property or equipment.
A - Easy Walks

Around the Vale of Ewyas

A steep climb up Cwm Bwchel - the valley of the cattle - produces a stunning view of 12th Century Llanthony Abbey (where you may have been drinking a pint in the vaulted cellar bar the previous evening, as it is only a stone's throw from the Wain House). If you stop for breath and gaze down at the Abbey you appreciate Giraldus of Wales' comments written in 1188 that it was "a spot truly fitted for peaceful contemplation".

This walk can take you to the top of the mountain, Bal Bach and Bal Mawr, or you can choose the lower route past ruined farms depopulated in the mid-19th century as the rural population moved south to the coal mining areas.

Clearly a glaciated valley, you can see the forms of the mountains smoothed by the ice and the U-shaped valley. Many of the trees you pass were planted by Walter Savage Landor, that irascible 19th century poet who built his house at Llanthony and planted over a million trees in the valley.

This is a beautiful area with superb mountain walking and, as Giraldus pointed out, "with air so healthy that diseases are so rare". However, he also noted that "owing to its mountainous situation the rains are frequent, the winds boisterous and the clouds in winter almost continual". It makes you realize that our Goretex jackets are an improvement upon hair shirts.

Trail length:

Time (approx.):

Base Bunkhouse:

Grade:

4 miles/6.56km

(about 6miles/9.6km if Bal Mawr is included)

2.5 hours

The Wain House Bunkbarn

Easy
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