ADVENTURES AROUND THE WORLD
© Christopher Earls Brennen
Hike G3. Pen-y-fan
- Hiking time: 2.5 hours
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Estimated hiking distance: 4 miles
- Elevation gain: 1510 feet
- Topo Map: Brecon Beacons National Park Map
- Permit: Parking at the Pont ar Daf lot is around £7.50 for the day (free for National Trust members).
Characteristics
Pen-Y-Fan (51.88328oN 3.43684oW) is the highest peak in South wales; the suumit is 2906 feet above sea level on an undulating ridge stretching from Talybont Reservoir in the east to the A470 road on the southwest About 0.3mi southwest lies the subsidiary summit of Corn Du, beyond which the terrain drops at a moderate angle to another lower summit, Y Gyrn, then more steeply to the Storey Arms Recreation Center on the A470 road. To the east, the ridge drops steeply to the col connecting it to Cribyn, the next mountain along the ridge.
The Pen-Y-Fan summit is marked by a reconstructed Bronze Age cairn with a central stone cist, similar to that on the nearby summit of Corn Du (2608 ft). The grave is fitted with a series of concentric stone kerbs to protect the central mound from slippage. The cist is a box formed by vertical stone slabs near the centre of the barrow, and it is currently occupied by the National Trust sign, but will have originally held the ashes or other remnants of the deceased since multiple burials are common in Bronze Age Britain. It also held grave goods left with the human remains, such as flint tools, cinerary urns, or flower tributes.
Hike
The most accessible and popular route, called "The Motorway", takes you from the Storey Arms Recreation Center on the A470 roadup a wide, stone-paved path to a saddle, passing alongside "Corn Du" before the final climb to the summit of Pen-y-fan which is 1500ft above the start. The peak is a major objective in the Beacons Way, a long distance footpath which passes from east to west across the mountains of South Wales and is open to all walkers. There are well-made, evenly graded footpaths from both the Storey Arms and from Pont ar Daf on the A470 highway. This and other paths on the mountain are the subject of ongoing repair and maintenance by the National Trust to limit the erosion caused by the passage of hundreds of thousands of walkers each year.
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| Summit of Pen-y-Fan |
Hike
Last updated 7/30/99.
Christopher E. Brennen