14 Stunning Brecon Beacons Mountains To Discover

The Brecon Beacons mountains are the highest in southern Britain, and a huge draw for hikers across England, Wales and beyond.

The mountains run across the length of the Brecon Beacons National Park, now officially renamed Bannau Brycheiniog. There are four distinct ranges across the 40 or so miles across the Park, each with very different terrain. Many of the mountains are steep-sided with flat tops, making for some of the best mountain walks in Wales.

The Brecon Beacons are my backyard, where I made my first ‘proper’ mountain hikes as a teenager, and also some of my first steps as a photographer. I have visited the area countless times, and covered all of these summits and many more along the way.

In this guide to the mountains of the Brecon Beacons, I introduce you to each mountain, show you where it is and how to get there, and suggest a walk(and occasionally a drive!)  to the summit. I have also divided the guide by mountain range, to make it easier for you to find your way around.

Pen y Fan – its name means ‘top of the beacon’ – is the highest mountain in the Brecon Beacons, South Wales and southern Britain. If you approach from the south it’s the culmination of a long, narrow sandstone ridge. But seen from the town of Brecon and around, it’s a very different prospect, a bona fide peak with a sheer northeast face.

Pen y Fan – along with next-door neighbour Corn Du – is an eminent presence visible from across the tops of the South Wales Valleys, and from elevated ground across much of Mid Wales to the north.

Like its cousin Yr Wyddfa (Mount Snowdon) in North Wales, it’s a very popular destination. This is because it’s within fairly easy reach (an uphill trudge of an hour or so) from the Pont ar Daf car park on the A470, the main South to North Wales trunk road.  

However, the crowds soon disappear if you opt for one of the quieter routes. The path up from next to the Storey Arms Centre takes you up high before making a beeline for the ridge leading to Corn Du. This passes the Tommy Jones Obelisk along the way, a sad reminder of the dangers these mountains can pose, a memorial to a boy tragically lost on the peak in 1900.

The longest – and most rewarding – Pen y Fan ascent begins at the Upper Neuadd reservoir car park. After a flat beginning, the climb begins, taking in Fan y Big and Cribyn before the final haul to Pen y Fan. You can then continue the circuit back via Corn Du to Upper Neuadd.

If you’re fortunate enough to be there on a clear day, you could be treated with some staggering views. To the south, you can see the South Wales Valleys, Bristol Channel and coast of Exmoor and North Devon.  And to the north, you get amazing views of the Cambrian Mountains, the less-heralded ‘Green Desert’ of Mid Wales.

Corn Du – ‘black horn’ in Welsh – is Pen y Fan’s closest neighbour, and a fine mountain in its own right. If you conquer the summit of Pen y Fan, you’ll almost certainly also conquer Corn Du on the way. The busiest path, from Pont ar Daf, passes Corn Du summit before the final half a mile or so to the top of Pen y Fan.

The final ascent to Corn Du is steep, but once you reach it, it’s fairly flat like Pen y Fan. As at Pen y Fan, there’s a stone summit cairn. And below the summit you’ll find one of the few natural glacial lakes in the Beacons – Llyn Cwm Llwch. It’s hidden in a remote valley on the north side of the mountain, and is visible from the ridge around the Tommy Jones Obelisk.

Pen y Crug isn’t actually part of the Central Brecon Beacons range  – it’s actually an outlier, a small hill near the village of Cradoc, just northwest of Brecon. I’ve included Pen y Crug in this section because it commands one of the best views in the Brecon Beacons from the summit area of the Iron Age hillfort.

Around 2,500 years ago this would have been a fantastic strategic location, with views over the town and route east, Pen y Fan and the mountains to the south, and the countryside to the west.

Access is via either the B4520 road or Cradoc village – the walk to the top takes 15-20 minutes.

This upland area between the Black Mountain in the west and Central Beacons in the east is one of the quieter parts of the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park. The crowds gravitate towards Pen y Fan, but there are many rewards to be had – often savoured just by yourselves – in this remote area.

Its name means ‘large forest’, but it’s forest in the old sense of the word, meaning a hunting ground, rather than an area covered with trees. There are some trees, but most of Fforest Fawr is open upland country.

Together with the Black Mountain, it forms the Fforest Fawr Geopark, one of over 200 UNESCO Global Geoparks worldwide.

Fan Fawr (‘large beacon’) is the highest mountain in Fforest Fawr, overlooking Beacons Reservoir, Storey Arms and the Tarell valley leading north to Brecon.

Like most of Fforest Fawr, it’s open country, with a few paths or moorland to walk through. I’ve walked up the mountain from the Pont ar Daf and Storey Arms car park, and it took me around an hour each time.

You’ll hardly see a soul there most of the time, but it’s a different matter when it snows. The lower slopes around Pont ar Daf are ideal for sledding, so hundreds of families head there for some wonderful fun hurtling through the white stuff. 

There are several rewarding mountains in Fforest Fawr to climb (Fan Gyhirych, a couple of miles to the west, is my pick), but I’ve opted for this classic remote Brecon Beacons ridge.

Fan Llia runs alongside the minor road that runs north from the Waterfall Country village of Ystradfellte. The Afon Llia (Llia stream) rises on its slopes, eventually joining forces with the larger Afon Dringarth, before continuing its journey to the picturesque limestone gorges a few miles south.

The area around Fan Llia is fascinating. A short steep climb is rewarded with views of Ystradfellte Reservoir, and the nearby but seemingly distant summit of Pen y Fan.

Down in the valley west of the mountain, there’s an ancient standing stone, Maen Llia, worth a stop for a few minutes. Just beyond there, pull over at the side of the road for a few minutes to savour the superb view of the Afon Senni valley.

The Black Mountain (Mynydd Du) is the westernmost part of the Brecon Beacons National Park. It includes the southwest corner of the county of Powys, and also the eastern part of Carmarthenshire.

The Black Mountain is mostly open moorland. One of the best-known parts of it is the area above the town of Brynaman, which the A4069 road passes through. This dramatic route is known as the Top Gear Road, as the TV show has filmed there so many times.

The highest peaks in the Black Mountain are on the northern escarpment of the range, above the twin glacial lakes of Llyn y Fan Fach and Llyn y Fan Fawr, a few miles from the village of Llanddeusant.  

Fan Brycheiniog is the highest point in the Black Mountain massif. The peak looms over Llyn y Fan Fawr, and you can tackle it as part of a twin-lake Black Mountain traverse in either direction.

I visited the mountain from Llanddeusant and Llyn y Fan Fach, continuing along the summit ridge before. You could also reach it by walking across open country from the minor road leading from the A4067 to Usk Reservoir and Trecastle.

When I did my Black Mountain traverse I started out at the car park below Llanddeusant, climbing up past Llyn y Fan Fach and onto the ridge. A path leads from Fan Brycheiniog to the River Tawe, and soon afterwards the wonderful Tafarn y Garreg pub.

The most modest of the mountains in this Brecon Beacons guide lies a few miles east of Pen y Fan and the Central Beacons. It sits between Talybont Reservoir on one side and the patchwork fields of Dyffryn Crawnon valley on the other.

It’s a fairly gentle ascent, especially if approached from the village of Talybont-on-Usk. But don’t be deceived – it’s a quite a steep hike to the summit if you approach from the reservoir.

Nearby

My favourite view of Tor y Foel is from the disused quarries north of Trefil – follow the minor road north from the A465 Heads of the Valleys road.

And on the reservoir side, don’t miss the waterfalls of the Afon Caerfanell river, which can be found just off the minor road that runs through the forest (to the right as you ascend, to the left as you descend).

They’re not as well-known as the main cluster of Brecon Beacons waterfalls between Ystradfellte and Pontneddfechan, but are well worth seeking out.

Sugar Loaf (Pen y Fâl in Welsh) is one of the most distinctive Brecon Beacons mountains, one of three surrounding the market town of Abergavenny.

Its conical shape has led some to believe that it’s an extinct volcano, but it isn’t: it’s simple Old Red Sandstone, like the rest of the Black Mountains and much of the rest of the Brecon Beacons.

The views from the top – over the Bristol Channel, Beacons, and English Borders – are superb. There’s also a small, long-established vineyard on the south side of the mountain near the town.

And just to the north of the mountain, follow the network of narrow lanes until you reach the stunning church at Partrishow, one of the most beautiful churches in Wales and, indeed, the British Isles.

Pen Allt Mawr is the third highest peak in the Black Mountains, around 250 feet lower than its neighbour to the north, Waun Fach. I’ve included it ahead of Waun Fach as many visitors are more likely to see it, especially if travelling along theBwlch to Tretower section of the A40 road.

Like many other Brecon Beacons mountains, Pen Allt Mawr its name means ‘top of the big slope’) is a high sandstone ridge with an elevated summit area.

The whole mountain is open country, and once up on the ridge you can walk from summit to summit. You can approach the mountain from Cwmdu, Tretower or even Crickhowell. If you want to include Waun Fach, I recommend starting at Pengenffordd, stopping at the Castell Dinas hillfort on the way.

This unusual angled sloping rise above the town of Crickhowell is one of the best-known landmarks in the Brecon Beacons.

Also called Table Mountain,  this elevated ridge is the location of an Iron Age hillfort. It’s part of a larger mountain called Pen Cerrig Calch, but is more widely known than its ‘parent’ peak.

It’s a half-hour uphill walk from the market town of Crickhowell.

The Blorenge (Blorens in Welsh) is the steep-sided plateau overlooking the Usk Valley and the town of Abergavenny. It’s a flat-topped moorland, part of the National Park, a Site of Special Scientific Interest and also part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Blaenavon Industrial Landscape.

This unique mountain is where the industrial South Wales Valleys meet rural Mid Wales. On one side of the mountain, the Canada coal tips provide a stark contrast with the green fields below, the landscape gradually rising to the flat-topped Sugar Loaf a few miles away across the valley.

The best starting point is Keepers Pond (pictured – Pwll Pen-ffordd-goch in Welsh). There is a small car park next to it, and it’s just off the B4246 Blaenavon to Govilon road.  You can also park at the Foxhunter car park around 300 metres to the east.  The car park is named after the horse which, ridden by Harry Llewellyn, won Great Britain’s only gold medal at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. Foxhunter is buried next to the car park.

The best time to walk on the Blorenge is in summer (usually mid-July to late August, occasionally into early September). This is when the heather is in bloom and the mountain is full of glorious pink and purple colour.

See Also: 20 Best Things To Do In The South Wales Valleys

I hope you’ve enjoyed my guide to the best mountains in the Brecon Beacons to visit. Whether you’re hiking up some of them, or driving across others, the Beacons are among the most beautiful landscapes in Wales.

If you’re interested in seeing more of South Wales, take a look at my guide to the best day trips from Cardiff.  So many places are within easy reach, whether you opt to stay in Cardiff, the Beacons or further west.

Whenever anyone asks me about visiting South Wales (where I’m originally from), I tell them to visit the Beacons for mountain landscapes, and some of the superb coastline. Don’t miss the outstanding Gower beaches, particularly Rhossili Bay and Three Cliffs Bay, two of the most beautiful beaches in Europe.

About the Author: David Angel, a Welsh photographer, writer, and historian, has over 30 years of experience exploring and photographing Wales. As former Art Director and Commissioning Editor for Visit Wales, he has explored every corner of this extraordinary country, climbed its mountains, and walked hundreds of miles along the breathtaking Welsh coastline and landscapes. He now uses a lifetime of experience to write comprehensive guides to help people like you discover and explore the best of Wales.  He is a native English speaker and fluent in Welsh.

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