During my Army career I spent a considerable amount of time on the Brecon Beacon Range, both training and evaluating soldiers. Generally my time on the hill would revolve around long or forced marches in the worst of the weather. Weight would be heavy and navigation purposefully difficult. It wasn’t until I left the military that I began to enjoy the Range a little more and take stock of what the Brecon Beacons can offer. With this in mind I decided to set off in August on what was to be a short 36 hours on Alt Llwyd ascending and descending Pen Y Fan and Cribyn. the approach from this route is less crowded than the main tourist track and in my opinion the most scenic climb of the park’s highest peak at 886 metres. You are treated to grande views from the beginning of your walk to the end. The National Park Authority have done a fantastic job of path repair on this very popular mountain and it now experiences huge visitor numbers in the better weather, often, with long queues to get pictures on the cairn at the top. The weather on leaving was fairly dull, with a few menacing clouds in the and visitor numbers were lower than I expected. I managed to the a shot of Pen Y Fan on the ascent and was hoping for a much more dramatic picture at dawn the following morning. However, I woke up at 0530hrs completely ‘clagged’ in, with visibility down to about 25 metres at most. So my dramatic view would have to wait, however, waking up in the wet and cloud sure brought the memories of 25 years go flooding back! Navigation here is easy for the experienced, however, many make mistakes and often climb Corn Du thinking it to be Pen Y Fan. Weather is highly changeable here so come prepared in all seasons for the worst.
Lost In Space 