Brecon Beacons circular: Fan y Big, Cribyn, Pen y Fan, Corn Du
The Brecon Beacons, or Bannau Brycheiniog is a national park and mountainous region in Wales which spans around 900 square kilometres. At 886m, it’s highest point is Pen y Fan which you will summit on this hike.
A hub for mountain biking, fishing, star gazing and hiking, the national park is renowned for its craggy peaks, exposed ridges and stunning views. Alongside these features it also boasts incredible waterfalls and gorges, caves and glacial land formations, lakes and woodlands; something for everyone to explore and enjoy.
A special landscape which rises and falls in indescribably dramatic waves, the topography is unlike that anywhere else in the UK and provides constant panoramic vistas. Many myths and legends have been attributed to this historically and culturally important area which thrums with a living past.
With just over 3 million visitors to the national park each year, you may be surprised to hear that the hikes are not usually crowded or busy - we tend to start our hikes around 6am so that we have the majority of the trails to ourselves and we’d recommend you do the same! The busiest point on this hike is usually the summit of Pen y Fan, but the rest of the trail is usually very quiet. The hike takes in 11 peaks in total.
Looking back at the peaks we’d summited - Corn Du, Pen y Fan, Cribyn and Fan y Big (from left to right)
Start/end point: Blaen y Glyn Uchaf car park
Average duration: 5.5 hours
Distance: 20km
Elevation gain: 1056m
When to go: Year round but be careful in icy, rainy or windy conditions
Difficulty: Moderate/Strenuous
Maps/Info: This circular route is not signposted but is a well trodden path which is easy to follow.
All Trails provides a great downloadable map which will sync onto Google maps/Maps me/other formats as required:
The hike:
Starting at Blaen y Glyn Uchaf car park at around 6am, follow the well marked trail which leads up a series of steps directly uphill for a few hundred metres, where the steps end but the climb continues on well-trodden terrain. The start of the hike is a huge uphill push, and after a good 45 minutes of climbing uphill eventually brings you out on Craig y Fan Ddu at 683m. On reaching this summit you will take the path off to the left along the ridge line, which is narrow and quite exposed - it’s wise to have a microfleece or layer for this part as even on a very sunny day it can be extremely windy.
Looking towards the summits of Pen y Fan and Corn Du
Continuing on the ridge for some time, the path slopes gradually uphill. The next summit you come across is Bwlch y Ddwyallt (754m) before the path becomes more undulating and brings you down a few metres to Craig Cwareli (730m) towards Fan y Big (719m) (yes, I also can’t say this mountains’ name without giggling - childish I know!).
Now comes the serious climbing - the terrain gets tougher underfoot here and is a mixture of rocks and soil which combine to become quite slippery and difficult to traverse if there has been recent rainfall or dew on the ground. We took our time navigating this section as the steep incline means it can be quite tough on legs and ankles. Cribyn (795m) is recognisable from all around the Brecon’s due to it being a distinctive summit which juts out on a jagged cliff top. The wind will again pick up when you summit Cribyn.
Summit of Cribyn
After Cribyn you face a massive descent down steep small steps and rocky pathway which is hard on the knees and hips, and the impending ascent you must undertake looms ahead of you threateningly. Have a short rest and some water at the bottom before you start the climb back up. After rainfall at the bottom there is a glistening body of water if you feel like splashing some on your face!
Beginning the slow but steady ascent up towards Pen y Fan will probably feel exciting, difficult, exhausting and rewarding all at the same time. It is a long slog to the top but once you get there the views over the surrounding parkland is absolutely stunning and makes the climb well worthwhile. Well done - you’ve reached the summit of Pen y Fan at 886m, the highest point of the hike and also of the entire national park.
From Pen y Fan we quickly continued on to nearby Corn Du (873m) as there were several people gathered near the summit of Pen y Fan but we could see that Corn Du was almost entirely free from people. We had a break on Corn Du, munching on cereal bars and apples and drinking much needed water, as well as admiring the seemingly endless views.
After a short sit down, we followed the ridge down from Corn Du and crossed over bisecting pathways, heading straight on towards Craig-Gwaun-Taf (826m). You may notice here that the pathways off to the right and left are very busy - this will be people who have parked nearby and have come to summit Pen y Fan alone. You will be leaving them behind and will mostly have trails to yourself from this point.
The path leads you on a slight downhill trajectory for around 45 minutes and in quick succession you will also summit Rhiw yr Ysgyfarnog (736m) and Cefn Clu (740m). It is from these summits you can look back and see the four main peaks and ridgeline you have summited and followed on the hike (photo at top of blog).
Summit of Twyn Mwyalchod
You will come to Twyn Mwyalchod (642m) which is slightly off the route but just a 100m return to summit it. Coming back on yourself to where the path meets a steep downhill stairway, descend slowly as the incline is almost vertical making it hard to traverse. This path takes you down several hundred metres in a short space of time, and you will pass streams which lead down to a large reservoir, crossing the bridge which leads over it.
Turning right after the bridge and onto a flat gravel cycle/foot path, continuing on this walkway for around two miles. Eventually it will meet the road, where you turn left and have a short uphill walk along the road back to the car park. After just over 12 miles of hiking and massive ascents and descents you will be exhausted - get yourself to the nearest pub for a well deserved drink!