Continuing my aim (have you read my goals post?) to seek out short walks and do them slowly this year, in this post I want to share a couple of lovely short walks I did from Brecon recently.
I was in Brecon, which sits just inside the Brecon Beacons National Park (Bannau Brycheiniog), to take part in an OS Maps app workshop with some of my fellow OS Champions. The app is having some work done, and it was super fun to be a part of that development and testing. It was day of brainstorming, thinking, sketching, talking – and trig bagging – in Brecon. I’m very excited to see what the team do with all our suggestions… we’re all watching this space!
Anyway, that’s really a topic for my next weekly blog episode, this post is about walking. The two walks I did there were both very short; the first took me up Pen-y-crug in less than four-miles, and the second to see Slwch Tump in a little more than two. I walked both from the town centre, and would recommend either one or both to anyone who finds themselves with some time to spare when visiting this area of Wales.
Brecon
Brecon sits in the Usk Valley with the Brecon Beacons (Bannau Brycheiniog) to the south and the Black Mountains to the east. It’s a picturesque market town with Georgian architecture (we stayed in The Wellington, one of the oldest buildings in Brecon), and has a long history as a stopping place for those visiting this area of south Wales.
It might be small but there’s a lot to see here. There’s Brecon Cathedral and heritage centre (although Brecon is a town and not a city), the Regimental Museum of The Royal Welsh, Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal basin, and the ruins of Brecon Castle. And of course, you are practically on top of a selection of South Wales’ famous mountains – Pen y Fan is easily visible from the town centre.
Two Short Walks from Brecon
Whether you are visiting to use Brecon as your base to hike mountains, or are on a more leisurely or even business focused trip here, it’s good to have some short wanders up your sleeve. There are so many big walks in this area, that the short and sweet ones can easily get overlooked.
The first walk here is adapted from the route our group took as part of the OS Maps workshop I mentioned; we used it to test out the app in situ. It took us less than two hours, and includes bagging a trig pillar with 360 degree views all around.
The second walk is one I did to squeeze in One Hour Outside after an afternoon concentrating at the indoor-based workshop to get some fresh air before we headed out for dinner. This one was just an hour, and also had lovely views.
Pen-y-crug
A quick summary: A little under 4 miles, 1 hour 40 mins, circular, easy access from the centre (could start from anywhere in Brecon and make this work!), not technical underfoot but a reasonable incline which could potentially be muddy in places. See in OS Maps.
A Quick Trig from Brecon
Our group were drawn in by that little blue triangle on the OS Map of Brecon. I mean, we were at an Ordnance Survey workshop, we had to bag a trig, didn’t we?!
Starting from outside St Mary’s Church in the centre of Brecon, we first headed along a footpath along the River Usk to a viewpoint opposite the weir. Sadly the brambles obscured most of the view, but it was still pretty. The route then uses a short stretch of footpath along a road, past the large Brecon Cemetery, and up through a housing estate.
The aim is to pick up the obvious public footpath at Maen-du Well. This is worth a stop in itself; the stone building dates back to the 1700s – the well pool, fed by a spring, is inside.
You can see the well-defined path going in an almost straight line up the hill to the peak of Pen-y-crug from here. There are a few stiles over fences, three or four I can’t quite remember, with the path crossing fields initially before you end up on the much wilder-feeling bracken-covered hilltop. Once off the farmland, you will almost certainly come across wild horses, as you might expect from this part of Wales.
This is a hill walk, you can’t tell your legs and lungs any differently, but it is a reasonably easy ascent that won’t wear you out too much.
Iron Age Hillfort
Pen-y-crug is commonly referred to as “The Crug” (pronounced “cree-g”, I’m told). The Welsh name means “top of the mound”, and I can definitely see how that one stuck – it’s like a big lump of earth on the outskirts of the town.
The final stretch up to the top crosses the ramparts of the iron age hillfort. Now just rounded earthwork banks and ditches, it’s hard to imagine just how busy the top of this hill would have been with people living, working, farming and trading.
The Welsh-dragon adorned trig pillar stands at 331m above sea level, which is about the same height as my local hill in the Cotswolds (here’s a walk on Cleeve Hill). It’s a moderate climb which is very well worth the effort. It’s one of those walks where you get heaps of satisfaction for not too much effort; panoramic views of Brecon, the Black Mountains, and the Brecon Beacons. Gorgeous.
Back into Brecon
The hillfort area is open access land and as such there are lots of well-worn paths criss-crossing the hill. To return to Brecon once you’ve had a wander around the hilltop, start by backtracking down the same path you came up on for a short distance, before turning left onto a signposted bridleway.
This takes you down off the common land (there’s a bit of up in there too as you skirt one of the other lumps surrounding the hill), and along the bracken-flanked path to a farm gate. Once through the gate you follow a clear gravelly access track down to a road.
The route I’ve plotted follows the B4520 (there’s a footpath all the way along), across the River Honddu, and back to St Mary’s Church in Brecon town centre. But you could equally use this as an opportunity to visit Brecon Cathedral and the Castle remains if you have time.
Looking to walk this yourself? Here’s my approximate route on OS Maps.
If you don’t have a subscription to OS Maps and you like hiking, I would highly recommend it for route planning and when out and about – I’d really appreciate it if you would use my affiliate link to get started.
Slwch Tump
A quick summary: 2.5 miles, 1 hour, circular, easy access from the centre (could start from anywhere in Brecon and make this work!), a bit overgrown at the top, a very short and steep descent which may be muddy. See in OS Maps.
One Hour Outside
I only had an hour to spare before I needed to get ready for dinner, so this really is a One Hour Outside walk from the centre of Brecon. Slwch Tump is a large hillfort, now rather obscured by tall grass and bracken, but it’s still possible to get a sense of the fort and its position in the landscape with a wander to the top.
As before, we start from St Mary’s Church in the centre of Brecon, first picking our way through the large car park and up along residential streets up to the B4602. Cross this road and pick up the bridleway – Slwch Lane – signposted Slwch Tump.
This path sometimes feels like a green tunnel as it heads uphill through trees. There are a couple of footpaths off to the right, but ignore any turnings until you have walked past the television relay station.
Another Iron Age Hillfort
Once you have past the relay station on your left, take the gated footpath to the right, also signposted Slwch Tump. The Iron Age hillfort here is smaller than the one on Pen-y-crug, but would have been here at the same time. Roughly rectangular in shape, it has a single encircling rampart, which the footpath follows around.
I found one short section of footpath on top of the rampart to be very overgrown with bracken, and chose to go around it (to the left, along the steeply sloped rampart bank) rather than through. At a different time of year this footpath should be easily passable.
The best bit of this short walk was the view once I’d reached the southern part of the camp. I could see for miles – back down to Brecon and across to the mountains on the other side of the valley. Brecon really is in a rather spectacular location, I can totally see why people live here.
Down to the Canal
It is possible to continue on the same footpath all the way around the fort and back to the bridleway you started on, but I chose to head down towards the canal before heading back into the town centre.
As the bracken turns to woodland, there’s a signposted footpath to the left, which heads straight down the hill. It’s very steep, a little muddy, but incredibly pretty. I love walking in woodland, it really is my favourite, and the steep section doesn’t last long.
The path snakes through the trees and eventually brings you to some steps leading to a quiet residential street. Follow this downhill, cross the road, and take the footpath which zigzags down to the next road. Turn right here to walk around the police station, cross another road at the mini roundabout opposite the petrol station, and take the road just to the left to over the bridge to pick up the canal tow path.
Tow Path into Town
This is actually quite a special bridge. Watton Wharf canal bridge – bridge 165 over the canal – looks normal at first glance. On closer inspection, you can see a second, slightly smaller arch on the north side (not in my photo, sorry!) – which was built for early railway wagons to pass through next to the canal.
Walk west along the tow path to the next bridge, where you can cross the canal again and head back into the town centre.
If you’ve got a bit longer than an hour, you can extend this walk by wandering further along to the canal basin and explore that area of the town. Or, if you fancy a scavenger hunt, find the blue plaque to a famous time traveller which is somewhere in this area…
Looking to walk this yourself? Here’s my approximate route on OS Maps.
Next Time
There are many other walking options in and around Brecon, but I hope these two provide you with One Hour Outside (or more) on your next visit to this beautiful part of Wales. If you’ve got recommendations for other walks I should do next time I’m in Brecon, drop them in the comments.
If you’re reading this later then note I did these two walks in early July 2023, and route information and conditions mentioned herer are based on my experience on that particular Thursday.
