Waterfall Country

The south side of the Brecon Beacons National Park is famous for its waterfalls — so many that I decided to book into a b&b for a couple of nights and explore several of them properly.

My main objective was this 11½ mile walk from Pontneddfechan, which takes in 5 large waterfalls and numerous smaller ones. When I say 'large' I mean 'large by Brecon standards', of course. There are many larger elsewhere, but I think these very lovely indeed.

The walk also includes beautiful riverside paths beside the Avon Nedd and Avon Mellte, plus a little bit of the Avon Pyrddin and Avon Hepste. And as bonus, it had rained for much of the past week, so there was plenty of water in those rivers.

Rather than attempt a step-by-step account of the walk, I'll let the photos do most of the talking. So join me now for a leisurely 11½ mile amble. You'll need stout walking boots but you can leave your coat in the car.  The sun is destined to shine all day.

The first waterfall is a baby one on the Afon Pyrddin. My photo hardly does justice to the beauty of the place.  A little further upstream is the first of the named waterfalls, Sgwd Gwladus.

I'm intrigued by the glow I've developed in this photo.  Two possible explanations occur to me; it could be a Moses-like burst of holiness or damp on the camera lens.

Horseshoe Falls is the only one on the walk with an English name. All the others start with 'Sgwd' (pronounced scud) which, as you've doubtless guessed, means 'fall'.

I liked this one, Lower Sgwd Ddwli, a lot and spent a long time simply sitting on a log and drinking in the view. When I posted the photo below (featuring the aforementioned log) on Facebook a few days ago, several friends commented on how happy (and slim) I looked. Well I certainly was happy. Who wouldn't be?

It was now time to cross open countryside from the Avon Nedd to the Avon Mellte for a couple more waterfalls...

Sgwd Clun-gwyn

Sgwd Isaf Clun-gwyn

Finally my walk brought me to what is probably the best known of all these waterfalls, as one can easily walk behind the cascade — Sgwd yr Eira. I first came here many years ago, when our children were quite young. As you may imagine, we spend a long time running back and forth and getting drenched in the process. Happy memories!