I’ve had this walk in mind for the last 3 years and finally I pulled the car into some roadside parking and looked across the yellowy grass towards the high ridge that held Llyn y Fan Fawr beneath it. It was worth the wait. The weather was again, unbelievably kind to us. Apart from hazy distance views, we had sunshine, light winds and t-shirt walking weather. The only real trouble was the start and end over boggy ground, but we are used to that on Dartmoor. We set off and headed for Llyn y Fan Fawr, stopping about 3/4s of the way up for a coffee. I’m not sure we picked the right route of less or more boggy ground but we arrived in good time and quickly set about the main climb of the day, to Fan Brycheiniog, which at 802 metres would be the high point of the day. Once at height we turned right for the trig point, all the time looking back at the views and the duo setting up their hand gliders. Just as we reached the trig point, one of the duo serenely passed us, turning at Fan Foel to go back along the face of the ridge. We carried on to Fan Foel, catching our first views to Picws Du and Llyn y Fan Fach as we arrived at the cairn. It was approaching lunch time so we found a spot giving us a good view west to Llyn y Fan Fach and the next couple of hours of our walk. Full up we set off first for Picws Du and then the top overlooking Llyn y Fan Fach, called Bannau Sir Gaer. We dropped down to the Llyn, crossing the dam and following a leat for a short section to the Afon Sychlwch and the dam there, it was time for another coffee stop and time for a biscuit or 3. We had a decision to make here, either we follow the Beacons Way which hugs the base of the ridge we had just walked, or cut directly across the hillside for the base of Fan Foel. The latter option won out, and the path was a good one grassy and not boggy, giving us some good views to the steep slopes above. This bit took longer than I expected, and we climbed up to the Beacons Way a bit tired, so we planned another stop as we rounded the corner heading back to Llyn y Fan Fawr. We looked out towards Mid Wales with the Usk Reservoir in view, as we enjoyed a leisurely stop off, enjoying the light as the sun turned towards the golden hour. We quickly made the Llyn again and started off dropping down towards the car, we started off on a different route but soon joined our outward path and made the car. Delighted with our walk and relieved to finally make it here. All that was needed was a pub stop off for a celebration pint, the plan was The Ancient Briton, apparently the Wales pub of the year in 2025 (according to the sign outside) but the world, his wife and hamster was turning up at 5pm, so we did a quick about turn for the Penycae Inn a mile or so back up the road and enjoyed a nice pint in a busy but not rammed pub. A fine end to a great day, the next day would be another walk and an epic.

Start – Just south of Bwlch Cerrig Duon

Route – Llyn y Fan Fawr – Bwlch Giedd – Fan Brycheiniog (Black Mountain) – Fan Foel – Bwlch Blaen-Twrch – Picws Du – Bannau Sir Gaer – Llyn y Fan Fach – Waun Sychlwch – Cefn Bryn y Fuwch – Beacons Way – Llyn y Fan Fawr – Just south of Bwlch Cerrig Duon

Distance – 9.5 miles   Start time – 10.30am  Time taken – 6hrs 15mins  Highest Point – Fan Brycheiniog 802 metres

Weather – A bit hazy but lovely all the way around