It was raining lightly as I drove along the winding roads of the Brecon Beacons, now known as Bannau Brycheiniog National Park. A soft mist hung over the lower-lying valleys as dozens of people set out on a morning hike, forming a small queue as they walked up the thin mountain paths. It was only 8am.
Bannau Brycheiniog is one of the UK’s tourist hotspots, attracting more than four million visitors each year. Hikers crowd mountains such as Pen y Fan (in the park’s mid-north, and its highest peak) and descend on Waterfall Country, an area with a series of waterfalls in the south-west of the park.
“One of the defining features of the National Park is the high number of day visitors (accounting for 87 per cent of annual visitors), many arriving from South Wales and the Midlands,” says Julie Bell from the park’s tourism board. Overnight visitors account for the remaining 13 per cent of arrivals, but generate 65 per cent of the economic benefit the park receives from tourism.
The national park covers 520 sq miles across South and mid-Wales, so there are quieter parts in which to enjoy a longer break. Bell suggested I head to the north-west of the park. After some research, I settled on a stay in a cottage overlooking Bannau Brycheiniog at the foot of the Cambrian mountains.
Driving from Bristol, I was keen to break up the 95-mile journey. I found a diversion on the outskirts of the village of Pant, near Merthyr Tydfil, in the form of a heritage train.
A train on the Brecon Mountain Railway departing Pant station (Photo: Brecon Mountain Railway)The Brecon Mountain Railway runs on the route of the original Brecon to Merthyr Tydfil railway, which opened in full in 1868. That route closed in 1964 as part of the Beeching cuts, the initiative that saw thousands of miles of track shut across Britain as a cost-cutting measure. However, in the late 1970s, a man called Anthony Hills set about reviving the railway, and a section of track between Pant and the village of Pontsticill opened in 1980, before extending over the years. It now runs to the station of Torpantau.
Six days a week, dozens of people enjoy the steam train that weaves through the Taf Fechon Valley, past the village of Pontsticill and beside the Taf Fechan Reservoir – but it offers a route to uncrowded hikes.
I got off at Pontsticill and planned to join the Taff Trail, a 55-mile walking and cycling route between Cardiff Bay and Brecon. I hoped to pass through forests and beside streams, up hills and down into the valley again. Pathways were well signposted, but I somehow lost my way. After two exhilarating hours, I retraced my steps back to the platform for my return train.
Glan-yr-afon cottage offers a cosy, and quiet place to stay (Photo: Iris Thorsteinsdottir)Slightly wet and pink-cheeked as I arrived back in Pant, I drove another hour through the park. My self-catering property was just outside the wonderfully remote village of Cilycwm.
The rich greenery of the valleys initially hid the two-bed, whitewashed cottage. I breathed a sigh of relief as I arrived. I couldn’t hear cars whizzing past, or even neighbours talking in the distance. In the garden, the wood-burning hot tub had been warmed up. From the windows of the bedrooms, which had high, wood-beamed ceilings, I could hear the trickle of a stream.
After soaking in the hot tub, I drove 15 minutes to Y Castell gastropub in the village of Llangadog, owned and run by husband-and-wife team Fiona and Jon. The Georgian building had a simple but tasteful interior, much like its fine dining menu. Mains included crusted beef cheek, which paired well with their Rioja from the wine taster menu. I finished with Welsh cheddar soaked in honey.
As I drove into the night, the village was quiet. I could’ve been the only tourist for miles. I set off back down the country lanes, with the patter of rain on the windscreen, thoroughly relaxed.
How to do it
A return journey on the Brecon Mountain Railway starts from £26.50 for adults, bmr.wales
The writer was hosted at Cambrian Escapes’s self-catered Glan-yr-afon cottage. A three-night stay in September starts from £795.
More information
breconbeaconstourism.orgvisitwales.com
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