Carmarthen Fan - Wednesday 25 March 2015
Route
Llandeusant - Llyn y Fan Fach - Waun Lefrith - Bannau Sir Gaer (Picws Du) - Fan Foel - Fan Brycheiniog - Fan Hir - Beacons Way - Fan Fechan - Llyn y Fan Fawr - Cefn Bryn y Fuwch - Llandeusant
Parking
From the tiny village of Llandeusant take the unmarked track to Llyn y Fan Fach (Free) - at the end of the track is a large parking area - Grid Ref SN798238, nearest post code is SA19 9UN.
Mileage
12.2 miles
Terrain
High level escarpment walking on good paths. We needed to pick our way off the southern slopes of Fan Hir to reach The Beacons Way but this was not too difficult. The path over Cefn Bryn y Fuwch is intermittent but with good visibility the way to the access road to Llyn y Fan Fach is never in doubt. In mist it would be best to take a bearing on the access road and aim off.
Weather
Cold but with good visibility for the majority of the walk. The weather and visibility deteriorated during the last hour bringing light snow and a stiff breeze.
Time Taken
7hrs
Total Ascent
3474ft (1059m)
Map
OL12 - Brecon Beacons National Park (Western Area)
Llandeusant - Llyn y Fan Fach - Waun Lefrith - Bannau Sir Gaer (Picws Du) - Fan Foel - Fan Brycheiniog - Fan Hir - Beacons Way - Fan Fechan - Llyn y Fan Fawr - Cefn Bryn y Fuwch - Llandeusant
Parking
From the tiny village of Llandeusant take the unmarked track to Llyn y Fan Fach (Free) - at the end of the track is a large parking area - Grid Ref SN798238, nearest post code is SA19 9UN.
Mileage
12.2 miles
Terrain
High level escarpment walking on good paths. We needed to pick our way off the southern slopes of Fan Hir to reach The Beacons Way but this was not too difficult. The path over Cefn Bryn y Fuwch is intermittent but with good visibility the way to the access road to Llyn y Fan Fach is never in doubt. In mist it would be best to take a bearing on the access road and aim off.
Weather
Cold but with good visibility for the majority of the walk. The weather and visibility deteriorated during the last hour bringing light snow and a stiff breeze.
Time Taken
7hrs
Total Ascent
3474ft (1059m)
Map
OL12 - Brecon Beacons National Park (Western Area)
|
GPX File
|
| ||
If the above GPX file fails to download or presents itself as an XML file once downloaded then please feel free to contact me and I will send you the GPX file via e-mail.
Walk Description
There is no doubt about it, on a day of good visibility and decent weather Carmarthen Fan is a fantastic walk. Angie was still looking after her Mum therefore I met a couple of walking chums today to tackle this set of Welsh Nuttalls - I had been up here before but not in such good weather as I had for the most part today. Carmarthen Fan encompasses the summits of Picws Du, Fan Foel & Fan Brycheiniog and is situated in the quieter western reaches of the Brecon Beacons and as such is less frequented than its more popular near neighbours of Pen y Fan etc. What more could one want? A lofty escarpment walk taking in two glacial lakes in solitude - well nearly as we only saw a handful of people all day.
The walk started from near the tiny hamlet of Llandeusant. The car park for Llyn y Fan Fach is not the easiest to find but the postcode, coupled with the Grid Reference given above should see you there alright. There is a large parking area here that is free. From the Car Park we headed south east along the access track passing the filter house and as we gained height so the views up to The Fan really opened up. From the Filter House and climbing gradually, we reached the Bothy at Llyn y Fan Fach. The route now headed west on a short and steep incline up on to the start of the ridge and led us to the summit of Waun Lefrith - from here we had a fantastic view down on to Llyn y Fan Fach and right along the escarpment. The walking along the escarpment was on mostly springy turf and we continued to head along Bannau Sir Gaer to reach the large cairn on the summit of Picws Du.
From Picws Du the path continued along the escarpment before descending steeply to Bwlch Blaen-Twrch before rising again to flatten out before the final half mile or so to the summit of Fan Foel. All along this wonderful ridge is the opportunity to look all around you for far ranging views of superb scenery. Leaving Fan Foel it was another fairly flat trip around the edge of the escarpment to reach the Trig Point on the summit of Fan Brycheiniog. Here we were treated to a Trig that had been adorned with a bunch of daffodils and also gave us a clear view over to Pen y Fan & Corn Du as well as down to Llyn y Fan Fawr. We then headed down the slope to the col at Bwlch Giedd before a short rise up to the plateau where it was a simple walk along a good path to the summit of Fan Hir - no cairn or Trig here, just the spot height. It was at this point we had intended to head back to the col at Bwlch Giedd in order to drop down to the Llyn but we decided to make the walk a little longer by continuing along the escarpment of Fan Hir before dropping off near the end on to The Beacons Way which took us back to Llyn y Fan Fawr.
Like its neighbour, Llyn y Fan Fawr is a peaceful place, still and gloriously quiet. Tempted as we were to hang around for a while, the weather was starting to turn and we headed around to the north western edge of the Llyn to pick up a good path which took us under the bulk of Fan Brycheiniog before heading around to the lower reaches of Fan Foel. With the visibility we had plus the impending bad weather we decided to head for the track we initially came up on and therefore made a beeline for it on a good path - this was instead of sticking to the path which keeps to the lower slopes of the escarpment and saved us a bit of time. In poor visibility it would be a simple case of taking a bearing on the track and aiming off, thus at some point reaching the track. We duly reached the track after crossing a stream and followed this back, passing the Filter House to reach the Car Park.
At just over 12 miles, this is a long walk but never really feels like it, such is the scenery and relatively easy walking on this delightful outing. There is an option to miss out The Beacons Way section and therefore reduce the mileage somewhat but on a good day we really enjoyed the diversion. In summary, a fantastic day out that is best completed on a day where you are guaranteed good visibility.
The walk started from near the tiny hamlet of Llandeusant. The car park for Llyn y Fan Fach is not the easiest to find but the postcode, coupled with the Grid Reference given above should see you there alright. There is a large parking area here that is free. From the Car Park we headed south east along the access track passing the filter house and as we gained height so the views up to The Fan really opened up. From the Filter House and climbing gradually, we reached the Bothy at Llyn y Fan Fach. The route now headed west on a short and steep incline up on to the start of the ridge and led us to the summit of Waun Lefrith - from here we had a fantastic view down on to Llyn y Fan Fach and right along the escarpment. The walking along the escarpment was on mostly springy turf and we continued to head along Bannau Sir Gaer to reach the large cairn on the summit of Picws Du.
From Picws Du the path continued along the escarpment before descending steeply to Bwlch Blaen-Twrch before rising again to flatten out before the final half mile or so to the summit of Fan Foel. All along this wonderful ridge is the opportunity to look all around you for far ranging views of superb scenery. Leaving Fan Foel it was another fairly flat trip around the edge of the escarpment to reach the Trig Point on the summit of Fan Brycheiniog. Here we were treated to a Trig that had been adorned with a bunch of daffodils and also gave us a clear view over to Pen y Fan & Corn Du as well as down to Llyn y Fan Fawr. We then headed down the slope to the col at Bwlch Giedd before a short rise up to the plateau where it was a simple walk along a good path to the summit of Fan Hir - no cairn or Trig here, just the spot height. It was at this point we had intended to head back to the col at Bwlch Giedd in order to drop down to the Llyn but we decided to make the walk a little longer by continuing along the escarpment of Fan Hir before dropping off near the end on to The Beacons Way which took us back to Llyn y Fan Fawr.
Like its neighbour, Llyn y Fan Fawr is a peaceful place, still and gloriously quiet. Tempted as we were to hang around for a while, the weather was starting to turn and we headed around to the north western edge of the Llyn to pick up a good path which took us under the bulk of Fan Brycheiniog before heading around to the lower reaches of Fan Foel. With the visibility we had plus the impending bad weather we decided to head for the track we initially came up on and therefore made a beeline for it on a good path - this was instead of sticking to the path which keeps to the lower slopes of the escarpment and saved us a bit of time. In poor visibility it would be a simple case of taking a bearing on the track and aiming off, thus at some point reaching the track. We duly reached the track after crossing a stream and followed this back, passing the Filter House to reach the Car Park.
At just over 12 miles, this is a long walk but never really feels like it, such is the scenery and relatively easy walking on this delightful outing. There is an option to miss out The Beacons Way section and therefore reduce the mileage somewhat but on a good day we really enjoyed the diversion. In summary, a fantastic day out that is best completed on a day where you are guaranteed good visibility.
The walk starts from the Car Park at the end of the track to Llyn y Fan Fach
The access road to Llyn y Fan Fach with Picws Du, the summit of Bannau Sir Gaer centre
Looking back down the access road
About a mile up the track we reached the Filter House
Climbing gradually, Fan Foel and Picws Du come into view
Llyn y Fan Fach - to the right is our route of ascent up on to the escarpment
The bothy at Llyn y Fan Fach. As you can see nowhere is idiot proof anymore
Heading up to the escarpment and Waun Lefrith
You can see who made a visit to the Llyn
Love this view. From up near Waun Lefrith looking down on Llyn y Fan Fach and along Carmarthen Fan
The summit of Waun Lefrith
Looks like an absolute doddle from here - this ridge hides a steep up and down between Picws Du and Fan Foel
Lovely view down the valley from the ridge over to Picws Du
Great day to be out - Fudge and I on the escarpment
Close up on Picws Du
The route of ascent again from Llyn y Fan Fach. That face reminds me of a girl I once went out with!
Looking back again to Waun Lefrith and the route up onto the escarpment
Superb escarpment walking as we head to Picws Du
The summit of Bannau Sir Gaer (Picws Du) looking to Fan Foel
The route up the access road to Llyn y Fan Fach - the car park can just about be seen
The steep descent and ascent off Picws Du to Fan Foel
400 metres uphill hurdles anyone?
This photograph demonstrates the sheer scale of the escarpment as we look back to Picws Du
..... and in mono
The summit of Fan Foel with Fan Brycheiniog distant
Zooming in on Pen y Fan & Corn Du
Heading over to Fan Brycheiniog
More superb escarpment walking as we near the summit Trig Point on Fan Brycheiniog
Llyn y Fan Fawr
The summit Trig Point & Shelter on Fan Brycheiniog - complete with a bunch of Daffodils
It was lovely up here
Heading over to Fan Hir from Fan Brycheiniog.
The path dropping down to the right leads to Llyn y Fan Fawr, however we were heading to Fan Hir and did intend to double back to this path but like all good plans they are subject to change. Instead we carried on past Fan Hir to meet up with The Beacons Way.
The path dropping down to the right leads to Llyn y Fan Fawr, however we were heading to Fan Hir and did intend to double back to this path but like all good plans they are subject to change. Instead we carried on past Fan Hir to meet up with The Beacons Way.
Approaching the spot height summit of Fan Hir
On the Beacons Way with the slopes of Fan Hir behind. We descended off Fan Hir to the left and followed the good path to Llyn y Fan Fawr
Llyn y Fan Fawr
Fan Brycheiniog - as you can see the weather was on the turn
I don't like the look of that - and I don't mean you Fudge