The
Brecon Beacons and Wye Valley area of Mid
WalesLocation
This area of Wales
is about two and a half hours drive due
west from London Heathrow airport and
less than an hour north from Cardiff.
Immediately to the north east is the
Welsh Marches area of Shropshire and
Herefordshire with the Cotswolds just an
hour’s drive to the east.
A countryside of
natural scenic beauty
The distinctive,
peaks of the Brecon Beacons are the focal
point for a magnificent National Park
which fills the southern reaches of Mid
Wales, covering hundreds of square miles
and climbing almost to 3,000 feet.
A succession of smooth, open mountain
ranges rise and dip across the landscape
like a giant roller-coaster ride, from
the borderland Black Mountains through
the central Beacons and across the moors
of Fforest Fawr. Whilst along the
Beacons’ southern rim there’s
‘waterfall country’,
a craggy landscape of wooded gorges and
cascading rivers.
 |
The pretty towns of
Crickhowell and Brecon are
ideally situated for exploring
the Beacons and Black Mountains.
One of the best-known places to
stay is Hay-on-Wye, the
internationally famous ‘town
of books’. Hay is well
located not only for the National
Park but also for Mid Wales’
beguiling border country. |
The
borderlands, a mixture of rich farmland,
rounded hills, hidden valleys and sleepy
villages, have a timeless quality.
Further west, undulating hills rise into
the ‘Wild Wales’ of moor and
mountain. Mynydd Epynt, the
‘Mountain of the Wild Ponies’,
and the spectacular Elan Valley lakes lie
along the flank of the Cambrian
Mountains, the sturdy
‘backbone’ of Wales. These
remote areas are a haven for wildlife and
the haunt of the Red Kite, the rare bird
of prey that has flourished here and
become a symbol for the hills of central
Wales.
The quartet of interesting old spa towns
– Llandrindod Wells, Llanwrtyd
Wells, Builth Wells and Llangammarch
Wells - and places like Rhayader and
Lyswen, are other good centres for
exploring the area.
Rivers have helped shape the landscape of
the area, creating beautiful valleys as
they flow from their headwaters in the
mountains. Two of Wales’ classic
rivers - the Wye and Usk - originate in
this region. The source of the Wye is in
the Cambrian Mountains and from here the
river flows southwards through Rhayader,
Builth Wells and Hay in a stunning
valley, wild at first but maturing into
rich farmland along the way. The Usk
begins life in the moors of the western
Brecon Beacons, then creates a major
landscape feature in the National Park by
carving a spectacular valley through the
mountains on its course from Brecon to
Crickhowell.
In
the south of the area, the Monmouthshire
and Brecon Canal weaves a wooded course
along the shoulder of the Usk Valley from
Brecon to Crickhowell and beyond, flanked
throughout by the Brecon Beacons and
Black Mountains. It’s easily the
most restful way of exploring the
National Park.
Good food and
hospitality
One of the
pleasures of any holiday is good food.
The menu in Mid Wales satisfies all
tastes - you’ll find everything from
traditional, good-value meals at country
inns to memorable dining experiences at
accomplished restaurants and hotels
serving some of the finest cuisine in
Britain.
The award-winning
restaurants of Mid Wales’ are often
part of a Country House Hotel, serving
fine food in elegant surroundings. Mid
Wales’ historic coaching inns and
friendly pubs are becoming as well known
for their food as their beer. Imaginative
menus with a good vegetarian choice are
easy to find throughout the region. For
something a little more informal there
are bistros, cafés and tea rooms where
welshcakes and bara brith, a kind of
fruit loaf, are a delicious tea-time
treat.
Activities
You can get to grips with Mid
Wales’ great outdoors in so
many ways. Walkers have the
choice of everything from gentle
riverside trails to mountain
hikes. Anglers can cast a fly for
Salmon, Trout and Grayling and
the region is also popular for
its sailing, canoeing and canal
cruising. Golfers have the pick
of friendly 9- and 18- hole
courses, most of which come with
the bonus of spectacular views.
Pony trekkers head for the hills
throughout the region. And there
are all kinds of other pursuits
on offer, including caving and
cycling, quad biking and rally
driving, climbing and mountain
biking
|
|
Walking
- There’s no doubt about it -
Mid Wales and walkers were made for each
other. There’s walking for every
level here, from easy-to-follow woodland
paths to challenging long-distance routes
across the ‘Roof of Wales’. The
Brecon Beacons National Park is a
favourite amongst outdoor enthusiasts for
the rare sense of freedom that comes from
being amongst its open mountainsides and
big skies. Slightly further to the north
the Wye valley and the green heart of
Wales offer a varied terrain for walkers,
as undulating border country rises into
wild mountains and steep-sided river
valleys. Walkers can also follow
long-distance routes such as the
Offa’s Dyke Path and Wye Valley
Walk.
Surrounding
highlights
Within an hours
drive are many superb countryside areas
such as the Cambrian Mountains, the
coastline of Cardigan Bay, the Welsh
Marches and the Cotswolds as are the
cities of Cardiff, Swansea and Hereford.
A little further away is the beautiful
Pembrokeshire Coast National Park
at the south western extremity of Wales.
When to visit
The countryside of
this area of mid Wales changes character
with the seasons, inviting exploration
365 days of the year. In spring and early
summer you can escape to fresh, green
landscapes and feast your eyes on
dazzling displays of bluebells in the
woods. High summer is the time to enjoy
the airy views from the high country that
fills much of central Wales - the
panorama from Pen-y-fan, the summit of
the Brecon Beacons, seems to go on
forever. Autumn invites brisk activity -
a walk, perhaps, or cycle ride. And at
the end of the year, crisp days in the
countryside followed by cosy nights at an
old country inn are the perfect antidote
to winter gloom. The distinctive,
flat-topped summits of the Beacons are
equally impressive in their summer
greenery and their mantle of winter snow.
|
