Featured Tour - Cwm Graig Ddu (Black Rock) to Brecon Beacons
Spring is almost upon us, the nights are getting lighter and even daffodils are starting to pop up! Therefore Richard is getting ready for another busy season of Welsh Overland Safari tours.
In preparation Richard has shared some of the highlights of the Cwm Graid Ddu (Black Rock) to Brecon Beacons tour, which featured in the recent Around and About Builth Wells Winter 2021 edition;
“From Builth drive west towards Garth drop down into Garth take the left turn to Upper Chapel drive approx 2.5 miles straight up on to Mynydd Epynt the largest of the area that makes up the Sennybridge training area the other smaller one is Mynydd Blwch – y- groes. On the left as you ascend Cwm Graig Ddu you will see the black rocks which it is named after, as you near the top look right you will see the Irfon valley sweeping around. A little further around the double bends over the cattle grid, don’t worry about the red flag you won’t be shot today, pull in 150 meters on the left and marvel at the views if you go to the Red kite viewing point you lose a lot of the panorama as plantations shield the views.
Head straight back down to Dolmenyn cross roads, turn left head for Llangammarch past the barium waters tower built in 1892. Carry on to Llangammarch turn left up high street straight on to Cefn Gorwydd, don’t miss the giraffes called Twiggy and Twiglet. On your way through to Tirabad a village built mainly for forestry workers, turn left for Llywel on to the military range as you turn right go about 250 meters look to the left you will see the range rising up this is where the last people to leave the Epynt lived a farm called Gwarbeddog this was one of the 54 farms taken for training early in 1940 there were 219 people left without a home.
3 miles from Tirabad on the left you will find FIBUA meaning fighting in built up urban areas a training village built about 30 years ago 26 houses and a Church, see what you can see at the top left hand corner of the village just in front of the trees PLEASE do not venture off the road stay on the Tirabad Llewyl road.
Carrying on and you will see Dixies corner very prominent on the rallying circuit, from here carry on to the exit where you will find the first dual carriage way in Britain.
On to Trecastle then to Sennybridge then turn right on the way out of Sennybridge and turn right to Defynnog, here in the Church yard of St Cynogs you will find the 5,600 year old yew tree older than Stonehenge and the Pyramids. In the porch there is a 5th century Roman tombstone with a 7th to 9th century Celtic Cross lightly engraved on it, you could stop for lunch at the International Welsh Rarebit Centre.
Head up the Swansea valley past Dan -y - Ogof show caves to Craig y Nos castle once home to the famous opera singer Adalina Patti stop and look at the different ages of architecture.
From here carry on to Pen y Cae, turn left for Henrhydd falls the highest in the Brecon Beacons 90 feet high well worth a visit be careful it can be dangerous walking over stones.
From here head to Glyn Neath up the Heads of the valleys, turn for Brecon through Penderyn past the distillery onto Cadair fawr, then turn for Ystradfellte follow the road past water fall country up on to Blean Llyr, you will see the remains of a grand old house where the Drovers slept over on their way to London, the animals were herded in behind the house. As you look up Blean Llyr you will see a thin pencil like object as you draw nearer it gets much larger it is in fact a 4000 year old, old red sand stone standing stone 3.6 meter high.
From here marvel at the views across to the Epynt ranges down the Devils Elbow, from here to Heol Senni on to Libanas and then to Brecon a visit to the canal basin is a real treat from here back to Builth.”