BRECON BEACONS NATIONAL PARK & MOUNTAIN RAILWAY | WALES - UK
BRECON BEACONS NATIONAL PARK & MOUNTAIN RAILWAY (WALES - UK)
The Brecon Beacons National Park was established in 1957. It was one of the first ten national parks to be created in Britain. The intention was to safeguard their beautiful, rough and dramatic landscapes, considered a priceless national asset.
Established in 1957, the Brecon Beacons National Park is the youngest of the three national parks in Wales. The other two Welsh national parks, Snowdonia and the Pembrokeshire Coast, were created earlier in the 1950s, along with important English national parks such as the Peak District, the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales.
In 1965, the National Trust became the landowner of much of the common land in the Central Beacons, paving the way for the park’s development as a conservation area and tourist destination.
The National Park Authority later acquired other important tracts of land.
In 2000, the area around Blaenavon was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in recognition of its significance in the production of iron and coal in the 19th century.
In 2005, Fforest Fawr became the first UNESCO European Geopark in Wales and in 2013, the night sky above the Brecon Beacons was granted special protection when the park was designated an International Dark Sky Reserve.
HOW TO GET HERE
By public transport :To look up public transport routes and timetables, contact Traveline Cymru (tel 0871 200 22 33, traveline-cymru.info).
Train : There are hourly direct trains to Abergavenny on the Cardiff-Manchester line, and good connections from other cities.
There are trains to Merthyr Tydfil from Cardiff and Pontypridd every half hour, taking one hour.
Llandovery is on the Heart of Wales line, with trains from Llanelli, Swansea and Shrewsbury four times a day.
For timetables and fares, contact National Rail Enquiries (tel 08457 484950, nationalrail.co.uk). Book ahead for the cheapest tickets.
Coach: Coach travellers can get to Abergavenny, Cardiff, Neath or Swansea with National Express (nationalexpress.com) or to Cardiff or Swansea with Megabus (megabus.com). Both these companies will carry bikes if packed in boxes, bags or cases.
Bus: It’s easy to travel to the Brecon Beacons National Park from South Wales and Hereford by bus.
Regular services run to our National Park daily. The T4 runs from Cardiff to Newtown via Brecon. The T6 runs from Swansea to Brecon.
The X55 Cymru Clipper service from Swansea and Neath now runs to Pontneddfechan, serving both the Angel Inn and Dinas Rock, providing easy access to Waterfall Country
By car :The Brecon Beacons National Park is within easy reach of the M4, M50 and A40.
For directions and an estimate of your journey time, search the AA journey planner (theaa.com/route-planner).
BRECON BEACON
The Brecon Beacons National Park (Welsh: Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog) is one of three national parks in Wales, and is centred on the Brecon Beacons range of hills in southern Wales. It includes the Black Mountain (Welsh: Y Mynydd Du) in the west, Fforest Fawr (Great Forest) and the Brecon Beacons in the centre and the Black Mountains (Welsh: Y Mynyddoedd Duon) in the east.
The Brecon Beacons National Park was established in 1957, the third of the three Welsh parks after Snowdonia in 1951 and the Pembrokeshire Coast in 1952. It stretches from Llandeilo in the west to Hay-on-Wye in the northeast and Pontypool in the southeast, covering 519 square miles (1,340 km2) and encompassing four main regions – the Black Mountain in the west, reaching 802 metres (2631 feet) at Fan Brycheiniog, Fforest Fawrand the Brecon Beacons in the centre, including the highest summit in the park and in South Wales at Pen y Fan 886 metres (2,907 feet) and the confusingly named Black Mountains in the east, where the highest point is Waun Fach 811 metres (2,661 feet). The western half gained European and global status in 2005[1] as Fforest Fawr Geopark. This includes the Black Mountain, the historic extent of Fforest Fawr, and much of the Brecon Beacons and surrounding lowlands.
The entire national park achieved the status of being an International Dark Sky Reserve in February 2013.
Most of the national park is bare, grassy moorland grazed by Welsh mountain ponies and Welsh mountain sheep, with scattered forestry plantations, and pasture in the valleys. It is known for its remote reservoirs, waterfalls including the 90-foot (27 m) Henrhyd Waterfalland the falls at Ystradfellte, and its caves, such as Ogof Ffynnon Ddu. The Brecon Beacons Mountain Centre was opened in 1966 to help visitors understand and enjoy the area. Ravens, peregrine falcons, wheatears, ring ouzels, and the rare merlin breeds in the park. The red kite can also be spotted.
Due to the relative remoteness and harsh weather of some of its uplands, the park is used for military training. UK Special Forces, including the SAS and SBS hold demanding selection training exercises here, such as an exercise called the Fan dance. The infantry regiments of the British Army train at Sennybridge, where NCO selection also takes place.
The Brecon Beacons National Park Authority is a special purpose local authority with wide-ranging responsibilities for the conservation and enhancement of the landscape and the promotion of its enjoyment by the public, and in particular exercises planning functions across the designated area of the park. The park extends across the southern part of Powys, the northwestern part of Monmouthshire and parts of eastern Carmarthenshire. It also includes the northernmost portions of several of the unitary authority areas which are centred on the coalfield communities to the south and including the county boroughs of Neath Port Talbot, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Merthyr Tydfil and Blaenau Gwent together with very small parts of Caerphilly and Torfaen.
Numerous town and community councils operate within these areas and include those for Brecon and Hay on Wye (town councils) and Cefn Coed; Llanfihangel Cwmdu with Bwlch and Cathedine; Llangattock; Llangors; Llanthony; Llywel; Pontsticill, Pontsarn and Vaynor; Talybont-on-Usk; Trallong; Trecastle and Ystradfellte (all community councils).
Outdoor activities in the park include walking, cycling, mountain biking, horse riding, as well as sailing, windsurfing, canoeing and fishing, rock climbing, hang-gliding, caravanning, camping and caving. A long-distance cycling route, the Taff Trail, passes over the Beacons on its way from Brecon to Cardiff, and in 2005 the first walk to span the entire length of the Brecon Beacons National Park was opened. The 100-mile (161 km) route, called the Beacons Way, runs from Abergavenny via Ysgyryd Fawr in the east and ends in the village of Llangadog in Carmarthenshire in the west.
A Road Trip Across The Brecon Beacons
A 10 minute trip across the Brecon Beacons in Wales, sped up by 4 to last only 2.5 minutes
Brecon Beacons National Park | Wikipedia audio article
This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article:
00:00:24 1 Description
00:02:53 2 Local government
00:04:07 3 Activities
00:04:52 4 Brecon Mountain Railway
00:05:07 5 See also
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SUMMARY
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The Brecon Beacons National Park (Welsh: Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog) is one of three national parks in Wales, and is centred on the Brecon Beacons range of hills in southern Wales. It includes the Black Mountain (Welsh: Y Mynydd Du) in the west, Fforest Fawr (Great Forest) and the Brecon Beacons in the centre and the Black Mountains (Welsh: Y Mynyddoedd Duon) in the east.
Pen y Fan
Pen y Fan /pɛn.ə.ˈvæn/ is the highest peak in South Wales and the southern United Kingdom, situated in the Brecon Beacons National Park. At 886 metres (2,907 ft) above sea-level, it is also the highest British peak south of Cadair Idris in Snowdonia. The twin summits of Pen y Fan and Corn Du were formerly referred to as Cadair Arthur or 'Arthur's Seat'.
The summit lies on a ridge stretching from Talybont Reservoir in the east, to the A470. 500 m (1,600 ft) west lies the subsidiary top of Corn Du, beyond which the terrain drops at a moderate angle to the subsidiary top of Y Gyrn then more steeply to the Storey Arms on the A470. To the east, the ridge drops steeply to the col connecting it to Cribyn, the next mountain along the ridge. From Corn Du, a gentle ridge descends south towards Merthyr Tydfil.
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