UK Mountains Expedition Report

I've been to the Brecons many times and climbed every peak more than once but it's an area that I love and there are always challenges and variety.

So it was that I pulled into the car park opposite the Storey Arms on a cold but clear December morning with a plan in mind.

Most people head up Pen-y-Fan from here because it's the 'big one' but the area to the West of the A470 is every bit as nice, has some great climbs, plenty of opportunity to get off the standard paths and, importantly for me, peace and quiet away from the tourists. Perhaps I should not say that for fear of inviting others to share my mountains.

It was a cold morning, so I had my Scarpa Boots, Fjallraven Trousers, Helly Hansen base layer, Stellar mid-layer and my new Rab Kinetic jacket. Coupled with that, Rab beanie and Rab Power stretch gloves. Reviews of all these are on the Equipment Review page should you be interested. No rain was predicted but I cannot get out of the habit of carrying waterproofs and an emergency shelter so they were in the rucsac, as was my Rab Down Jacket as a 'just in case' item.

Thinking it wouldn't be long before at least one layer came off, I headed off and straight up Fan Fawr which is a steep but rewarding climb, topping out at 734m with amazing views all around. I was on the top and it just after 9:00am - fantastic! I still had all my layers on! For me to climb like that and still be in three layers meant it was seriously cold.

From here my route headed South West towards the reservoir. I'd planned to cross it at the head rather than trying to find a way across the main feeder. It is an enormous catching feature and given that it was a clear day, navigation presented no problems, although it does not come into view until quite low down, but the shape of the surrounding mountains and streams is a give-away.

Some new development was being built at the head so I decided to walk on the water side of the wall. Easy going and no problems, although it would be a different story if the reservoir were full. A few minutes later I hopped over the wall and the stile and started up for the ascent of Fan Llia. I decided to declare a drink break so found a comfortable tree and dug out my trusty flask which contained hot blackcurrant - a firm favourite of mine. Coupled with a power bar, my 10:00am snack went down a treat.

It was too cold to sit around for long, although being in some trees I was well sheltered from the biting wind. Heading off, the route went steeply up, occasionally using paths, but mostly taking a direct route to the summit which consisted of a large cairn. From here an easy walk to Fan Dringarth along the ridge. The latter does not appear in the mountain tables book as it is not a distinct peak, but the 'summit' can be found near to some small crags. Turning directly West, all of my height was steadily lost as I descended to Maen Llia, a large standing stone with some history dating back over 4,000 years, according to the well-placed information stone, designed to mimic the main stone. As often is the case with such things, it is mostly speculation as to its reason for being; marking an important site, marking a route, coincidence due to glacier movements etc. Either way, it is a good landmark to aim for as it is close to a stile to cross the fence to the road and also close to an easy crossing of a very wet and muddy stream that blocks the way.

My final ascent peak on the outward route lay ahead; Fan Nedd, the summit of which is out of sight at this point so a general upward trend was sufficient, although there is a path on the ridge to the right, again I took the direct route aiming for a cairn I had seen on the previous descent. From there, the trig point and summit were in view a hundred metres or so ahead. Bad visibility would not be too serious here as the path is pretty obvious.

Touch and go, I was on the return journey back down the way I had come to Maen Llia and lunch. There was no shelter here and so my Rab jacket came out to combat the wind which had now picked up quite considerably. I stopped long enough to eat my sandwich and a couple of cups of warming blackcurrant before stripping off the Rab and setting off to join the Roman Road that would take me all the way to the foot of Fan Frynych on easy ground.

It was a pleasant walk, but rocky and icy in places so still required some concentration to avoid a slip. Sarn Helen at the end of the road is a very pleasant lightly wooded area that I had used as a bivvy site some years ago which bought back some nice memories. My route lay up the stream with Fan Frynych on my left. the path starts easily enough but soon deteriorated into a grassy scramble, making the final ascent tough on the legs, but great fun and rewarding as the top came into sight. A slight detour left bagged the summit and it was then a case of walking over to the ridge and following it parallel to the A470. Some 20-30 minutes later I arrived at the car park for a welcoming coffee and bacon roll.

It had been a great day out with about 15-16 miles covered without seeing a single person. Starting just after 8:30am and getting back to the car for about 3:00pm left me with an extra hour of daylight which was perfect. My gear worked well and was just right for the conditions. The hat and gloves were off and on a couple of times but no surprises there. As I drove down the A470 and on my way home I felt very pleased at having had a satisfying day out all to myself in the mountains.