The Beacons Way
Why walk the Beacons Way/ Ffordd y Bannau? Quite simply, because it’s the best upland long-distance trail in southern Britain, with the possible exception of the Cambrian Way. To catch a flavour of the experience, try my daily blogposts: The Beacons Way day by day
The Beacons Way is quite a young path: it was proposed in 2001 and opened in 2005. It’s a linear route, running from Ysgyryd Fawr (Skirrid Fawr, near Abergavenny) to Bethlehem (Llangadog), and was planned by John Sansom, a founder and leading member of the Brecon Beacons Park Society. Along with Arwel Michael and Chris Barber, he also prepared the first guidebook to the trail, published in the same year. John Sansom (1935-2006) was a keen walker, committed to improving access to the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park to other walkers. A plaque to his memory can be found near the Way above Cwm Mawr.
In practice, the Way begins in Abergavenny and ends in Llangadog, a total distance of 99 miles. It’s conventionally walked in eight stages, from east to west, with daily distances varying between 10 and 15 miles (I completed the Way in four two-day chunks).
The route is a winding one. It wanders quite long distances to north and south, in addition to the dominant direction of east to west, and in the last two days you walk almost a complete circle. The guidebook’s subtitle, ‘The Holy Mountain to Bethlehem’, betrays the spiritual inspiration for the course chosen by Sansom; Bethlehem is far from being an obvious end-point, but the name of the village must have seemed irresistible. The course of the Way has been changed in some details since the first version, especially on Day 7, but the Ordnance Survey app should give the current official route.
The National Park grades the walking challenge of each day, from Easy (Day 8), through Moderate (Days 3 and 5) and Hard (Days 1, 2, 6 and 7) to Strenuous (Day 4). I wouldn’t disagree.
In the course of the walk you’ll visit most of the landscape highlights of Bannau Brycheiniog. A few, like Pen y Fan, are popular or over-popular, but many seem to attract few people. On some days I met virtually nobody. Weather, of course, can be variable. I walked in September 2024 and April-May 2025 and was rewarded with mainly excellent walking conditions.
In good weather, navigation is straightforward on the whole, with the aid of the Ordnance Survey app and the guidebook, even on the bare mountain slopes. Signposts are sporadic and in need of renewal; you’ll not find many on the mountain tops. In bad weather things are trickier, and the guidebook offers alternative, lowland routes when mist descends. There’s very little road walking, and paths are generally reasonably easy to follow on the ground. I walked after sustained periods of dry weather, but in other weathers the ground will often be muddy or boggy.
I found accommodation close to the Way easy enough to find in the eastern and central parts of the Bannau, but the western section was difficult. I could find nowhere to stay close to Llanddeusant or Carreg Cennen, and needed to stay in Llandeilo overnight for Days 7-8, relying on taxis to take me to starting points. I used buses a good deal, and, towards the end, the wonderful Heart of Wales railway line.
The original guidebook is John Sanson and Arwel Michael, Ffordd y Bannau / The Beacons Way: the holy mountain to Bethlehem, 2005. There’s a more recent guide: Peter Wilson, The Beacons Way: a guide to walking the Beacons Way, 2020. For a guide to the geology to be seen along the way, see Dilys Harlow, The land of the Beacons Way: scenery and geology across the Brecon Beacons National Park, 2014.
The Beacons Way day by day
Day 1: Abergavenny to Llanthony
Wednesday 4 September 2024
Day 2: Llanthony to Crickhowell
Thursday 5 September 2024
Day 3: Crickhowell to Llangynidr
Monday 31 March 2025
Day 4: Llangynidr to Storey Arms
Tuesday 1 April 2025
Day 5: Storey Arms to Craig y Nos
Monday 7 April 2025
Day 6: Craig y Nos to Llanddeusant
Tuesday 7 April 2025
Day 7: Llanddeusant to Carreg Cennen
Friday 2 May 2025
Day 8: Carreg Cennen to Llangadog
Saturday 3 May 2025
