Fan y Big - 15 October 2006

Had a great day out yesterday in the Brecon Beacons.
The forecast gave hill fog and high winds, but hey, what’s new!

We planned a route from the pass between Pontsticill and Talybont up to the summit of Fan y Big, with the obligatory ‘Diving Board’ photograph, descending via a gentle bimble along the Roman Road and then walking the last section back to the van through the old abandoned railway tunnel.

I picked up my walking buddy, Alan, and his son Rob and after an hour in the van we set off, straight into a staircase climb to the top of Craig y Fan Ddu. No gentle walk in and warm up - not a nice way to start the day. Almost 800 feet in half a mile.

They were not joking about the 45 MPH gusts along the top, but I stayed comfortable with a long sleeved Montane Sportwool tee (from Bob) and an Montane Windsmock. I was amazed how warm this incredibly lightweight combo was. Al had a 100 weight microfleece under his windsmock and he said that it easily matched his heavier and bulkier Windstopper garments.

We got blown along the ridge to the summit of Fan y Big and stood on the Diving Board for the summit photo. Some imbecile has defaced the Diving Board stone and the surrounding rocks by spraying graffiti in bright yellow and orange paint. It was heartbreaking.

We waded through a huge group of puffing kids (must be from Storey Arms) and made the toe killing decent down the Roman Road that cuts through the pass between Fan y Big and Cribyn. The road has been terribly damaged by 4WD vehicles; it won’t be long before it is un-drivable – bloody good too. The road follows the Taff Trail down to the pass and back to the van, but we had one last adventure planned before we hit the pub.

There is an old railway tunnel that you can enter at SO 050 170. It‘s one of the highest railway tunnels ever built in Britain and linked Merthyr Tydfil to Brecon. I believe it’s been closed since the early sixties and at 666 yards long, it oozes spookiness. We walked through it a couple of years ago, with only the tiniest Maglite between us. The tunnel curves so there is no light or sound at all, just a gentle dripping. When we walked it last, the walk in was a little damp, but the tunnel is bone dry.

When we arrived at the entrance yesterday, the walk in was flooded with a couple of feet of water and the only way down would be to abseil. We didn’t have rope with us and after a quick scout around we had to give up and save the experience for drier times.

It seems moto-cross bikes have taken a liking to this area and we saw several bikes riding illegally on the hills. I was walking here during the summer with the Tawe Trekkers and we were buzzed by dozens of bikes who tore up Torpantau, shredding the grassy paths to bits. BBNPA – Please do something about this – it is becoming dangerous and either a walker or rider will be killed (impaled on a Leki by an irate rambler!).

We had a great pint in front a log fire in the Red Cow, in the village of Pontsticill. Very walker friendly and well worth a visit.

You can download a Memory Map route of the walk here.