A moderate route in Brecon Beacons. Check the GPS track on Outdooractive for full details of the route, waypoints, and terrain.
Starting Point: Car park, Ffrwdgrech Road (SO 024 248)
Terrain: Field path, track south, steady then steep ascent, Twyn Cil-rhew flank, ridge path, Cefn Cwm Llwch, final scramble, Pen y Fan summit, Beacons Way southwest, Corn Du summit, descent, Cambrian Way, Craig Cwm Llwch descent, Tommy Jones obelisk, path northwest then northeast, Llyn Cwm Llwch, path north, Cwm-llwch, road, Nant Cwm Llwch, Taff Trail, road back Notable features: Ffrwdgrech Road, Twyn Cil-rhew, Cefn Cwm Llwch, Pen y Fan (886m — highest peak in southern Britain), Beacons Way, Corn Du (871m), Cambrian Way, Craig Cwm Llwch, Tommy Jones Obelisk (SO 001 218), Llyn Cwm Llwch, Cwm-llwch, Nant Cwm Llwch, Taff Trail
A magnificent circuit of the two highest peaks in southern Britain, approached by the infinitely more rewarding eastern ridge rather than the tourist motorway from the Storey Arms. The ascent via Cefn Cwm Llwch delivers the summits with a sense of scale and wildness that the southern approach, busy as it is, cannot quite match, and the views from the ridge are outstanding from the moment height is gained. Pen y Fan at 886 metres is every bit the summit its reputation promises — the flat-topped roof of southern Britain with a panorama that extends to the Bristol Channel and beyond. Corn Du is a fine companion. The descent on the Cambrian Way above Craig Cwm Llwch brings the walk's most contemplative moment — the Tommy Jones obelisk on the ridge above Llyn Cwm Llwch, marking the spot where a five-year-old boy was found twenty-nine days after he disappeared, at a height that remains inexplicable. The lake below is beautiful and haunted in equal measure. The return through Cwm-llwch and along the Taff Trail is a gentle and pleasant close to a walk of the highest quality.