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BRECON BEACONS HORSESHOE RIDGE WALK
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START - Neuadd car park
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*****
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Passing through Neuadd Reservoir. (illustrated: the
reservoir at dawn). The reservoir opened in 1884 to provide water
for the town of Merthyr Tydfil. |
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Once through the reservoir gate there are two path
options to the ridge, the left is now far easier under foot after
the recent laying of a pathway. See photo below
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| Close to the top of the gully route
is the wreckage of Spitfire
X4588 |
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| Spitfire X4588 crashed at Gwaun Fan
Ddu On 23rd May 1942 on a formation flying exercise from RAF Llandow
this spitfire crashed into the mountain top above Gwaun Nant Ddu. A
small error in navigation and bad weather are the reasons given for the
crash. The pilot Sgt D.P. Carruthers was killed. A small amount of
wreckage remains at this hard to find location.
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| Once you've found the crash site and paid homage to Sgt Carruthers head
east back to the ridge path and turn left towards Corn-Du & Pen-y-Fan.
At Bwlch Duwynt the Pont ar Daf path joins from the left and then path
splits, carry straight on up to the top of Corn-Du. |
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Corn Du
873 metres, 2864 feet |
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Corn Du (873 metres, 2864 feet) is the second highest peak in the Brecon
Beacons and the 22nd highest in Wales. It sits proudly next to
Pen-y-Fan, the pair are as inseparable as twins only close up photos of
either peak will leave out the other. The Tommy Jones obelisk stands on
it's western flank above the beautiful Cwm Llwch with it's lake Llyn Cwn
Llwch far below. In 1900, 5 year old Tommy was lost on his journey to the nearby Login and
died, the obelisk marks the spot where he was found.
Corn Du is the Welsh for Black Horn. |
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Proctor NP216 - Corn Du -
12th January 1945. There is nothing left of this wreckage which was
taken away after the crash.
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Pen y Fan
886 mts - 2906 ft |
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Pen y Fan is probably the most well known and most
climbed mountain in southern Britain. On a summer's day crowds of
walkers can be seen in the distance like an army of ants climbing the
main path up towards it's summit. The mountain itself is not a
spectacular sight but the views from it on a clear day can be
breathtaking. The cairn at the summit was originally a Bronze Age burial chamber. It was excavated in 1991
and a bronze brooch and spearhead were found inside the chamber. |
| Take the path on the south eastern corner of the summit of
Pen-y-Fan and head down the Craig Cwm Sere ridge towards towards Cribyn. Looking
back over your left shoulder you will see another crash site on the north east
face of Pen-y-Fan. |
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Spitfire X4913 - Pen-y-Fan -
3rd November 1941 - Flying out of Llandow in South Wales on an
operational training exercise, F/Sgt Gardner flew straight into the
north east face of Pen-y-Fan. The plane went on record infamously as the
longest 'lost on land' plane in Britain during WWII. It took nine months
before it was found.
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Cribyn
795 mts - 2608 ft |
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Cribyn is the 46th
highest mountain in Wales. In common with other peaks of the Brecon Beacons, the upper slopes of Cribyn are formed from sandstones of the Brownstones Formation of the Old Red Sandstone laid down during the Devonian period. The lower slopes of the hill are formed from sandstones and mudstones of the underlying Senni Beds Formation. The rock strata tilt gently southward like the rest of the peaks in the range. The heads of Cwm Sere and Cwm
Cynwyn, to the northwest and east of Cribyn respectively, nurtured small glaciers during the last ice age and there are rock moraines at the foot of the cliffs. The glacial erosion resulted in the very steep northern and eastern faces which the hill possesses. |
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Fan y Big
716 mts - 2351 ft |
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A subsidiary summit of Waun Rydd, Fan-y-Big (Point of
the Peak) has a unique rocky viewing platform called the diving
board. The steep climb to the summit is well worth the effort for the
stunning views afforded from this point. Fan y Big is the 78th
highest mountain in Wales. |
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