Nant Crew and Nant Ddu 2009

Catadupae et cataractae ad infinitum.

This was a walk to cover the last two remaining waterfall areas mentioned in the book that I had not looked at before, both on the west side of the southerly trending ridge from Corn Du. Nant Crew supposedly has 9 waterfalls, and Nant Ddu supposedly has 7. However, it is clear that the book author never made it to the top of the valleys. Nant Crew has several waterfalls beyond the last one mentioned in the book, including the largest of all of its waterfalls. Nant Ddu seems to be a constant series of cascades and waterfalls, making it impossible to work out which ones are actually mentioned in the book.

Nant Ddu is shown as being an almost inaccessible valley, where only a determined walker or assault course trainee may reach the end. Indeed, its lower end is pretty poor, with steep sides, no proper paths, and lots of undergrowth to trip over. However, its upper end is not so bad, and once past the first few waterfalls, it's not too difficult to make progress, though there is a lot of bracken, the odd bit of gorse, and lots of boggy ground hiding under club rushes.

The route followed Nant Crew on the way up, then up over the wide ridge separating it from Nant Ddu, down Nant Ddu, and back along the road between the two valleys. It took a total of 4.5 hours.

• Map of the Brecon Beacons National Park, showing the locations of the various mountains and ranges.
• Nant Crew, starting as farmland, with a stile giving access on the right side of the river.
• Weir near the bottom of the river, above where it flows into the Cantref Reservoir.
• View up to the end of the valley. The last waterfalls are at the far end, just before the ridge in the distance, where the river swings left.
• The first waterfall. The top is artificial, though with a fallen tree stuck on the top, it looks quite natural.
• Nant Crew, with a small cascade above the first waterfall.
• A tiny cascade, which seems to be what the book refers to as the second waterfall. Perhaps it looks more impressive in flood.
• Small cascade above it. You may notice the path (if such a thing exists) is now on the left bank. Heading upstream involves repeatedly crossing the stream to pick up the easier bank. It's not too bad, since the bottom is not very slippery, and there are plenty of stones to step on. The path doesn't really exist. Just make it up.
• A pretty little waterfall nestled in its little cove is what the book refers to as the third waterfall. The bright Old Red Sandstone really sets the other colours off very well.
• Cascade above the third waterfall.
• Meanders in the middle part of the Crew valley, between Cefn Crew on the left, and Gwaun Nant Ddu on the right. Pick a side. Swap. Swap. Swap. Swap.
• A series of cascades are referred to as the fourth waterfall.
• Cascades.
• Montage of two shots from a sequence of a buzzard in flight. Sadly, with the wrong lens attached.
• The first properly natural vertical waterfall is referred to as the fifth waterfall. It's a good couple of metres high, and is certainly one of the nicest on the river, despite not being as big as some of the later ones.
• The forecast predicted a few snow showers, then decided to change it to wintry showers. They should have stuck with the first choice. There were a few of these showers, where the wind pelted the snow quite painfully. Thankfully, each shower lasted only about 10 minutes, though that was still enough to get snow on the lens.
• A smaller step, with the book's sixth waterfall.
• A smaller step with a cascade is the seventh waterfall in the book.
• At last a decent height waterfall appears. At around 6 metres tall, this is the eighth and tallest waterfall in the book. It mentions the tree being in the way. I rather like it, though sadly it does not give a good sense of the scale of this impressive waterfall. In flood, it must be truly amazing.
• A small cascade above is the ninth and last waterfall mentioned in the book. The GPS told me the top waterfall I had marked from the 1:25'000 Explorer map was still upstream, and something caught my eye up there, so I continued upwards.
• It turned out there was a 3 metre cascading waterfall just upstream, with its own freezing snow shower.
• Cascade, marred by a drip on my lens.
• Cascade.
• Cascade.
• Cascade, showing the beautiful natural colours of the old red sandstone, the rock that makes most of the big peaks in the Brecon Beacons.
• Completely unexpected, this extremely tall waterfall is easily the tallest on the river (or by now a stream), at least 8 metres tall, with a secondary small fall below it.
• The waterfall's amphitheatre.
• Just above is the top waterfall, and a suitable place to leave the river.
• Looking downstream, the route heads onto Gwaun Nant Ddu on the left. There is no path up (though there are some sheep tracks heading horizontally). It is very steep and 150 metres high, but not too difficult. Just head to the right of the crag that runs along the top on the right side of the valley (looking upstream).
• Beautiful lighting on Blaen Crew, the head of the valley. The snow-cloudbase is around 750 metres. I did also have some pictures that showed the Craig y Byllfa crags on the left, but the light on this picture was so perfect, no crags could possibly compete.
• Cascade in Blaen Crew.
• Crossing Gwaun Nant Ddu towards the top of Nant Ddu, with Cadair Fawr (485 metres) in the distance in Fforest Fawr. The terrain is almost featureless, and the deep grass often hides boggy patches. I crossed a whole 2 paths here, and met the only people on the entire walk, who had lost the ridge path. This area is so unfrequented.
• Rain pouring over Merthyr Tydfil, with Garn Ddu (462 metres) and Cefn Cil-Sanws (461 metres) in front of it.
• The breathtaking view over Nant Ddu, with the Twyn Mwyalchod ridge on the far side.
• Small waterfall on the tributaries feeding Nant Ddu.
• Tributary cascade.
• Tributary cascades.
• Tributary waterfalls.
• Pony in the valley - looks pregnant.
• Tributary cascades.
• Tributary waterfall.
• Stream cascade.
• Small fall on the stream. After this, it is joined by the main tributaries, and becomes large enough to make proper waterfalls. The book, however, does not make it this far up the stream.
• Top waterfall, about 4 metres high.
• Cascades.
• Green cascade.
• The photographer. Beware the effects of blundering around alone up and down rivers, trussed up with all manner of straps, with camera, tripod, bag, GPS, map, walking poles, and all kinds of photography paraphernalia. This could happen to you.
• Stepped cascade.
• Trident cascade.
• Cascade on a sloping shelf. This must make an impressive waterfall in flood.
• Upper waterfall, which I suspect is the seventh and last waterfall in the book. It is around 5 metres high, and is the first properly big waterfall.
• Looking upstream along the valley.
• Green and orange cascade.
• Shelf cascade.
• Shelf waterfall - I think this is the sixth waterfall in the book.
• The upper of a series of cascades...
• ...which add up to a proper height waterfall, into a canyon. I think this is the fifth waterfall in the book.
• In the canyon.
• Exit from the canyon. There is no path on either side. Just follow sheep tracks, and try not to slip.
• 4-5 metre spout waterfall, which is the fourth in the book. Be warned that there is a large boulder on its way to falling into the river, right beside where the camera was. The top of the boulder is grassed over, and the fracture is not visible from the top. Take great care not to stand on the boulder.
• A beautiful 5 metre waterfall drops down into another mossy canyon - which is the third waterfall in the book.
• Canyon.
• No sooner does that canyon end, than the next one starts.
• The lowest proper waterfall lies at the head of the canyon. It is by far the best of all, for its setting, appearance, and for the fact that it manages to produce rainbows in the spray. This is the second waterfall in the book (where it also shows a rainbow).
• The rest of the river is fenced, but suitable crossings (without damanging them) gives access to the weirs. There is also a track up on the right (when looking downstream) through the entire fenced section, which gives easiest access to the area, without having to cross too many fences. Be aware that it is private property though, and should be treated as such. Also note, the book mentions using the right bank when looking upstream, which has no track, but also is the only side to give access to the second and third waterfalls. I suggest using the track to get to the first waterfall, then cross the river to the side this picture was taken from. Alternatively, follow the track to its end, cross the river, then head downstream to see the third and second waterfalls.
• Weir.
• Weir.
• The bottom waterfall (if it deserves such a title), complete with sewer pipe. Fallen trees on the fence make easy crossing points to access the waterfall without any damage.
• Canyon below the waterfall.

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