Heritage Trail
Industrial revolution, from when Wales led the World.
The Blorenge, seen from Llanfoist. My brother, Peter, joined us for the first day of this trail.
The tunnel under the canal.
Inside the tunnel.
Normally, the canal would be worth an extended visit, but it was empty for servicing, so this will be the only picture. The canal was used during the early industrial revolution to take coal and iron to the docks in Newport.
The path climbs a steep tramway up the face of The Blorenge, known as the Llanfoist Inclines. The sleeper blocks are still clearly visible.
Replicas of the tram trucks that were used on the inclines. They used a counterbalance system (loaded trucks go down using gravity, while pulling the empty trucks up via cables on a pulley) to avoid the need for horses.
Remains of a tunnel at one of the stations where trucks would pass from one incline to the next.
A tunnel that has not survived so well.
At the top of the inclines, the view opens out to show the steep face of The Blorenge. The route continues to the top of the fences.
The upper part of the Blorenge. The steep path to the summit is visible to the left, rising at 45° (wish the camera could do it justice). At the top of the walls, we follow the horizontal path.
All the effort of climbing is rewarded with a view over the Black Mountains, with Pen Cerrig-calch (701 metres) on the left, the unmistakable shape of the Sugar Loaf (596 metres) taking up most of the middle, and the Skirrid (486 metres) on the right.
Pen y Gadair Fawr (800 metres) with Waun Fach (811 metres) covered in cloud behind it.
A Chinook helicopter, identified by its characteristic shape and sound. This area is often used for RAF flying training, and several times we saw Hawks and Tornadoes flying past - none of which were slow enough for me to prepare my camera.
Hill's Tramroad, running around the Blorenge, has some excellent examples of sleeper blocks. It begins at the end of the stone walls.
The Blorenge Tunnel. The tramroad passes through it in order to remain on common land, instead of swinging into what was private land.
The tunnel is still open, though how long it remains that way with those newly planted trees threatening to break through it, remains to be seen..
The exit is a little lower, but still open.
Remains of a scour (I think), where water was used to wash off the soil and expose the iron ore below.
Gilwern Hill (441 metres) covered in quarries, once a very important source of limestone for use when extracting iron in the furnaces.
The Skirrid, and a great view of the landslide that split the peak and slid down 100 metres to create the secondary peak.
A rainbow on the edge of Gilwern Hill.
After crossing the road, large amounts of iron castoff show that something important must have happened here.
As we cross the field, a herd of sheep take a very strong liking to Claudio, and follow him wherever he goes. They say that Welsh men like to attract sheep, but it seems that we have a lot to learn from our European visitors.
Though very little remains to show for it, this area was once the Garnddyrys Forge. An entire village stood here, along with the ironworks. Now all that remains are the foundations of a few houses and reservoirs, and the collapsing remains of the tunnel that carried the tramroad.
The large slagheap, waste from the forge.
Slag. Not the promiscuous kind.
Tramroads at The Tumble valley.
Pwll Du, nestled between The Blorenge and Gilwern Hill, also once an entire village of quarriers, supplied the local ironworks with their limestone. Now all that remains are the quarries, foundations of the terraced houses, and the Lamb and Fox pub (which is still open). The area has seen a massive rise in attention after the Ogof Draenen cave system was found here, extending under all of the nearby mountains, and accessed through the entrance located just above the tree line on the right side of this picture.
Garnddyrys and the Sugar Loaf.
Pwll Du Quarry. Note the top of the balance shaft on the left side of the picture, and the ledge that runs across the quarry at that height.
The top of the balance shaft, which used water-filled tanks as a counterbalance to lift product from the bottom of the quarry. For cavers, a stream can be seen sinking below it, which probably feeds Black Beetle in Ogof Draenen.
At the quarry, the tramroad temporarily disappears, and the path becomes a very narrow, exposed sheep track along the remains of a ledge, high above the floor. It is also possible to invent a path over the top of the quarry, if you consider this one to be too unsafe.
The entrance to Siambri Ddu, a rare cave formed completely in Millstone Grit (quartz conglomerate) by the collapse of a piece of limestone cave underneath it. The collapse caused a shakehole to begin rising to the surface, but it stopped before it reached it, leaving a single chamber inside the caprock.
Part of the short passage leading into the large black chamber.
Entrance to the Pwll Du Tunnel - a 2.4 km tunnel that passes all the way through the mountain to Blaenavon. It was used as part of the horse/human-drawn railway to take limestone to Blaenavon and iron from Blaenavon. With only a single line, conflicts between trucks would need to be resolved by force.
Pwll Du stream, passing behind Gilwern Hill. Parts of this were used as scours, but have seen more use as coal tips, which line its edges.
The Dinas Rock on Llanelly Hill, a quarry, and the place where we would practice bouldering.
Blaen Dyar, commonly known as Buttons (after the family who used to live there), nestled between Gilwern Hill and Llanelly Hill.
The head of the Buttons waterfall.
Buttons Waterfall, which sees too much pollution in the water, and too much dumped rubbish.
Adit on Llanelly Hill.
The path over Llanelly Hill, once a tramroad, but now turned into farm track.
Buzzard.
Waunllapria, one of the villages that makes up the area collectively known as Llanelly Hill. This was my childhood home, in one of the houses seen in this picture. This view was pretty much the view from my bedroom window, with Mynydd Llangatwg (529 metres) on the left, Pen cerrig-calch, Pen y Gadair Fawr and the Sugar Loaf in the middle, and Gilwern Hill on the right.
Pinnacles on Mynydd Llangatwg, the near one being the Giant's Thumb, and the distant one being The Shepherd or the Giant's Little Finger.
The Clydach Gorge, my childhood playground, running between Llanelly Hill and Mynydd Llangatwg.
A small waterfall on the stream running from Waunllapria past the Llanelly Quarry. The stream used to pass through a tunnel here, but this has suffered severe collapse and landslide, though it seems to have remained stable for the last 10 years. I am quite disturbed by what looks suspiciously like a therapod dinosaur on the left side of the picture. I don't remember seeing it when taking the picture - I guess they just have better camouflage than we thought.
Llanelly Quarry. Note the smashed car for scale, and the thick band of shale between the upper dolomitic Dowlais limestone, and lower Gilwern Oolite limestone. The shale band is named the Llanelly Shales, after this quarry where it was discovered.
Llanelly Quarry Pot, the longest and deepest cave on Llanelly Hill, whose particularly difficult entrance series suffers from burrial under debris. Someone seems to be trying to work on it, but the right wall looks quite unstable at the moment.
Limekilns from the limeworks at the base of the quarry. These are relatively recent, dating from 1892.
More limekilns, almost disappearing under the undergrowth.
The quarry as seen from the bottom. The village is situated at the top of the quarry. The old railway line at the bottom (which passes over some superb viaducts in the direction of the picture) dates to the later portion of the industrial revolution, and has recently been converted into a cycle trail.
The lower portion of the Clydach Gorge, containing the North and South Clydach villages. The large road is the Heads of the Valleys Road, and is putting the gorge at risk, as it will most likely be converted into a dual carriageway in the near future.
Beechwoods in the Clydach Gorge.
Stone arches supporting the sides of the railway cutting.
Arches supporting the embankment.
The sky is up that way.
Waterfall gully.
Cwm Pwca, a small valley spilling into the Clydach Gorge. This is said to be the inspiration and setting for the home of the faries in Shakespear's A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Cwm Pwca marks the start of several tunnels; two railway tunnels, and two tunnels carrying the stream water through the railway embankment.
Entrance to the railway tunnels. The one of the left is blocked, and does not drain itself well. The one on the right is open and can be followed all the way through, so guess where we're going.
Light at the start of the tunnel.
The tunnels contain several arches so that people walking through them can take cover from the passing trains. The first arch also contains an odd passage connecting it to the other tunnel. And may I say that I love the composition of this picture.
Near the other end, a small passage provides a damp link to the other tunnel.
The exit from the tunnels, where a mine adit spills water into a nearby stream.
Beech trees on the way to the Clydach River.
Taking pictures in the Clydach Gorge.
The side stream is stained orange from the iron minerals in the water from the adit.
Pwll y Cwm, the 14 metre deep pothole resurgence, where the water from the Llangatwg cave systems returns to the surface.
Taking pictures in the Clydach Gorge.
Devil's Waterfall, where the River Clydach drops 10 metres into a narrow gully.
Close-up of the waterfall, and what lies in store for anyone who attempts to canoe it.
The small tubular entrance to Ogof Capel, one of the resurgence caves connected hydrologically to Ogof Craig a Ffynnon.
Ogof Capel I.
Ogof Capel's Sump 1. We now walk down the side of the Heads of the Valleys road to the next point. There is an alternative path through North Clydach, but that went uphill for a little way, and we didn't want to bother.
The impressive Clydach Ironworks, that were established very early on in the industrial revolution in 1792, and used nearly all the way through the main industrial revolution until 1877.
Short tunnel in the ironworks.
Alabaster straws on the tunnel roof.
Arches at the back of the ironworks.
Alabaster flowstone on the walls of the works.
Reconstructed tunnel at the works.
Stal on the roof of a kiln.
Base of the Bessemer furnace.
Large flue behind the furnaces.
The iron bridge built by the ironworks in 1824 across the River Clydach.
At this point we cheated, and used a car to reach Trefil. If you do not want to cheat, climb the other side of the Clydach Gorge (perhaps using the tramroads by the Rock And Fountain), then follow the Hafod or some alternative route, around to the impressive Llangatwg Escarpment, and invent a route over Mynydd Llangynidr to reach Chartists Cave. Pick up our route from there. It will take about a day to follow this route.
We began the walk up the side of the Trefil Las moor, looking for somewhere convenient to stay, without too much heather, flat, not too boggy. As we started, so did the hail, with a large, dark cloud rolling overhead.
The remains of a horse, lying in a shakehole.
The hail was getting quite heavy, as we found a nicely flat grassy shakehole. We pitched the tent quickly (I promise I only stopped for a moment to take this picture), but the hail was still piling up on it. Would we spend the next day on snowy ground?
Once the tent was set up, the weather cleared, and the hail stopped. We were left with this beautiful view of the Brecon Beacons, covered in a dusting of snow. The nearest ridge is Waun Rydd (769 metres) and behind it are the peaks of Corn Du (873 metres) and Pen y Fan (886 metres).
The beautiful colours of the Trefil Ddu moor (617 metres).
Corn Du and Pen y Fan.
Sunset over the Brecon Beacons.
That night there were no clouds, and the temperature plummeted. In the morning, the tent was covered in frost, with the sun slowly melting it.
Frost on the tent.
Frost on the tent.
The Brecon Beacons, seen from the heather slopes of the Trefil Las moor. Immediately after taking this picture, a fox ran across the grey patch to the right, but I was too slow with the camera. Foxes are one of the largest wild carnivores in the park, second perhaps only to badgers.
Frost covering the shaded side of the heather.
A kestrel hunting over the moor.
We began the walk over the moor. The path is difficult to find, as it degenerates near the edges of the moor, and can only be found if you know where to start. Unfortunately, we started about 100 metres away from the correct start point, and spent a long time heading parallel to the main path without intersecting it.
This shakehole lake (the only shakehole containing a lake) is a great landmark if you take the right route. From the start of the quarry track on the right of the main Trefil road, a compass bearing of 070 should find it, and then lead onwards to the proper path. A compass is essential in case fog closes in.
The main path over the moor; hard to find, even when you know what to look for (which I do).
On the right of the path is Llyn y Garn-fawr, one of the major landmarks, with a cairn and the highest part of Mynydd Llangynidr beside it (557 metres).
This outcrop is the target (seen here from the far side).
Hidden in the outcrop is the entrance to Chartists Cave. Despite its size, it is visible only from one direction, and it is possible to stand right on top of it, and still not see it.
Therein lies the beauty. A path that is hard to find even when you know it, a cave that is invisible until you are standing right in front of it. It was used as a hiding place during the leadup to the Chartists Uprising, and after various Chartist demonstrations.
Looking out of the entrance.
Ferns in the entrance chamber.
The main route into Chartists Cave, reaching a maze of large passages lying just below the surface, on the contact between the limestone and the millstone grit caprock. Proper caving equipment is needed to go any further.
The side passage from the entrance chamber, which soon closes down.
The left-hand of two shakeholes visible from the Chartists Cave entrance holds the entrance to Crescent Cave.
Crescent Cave's entrance. This cave must not be entered without caving experience and equipment.
Back at the main Trefil road, these giant dump trucks trundled past us repeatedly, taking earth to a reclamation site up the road.
The front edge of Mynydd Llangynidr.
The wooded valley of Pyrgad.
The Crawnon valley.
Cwar Blaen-dyffryn, where the trucks are dumping the earth. Apparently, they are trying to make the place look nice. I just hope they don't try this with the next quarry, or they will end up burying the entrance to Ogof Tarddiad Rhymni.
Remains of the quarry buildings at Cwar yr Hendre.
Cwar yr Hendre. Just past here, we turn right onto the nearby moorland.
Gwaun Nant Ddu, meaning meadow of the black stream. The bog has been ripped to pieces by off-roaders, and is quite unpleasant to walk on. We head to the small hills ahead, then along the ridge to the left.
Black ponies with...
A tobiano pony. No idea if I used the right terminology there. And don't particularly care either. But in theory Welsh ponies cannot have this type of coat pattern, so you decide what this is doing here.
Bryniau Gleision, with some rather odd mounds (pillow mounds?) on it. They seem to spell a word; either BOO or BOOB, you decide.
The Taff Fechan forests around Pontsticill.
A panorama of Talybont. On the left is Pant y Creigiau (565 metres), then three buttresses up Waun Rydd; Craig y Fan Ddu (683 metres), Allt Forgan (513 metres) and Allt Lwyd (654 metres). Finally, on the right is the Talybont Reservoir.
Another herd of wild Welsh mountain ponies.
A pony foal feeding.
This pony took a real shine to Claudio. She slowly walked up to him, with her hair over one eye. "I'm ready for my closeup."
Finally, we get a good view of Cribyn (795 metres) as we reach the top of Pant y Creigiau.
We were aiming for the public access forest on the edge of the Taff Fechan forest, but the trees were missing, so we aimed for the edge of the Talybont Forest instead. Seems someone else liked the look of them too.
We invented a campsite between the trees, and relaxed, preparing for a long day walking the Beacons.
The Blorenge, seen from Llanfoist. My brother, Peter, joined us for the first day of this trail.
The tunnel under the canal.
Inside the tunnel.
Normally, the canal would be worth an extended visit, but it was empty for servicing, so this will be the only picture. The canal was used during the early industrial revolution to take coal and iron to the docks in Newport.
The path climbs a steep tramway up the face of The Blorenge, known as the Llanfoist Inclines. The sleeper blocks are still clearly visible.
Replicas of the tram trucks that were used on the inclines. They used a counterbalance system (loaded trucks go down using gravity, while pulling the empty trucks up via cables on a pulley) to avoid the need for horses.
Remains of a tunnel at one of the stations where trucks would pass from one incline to the next.
A tunnel that has not survived so well.
At the top of the inclines, the view opens out to show the steep face of The Blorenge. The route continues to the top of the fences.
The upper part of the Blorenge. The steep path to the summit is visible to the left, rising at 45° (wish the camera could do it justice). At the top of the walls, we follow the horizontal path.
All the effort of climbing is rewarded with a view over the Black Mountains, with Pen Cerrig-calch (701 metres) on the left, the unmistakable shape of the Sugar Loaf (596 metres) taking up most of the middle, and the Skirrid (486 metres) on the right.
Pen y Gadair Fawr (800 metres) with Waun Fach (811 metres) covered in cloud behind it.
A Chinook helicopter, identified by its characteristic shape and sound. This area is often used for RAF flying training, and several times we saw Hawks and Tornadoes flying past - none of which were slow enough for me to prepare my camera.
Hill's Tramroad, running around the Blorenge, has some excellent examples of sleeper blocks. It begins at the end of the stone walls.
The Blorenge Tunnel. The tramroad passes through it in order to remain on common land, instead of swinging into what was private land.
The tunnel is still open, though how long it remains that way with those newly planted trees threatening to break through it, remains to be seen..
The exit is a little lower, but still open.
Remains of a scour (I think), where water was used to wash off the soil and expose the iron ore below.
Gilwern Hill (441 metres) covered in quarries, once a very important source of limestone for use when extracting iron in the furnaces.
The Skirrid, and a great view of the landslide that split the peak and slid down 100 metres to create the secondary peak.
A rainbow on the edge of Gilwern Hill.
After crossing the road, large amounts of iron castoff show that something important must have happened here.
As we cross the field, a herd of sheep take a very strong liking to Claudio, and follow him wherever he goes. They say that Welsh men like to attract sheep, but it seems that we have a lot to learn from our European visitors.
Though very little remains to show for it, this area was once the Garnddyrys Forge. An entire village stood here, along with the ironworks. Now all that remains are the foundations of a few houses and reservoirs, and the collapsing remains of the tunnel that carried the tramroad.
The large slagheap, waste from the forge.
Slag. Not the promiscuous kind.
Tramroads at The Tumble valley.
Pwll Du, nestled between The Blorenge and Gilwern Hill, also once an entire village of quarriers, supplied the local ironworks with their limestone. Now all that remains are the quarries, foundations of the terraced houses, and the Lamb and Fox pub (which is still open). The area has seen a massive rise in attention after the Ogof Draenen cave system was found here, extending under all of the nearby mountains, and accessed through the entrance located just above the tree line on the right side of this picture.
Garnddyrys and the Sugar Loaf.
Pwll Du Quarry. Note the top of the balance shaft on the left side of the picture, and the ledge that runs across the quarry at that height.
The top of the balance shaft, which used water-filled tanks as a counterbalance to lift product from the bottom of the quarry. For cavers, a stream can be seen sinking below it, which probably feeds Black Beetle in Ogof Draenen.
At the quarry, the tramroad temporarily disappears, and the path becomes a very narrow, exposed sheep track along the remains of a ledge, high above the floor. It is also possible to invent a path over the top of the quarry, if you consider this one to be too unsafe.
The entrance to Siambri Ddu, a rare cave formed completely in Millstone Grit (quartz conglomerate) by the collapse of a piece of limestone cave underneath it. The collapse caused a shakehole to begin rising to the surface, but it stopped before it reached it, leaving a single chamber inside the caprock.
Part of the short passage leading into the large black chamber.
Entrance to the Pwll Du Tunnel - a 2.4 km tunnel that passes all the way through the mountain to Blaenavon. It was used as part of the horse/human-drawn railway to take limestone to Blaenavon and iron from Blaenavon. With only a single line, conflicts between trucks would need to be resolved by force.
Pwll Du stream, passing behind Gilwern Hill. Parts of this were used as scours, but have seen more use as coal tips, which line its edges.
The Dinas Rock on Llanelly Hill, a quarry, and the place where we would practice bouldering.
Blaen Dyar, commonly known as Buttons (after the family who used to live there), nestled between Gilwern Hill and Llanelly Hill.
The head of the Buttons waterfall.
Buttons Waterfall, which sees too much pollution in the water, and too much dumped rubbish.
Adit on Llanelly Hill.
The path over Llanelly Hill, once a tramroad, but now turned into farm track.
Buzzard.
Waunllapria, one of the villages that makes up the area collectively known as Llanelly Hill. This was my childhood home, in one of the houses seen in this picture. This view was pretty much the view from my bedroom window, with Mynydd Llangatwg (529 metres) on the left, Pen cerrig-calch, Pen y Gadair Fawr and the Sugar Loaf in the middle, and Gilwern Hill on the right.
Pinnacles on Mynydd Llangatwg, the near one being the Giant's Thumb, and the distant one being The Shepherd or the Giant's Little Finger.
The Clydach Gorge, my childhood playground, running between Llanelly Hill and Mynydd Llangatwg.
A small waterfall on the stream running from Waunllapria past the Llanelly Quarry. The stream used to pass through a tunnel here, but this has suffered severe collapse and landslide, though it seems to have remained stable for the last 10 years. I am quite disturbed by what looks suspiciously like a therapod dinosaur on the left side of the picture. I don't remember seeing it when taking the picture - I guess they just have better camouflage than we thought.
Llanelly Quarry. Note the smashed car for scale, and the thick band of shale between the upper dolomitic Dowlais limestone, and lower Gilwern Oolite limestone. The shale band is named the Llanelly Shales, after this quarry where it was discovered.
Llanelly Quarry Pot, the longest and deepest cave on Llanelly Hill, whose particularly difficult entrance series suffers from burrial under debris. Someone seems to be trying to work on it, but the right wall looks quite unstable at the moment.
Limekilns from the limeworks at the base of the quarry. These are relatively recent, dating from 1892.
More limekilns, almost disappearing under the undergrowth.
The quarry as seen from the bottom. The village is situated at the top of the quarry. The old railway line at the bottom (which passes over some superb viaducts in the direction of the picture) dates to the later portion of the industrial revolution, and has recently been converted into a cycle trail.
The lower portion of the Clydach Gorge, containing the North and South Clydach villages. The large road is the Heads of the Valleys Road, and is putting the gorge at risk, as it will most likely be converted into a dual carriageway in the near future.
Beechwoods in the Clydach Gorge.
Stone arches supporting the sides of the railway cutting.
Arches supporting the embankment.
The sky is up that way.
Waterfall gully.
Cwm Pwca, a small valley spilling into the Clydach Gorge. This is said to be the inspiration and setting for the home of the faries in Shakespear's A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Cwm Pwca marks the start of several tunnels; two railway tunnels, and two tunnels carrying the stream water through the railway embankment.
Entrance to the railway tunnels. The one of the left is blocked, and does not drain itself well. The one on the right is open and can be followed all the way through, so guess where we're going.
Light at the start of the tunnel.
The tunnels contain several arches so that people walking through them can take cover from the passing trains. The first arch also contains an odd passage connecting it to the other tunnel. And may I say that I love the composition of this picture.
Near the other end, a small passage provides a damp link to the other tunnel.
The exit from the tunnels, where a mine adit spills water into a nearby stream.
Beech trees on the way to the Clydach River.
Taking pictures in the Clydach Gorge.
The side stream is stained orange from the iron minerals in the water from the adit.
Pwll y Cwm, the 14 metre deep pothole resurgence, where the water from the Llangatwg cave systems returns to the surface.
Taking pictures in the Clydach Gorge.
Devil's Waterfall, where the River Clydach drops 10 metres into a narrow gully.
Close-up of the waterfall, and what lies in store for anyone who attempts to canoe it.
The small tubular entrance to Ogof Capel, one of the resurgence caves connected hydrologically to Ogof Craig a Ffynnon.
Ogof Capel I.
Ogof Capel's Sump 1. We now walk down the side of the Heads of the Valleys road to the next point. There is an alternative path through North Clydach, but that went uphill for a little way, and we didn't want to bother.
The impressive Clydach Ironworks, that were established very early on in the industrial revolution in 1792, and used nearly all the way through the main industrial revolution until 1877.
Short tunnel in the ironworks.
Alabaster straws on the tunnel roof.
Arches at the back of the ironworks.
Alabaster flowstone on the walls of the works.
Reconstructed tunnel at the works.
Stal on the roof of a kiln.
Base of the Bessemer furnace.
Large flue behind the furnaces.
The iron bridge built by the ironworks in 1824 across the River Clydach.
The remains of a horse, lying in a shakehole.
The hail was getting quite heavy, as we found a nicely flat grassy shakehole. We pitched the tent quickly (I promise I only stopped for a moment to take this picture), but the hail was still piling up on it. Would we spend the next day on snowy ground?
Once the tent was set up, the weather cleared, and the hail stopped. We were left with this beautiful view of the Brecon Beacons, covered in a dusting of snow. The nearest ridge is Waun Rydd (769 metres) and behind it are the peaks of Corn Du (873 metres) and Pen y Fan (886 metres).
The beautiful colours of the Trefil Ddu moor (617 metres).
Corn Du and Pen y Fan.
Sunset over the Brecon Beacons.
That night there were no clouds, and the temperature plummeted. In the morning, the tent was covered in frost, with the sun slowly melting it.
Frost on the tent.
Frost on the tent.
The Brecon Beacons, seen from the heather slopes of the Trefil Las moor. Immediately after taking this picture, a fox ran across the grey patch to the right, but I was too slow with the camera. Foxes are one of the largest wild carnivores in the park, second perhaps only to badgers.
Frost covering the shaded side of the heather.
A kestrel hunting over the moor.
We began the walk over the moor. The path is difficult to find, as it degenerates near the edges of the moor, and can only be found if you know where to start. Unfortunately, we started about 100 metres away from the correct start point, and spent a long time heading parallel to the main path without intersecting it.
This shakehole lake (the only shakehole containing a lake) is a great landmark if you take the right route. From the start of the quarry track on the right of the main Trefil road, a compass bearing of 070 should find it, and then lead onwards to the proper path. A compass is essential in case fog closes in.
The main path over the moor; hard to find, even when you know what to look for (which I do).
On the right of the path is Llyn y Garn-fawr, one of the major landmarks, with a cairn and the highest part of Mynydd Llangynidr beside it (557 metres).
This outcrop is the target (seen here from the far side).
Hidden in the outcrop is the entrance to Chartists Cave. Despite its size, it is visible only from one direction, and it is possible to stand right on top of it, and still not see it.
Therein lies the beauty. A path that is hard to find even when you know it, a cave that is invisible until you are standing right in front of it. It was used as a hiding place during the leadup to the Chartists Uprising, and after various Chartist demonstrations.
Looking out of the entrance.
Ferns in the entrance chamber.
The main route into Chartists Cave, reaching a maze of large passages lying just below the surface, on the contact between the limestone and the millstone grit caprock. Proper caving equipment is needed to go any further.
The side passage from the entrance chamber, which soon closes down.
The left-hand of two shakeholes visible from the Chartists Cave entrance holds the entrance to Crescent Cave.
Crescent Cave's entrance. This cave must not be entered without caving experience and equipment.
Back at the main Trefil road, these giant dump trucks trundled past us repeatedly, taking earth to a reclamation site up the road.
The front edge of Mynydd Llangynidr.
The wooded valley of Pyrgad.
The Crawnon valley.
Cwar Blaen-dyffryn, where the trucks are dumping the earth. Apparently, they are trying to make the place look nice. I just hope they don't try this with the next quarry, or they will end up burying the entrance to Ogof Tarddiad Rhymni.
Remains of the quarry buildings at Cwar yr Hendre.
Cwar yr Hendre. Just past here, we turn right onto the nearby moorland.
Gwaun Nant Ddu, meaning meadow of the black stream. The bog has been ripped to pieces by off-roaders, and is quite unpleasant to walk on. We head to the small hills ahead, then along the ridge to the left.
Black ponies with...
A tobiano pony. No idea if I used the right terminology there. And don't particularly care either. But in theory Welsh ponies cannot have this type of coat pattern, so you decide what this is doing here.
Bryniau Gleision, with some rather odd mounds (pillow mounds?) on it. They seem to spell a word; either BOO or BOOB, you decide.
The Taff Fechan forests around Pontsticill.
A panorama of Talybont. On the left is Pant y Creigiau (565 metres), then three buttresses up Waun Rydd; Craig y Fan Ddu (683 metres), Allt Forgan (513 metres) and Allt Lwyd (654 metres). Finally, on the right is the Talybont Reservoir.
Another herd of wild Welsh mountain ponies.
A pony foal feeding.
This pony took a real shine to Claudio. She slowly walked up to him, with her hair over one eye. "I'm ready for my closeup."
Finally, we get a good view of Cribyn (795 metres) as we reach the top of Pant y Creigiau.
We were aiming for the public access forest on the edge of the Taff Fechan forest, but the trees were missing, so we aimed for the edge of the Talybont Forest instead. Seems someone else liked the look of them too.
We invented a campsite between the trees, and relaxed, preparing for a long day walking the Beacons.