Both of us here at Outdoor Provisions are young Dads, so can appreciated how your free time becomes a premium when you have tiny humans to nurture. So when we saw a friend of OP (and top Dad) Adam Ferris post some cracking photos of a last-minute trip to through-hike a portion of the Beacons Way we knew it would make for an inspiring Rambling.
It's put the Brecon Beacons firmly on the must visit list.
Day One - Llandeuasent to Carreg Cadno
The planned last minute weather check wasn’t possible. No service. We were deep in the National Park already. The good forecast of an earlier check gave me the confidence to leave my rain jacket and bivvy where we were. We hastily donned our face masks and jumped in the taxi for the hour long journey to the start of our hike.
As I peered through the plastic sheet separating us from the driver to check the speed of the taxi, 90mph, I realised just how far away we were travelling and wondered if we’d been too optimistic with our plans. We soon pulled up to our start point and our first Beacons Way waymarker at Llandeuasent in the North East of the Brecon Beacons, where we would start our hike back to the van we had just left in Llangynidr.
It was late September 2020, covid social restrictions were briefly relaxed, Wales was open to visitors and virus cases were low. The three of us, each a dad of two, get together a few times a year for a multi-day hike with wild camping. We had 3 days available for this trip so we were keen to get into dramatic scenery and having long wanted to walk the length of the Beacons Way we settled for an A to B hike covering its most dramatic section.
We were to walk the middle 39 miles of the 99 mile waymarked path covering its highest peaks and most remote spaces. Designated long after the establishment of the National Park in 1957, the Beacons Way is a relatively new trail having been developed in 2005. Choosing the middle section meant we’d cross mountain ridges, pass natural lakes, cross a UNESCO Global Geopark, spot rare wildlife, see waterfalls, and more, all in near-perfect weather.