Monday 30 August 2010

Beautiful Brecon Beacons

After a lazy morning, we drove up the A470 to Brecon. The roads were busy all the way, and traffic slowed down by first a bike race and then a motorbike accident. We bought food for picnic, then headed down the valley to cross the canal at Talybont on Usk, and make our way up to Talybont reservoir for lunch on the lakeside, which surprisingly wasn't crowded at all. We walked along the shore afterwards I took some photos.

The old red sandstone environment of the lake produces a fine sandy shore-line that attracts a covering of thin coarse grass, pleasant to walk on. My curiosity was attracted by oddly shaped arrangements of weathered stones, littering the beach, mostly where camp fires had been lit at some time or another. Also there were the remains of dry stone walls constructed in another era on the water's edge - perhaps remnants of the time before the valley was flooded?

We then drove up and over the ridge to Torpantau and visited the Neuadd and Taf Fechan reservoirs in turn. The fine weather gave us superb late afternoon views of Pen-y-fan.. I noticed that an iron footbridge has been constructed over the railway line at the Scouting centre since we were last up here, seven years ago. The Brecon Mountain railway line extension from Dol y Gaer is built, but trains don't yet run this far, if the BMR website is to be believed. Discussion on a narrow gague railway forum suggests this is due to financial problems, an outcome of the recession. BMR is a real hidden treasure, a tourism venue not nearly as popular as it deserves to be. What more might Visit Wales be able to do to promote it I wonder?

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