Overnight, the rain was quite heavy but we awoke to blue skies and intermittent sunshine. Here are the views from the pod looking east (Photo 1) and south (Photo 2). A somewhat industrial outlook but we are, after all, on the site of a former colliery.
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| Photo 1: View from the Glamping Pod looking East (1/4/24) |
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| Photo 2: Looking South Down the Rhondda Fawr Valley (1/4/24) |
Today is April Fools' Day but we're not expecting any pranks or jokes here in the Brecon Beacons. We plan to visit three waterfalls in and around Pontneddfechan: Sgydau Sychryo, Pwll Berw and Sgwd Gwladus (see Map 1). See here for the previous day's waterfall visits.
As we arrived in Pontneddfechan, we were a little concerned that we would have the previous day's problem of nowhere to park. Fortunately, the car park at Dinas Rock (Craig y Ddinas) was only half full.
Just a short walk from the car park along the river bank is the first waterfall: Sgydau Sychryd. Sgydau is the plural form of Sgwd which is why this particular waterfall is often described as a cascade or a series of waterfalls.
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| Map 1 |
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| Photo 3: Sgydau Sychryd (1/4/24) |
Video 1: Sgydau Sychryd Cascade (1/4/24)
We retraced our steps back to the Car Park to pick up the Gunpowder Trail (yellow dots). There was a bit of a steep climb up (handrails provided) before taking a right-hand turn down to Pwll Berw (or Pwll y Berw).
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| Photo 4: Pwll y Berw |
As waterfalls go, this is a small one which may explain why its name - 'the boiling pool' - describes the plunge pool at the bottom rather than the waterfall itself.
Video 2: Pwll y Berw - the boiling pool (looking upstream)
Video 3: Pwll y Berw from the footbridge (looking downstream)
Time to retrace our steps again back to the Car Park before taking the riverside path towards Pontneddfechan and crossing the bridge onto the road leading into the village. Pontneddfechan (also known as Pontneathvaughan) has public toilets, a cafe (Sgwd Gwladys), and a couple of pubs (The Angel Inn and the Old White Horse Inn). A third pub (The Dinas Inn) was closed (temporarily it says).
The start of the Waterfalls Walk to Sgwd Gwladus (Lady Falls) is adjacent to The Angel Inn and opposite the public toilets. The path is generally good though muddy in places. The round trip to the waterfall and back is approximately 2½ miles (4 km) and takes about an hour and a half to two hours.
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| Photo 5: Sgwd Gwladus (Lady Falls) |
Video 4: Sgwd Gwladus near Pontneddfechan
Video 5: Sgwd Gwladus near Pontneddfechan (slo-mo)
Before turning back and returning to our campervan, we spotted a lonely dipper enjoying the waters ...
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| Photo 6: Dipper at Sgwd Gwladus |
We took the A4061 (Rhigos Road) over Rhigos Mountain back to the glamping pod taking in the views from the designated Rhigos viewpoint ...
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| Photo 7: Rhigos Viewpoint (A4061) looking north to the Brecon Beacons |
Here is a video from the same spot ...
Video 6: Looking North to the Brecon Beacons from Rhigos Viewpoint on the A4061
For a second day we had been lucky with the weather. Tomorrow it was time to head home with happy memories from Waterfall Country.
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