Waun Rydd at The Black Mountains

HIEGHT:769m/2523ft

LOCATION:5m south of Brecon

DIFFICULTY: MODERATE/HARD, ~1100ft ascent

WALK: About 3m

Waun Rydd is a long, flat mountain, the highest point east of Cribyn in the Brecon Beacons, and it’s name translates as isolated moor/common. It forms the ends of the looping plateau that stretches east from Corn Du and Pen y Fan. The summit itself is quite featureless and marshy, although the views from the top are very good, and on its north and west faces it sports steep ciffs, Craig Pwllfa (Pitted Rock) and Cwar y Gigfran (Raven Quarry), respectively.

The Walk

Starting at the car park shown on the map, a path leads almost immediately from the road, and heads due north up a very steep and rocky route. It’s difficult to miss; so long as you have the waterfall to your left and the car park to your right, then all’s well. Once the path starts going up, it doesn’t let up all the way until the top, the only changes you will notice are that sometime it’s muddy and slippery, sometimes well-laid and rocky. During the ascent the stream Nant Bwrefwr stays to your left, and you’re treated to a spectacular waterfall about a third of the way up. Once near the top the land suddenly drops away to the east in an impressive glacial trough with the river Caerfanell flowing at the bottom. Waun Rydd is now visible on the other side of this trough. Once you’ve reached the summit, the views to the south are excellent. North, the gradually ascending ridge obscures the view. There is a long path that follows the eastern edge of the mountain, crossing the young river Caerfanell, and then further north along the eastern edge of Gwaun y Llwydion. There is a narrow saddle of land between Gwaun Cerrig Llwydion and Waun Rydd that can be quickly crossed for good views to the north, and west towards Pen y Fan. Continuing eastward now, the path starts to gradually descend, crossing over boggy ground, and then turns south to the memorial and wreckage at the base of the cliff Cwar y gigflan. The route back involves making your own way back down into the glacial valley, always trying to aim for the forest at the base of Craig y Fan Ddu on the opposite side, and the going here can be very steep and uneven. There is a point where several small paths converge to cross Caerfanell, so after hopping across the stepping stones here, find the path that heads south, looping gently around the very base of the mountain towards the forest. This path leads through a gate into the forest, and a disused vehicle trail can now be followed, which winds between the trees, eventually to join the large gravelled path that leads back down to the car park where we started.

About the memorial and plane wreckage

Just below the northern end of Cwar y Gigflan there are several large piles of twisted metal, with a memorial nearby. These are the remains of a wellington bomber that crashed at the spot on July 6th 1942, having become lost in thick clouds during a training exercise. The Wellington bombers construction consisted of an aluminium framework, covered with wooden panel and doped linen for the outer coating. Although it sounds primitive by todays standards, this structure was immensely strong and rigid, and even with large portions of the wooden fuselage burnt or blown away, Wellington bombers could still fly and function. The crash killed all five Canadian crew, and their names are recounted on a plaque on the memorial. It is a bleak and exposed place, and the twisted wreckage is sad to look upon. There are many small crosses and wreaths around, of varying ages, so it seems the airmen who died here are certainly not forgotten.