Henrhyd Falls and Nant Lech Valley walk to Abercraf
Monday, September 26, 2016
On the first main day of our stay in the Brecon Beacons we took a drive to Henrhyd Falls to see the highest waterfall in South Wales. We had just been to Craig-y-nos country park which is only a short distance away. Now, the good news about visiting Henrhyd falls is that the car park has a fair bit of space and is free (phew) although take care on the steep and narrow roads which take you there. From the car park there is an information board you take a fairly steep path down to the river, which isn't an issue aside from knowing you'll have to walk the whole way back up again to return to the car.
The waterfall isn't far from the base of the path and it's spectacular. The night before we visited there had been a downpour of rain so the waterfall had plenty of volume to it's flow. I seemed to expect the climate to be freezing so I went for full coat and scarf combo.
Considering the descent we had undertaken, I was mindful of making the most of our time in the valley so of course we took the path along the river towards Abercraf. The sun soon came out, although the canopy kept us mainly in the shade and made the landscape really glow. In contrast to the flat landscape of Norfolk the delights of water flowing from the rocks made for a beautiful backdroop to our riverside amble.
The information board compared the landscape to the Amazon basin; while I can't say I've been trekking in the Amazon I can confirm that once the sun started beating down I saw fit to remove my coat, scarf and jumper. This thick shirt is a go-to piece for holidays and I did wear-wash cycle so it got a lot of outings. I didn't bust the knee of my favourite jeans, they've been wearing thin for such a long time. On closer inspection, they're being retired due to imminent risk of splitting at the crotch.
A mighty beetle! I couldn't pass by without a picture.
The path carried on up to a road (and beyond) but we u-turned after about a mile or two and headed back. I very nearly slipped over badly on a large stretch of flat rock before the walkway as we were waiting for some people to pass ahead and with a small step I found myself on my palms with my backside only an inch or two from the deck and feeling like a prize idiot (but thankfully an idiot with a dry bottom and without a bruised coxis).
A walk well worth taking. We really enjoyed our couple of hours here. Mostly very quiet too.
Sophie
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