Pen y Fan

At 886 metres, the highest peak in South Wales and anywhere in Britain south of Cadair Idris — a flat-topped whaleback of Old Red Sandstone at the heart of Bannau Brycheiniog. The most popular route is the wide, eroded 'motorway' path from Pont ar Daf near the Storey Arms, a steady there-and-back of a couple of hours; a finer day links neighbouring Corn Du and Cribyn on a horseshoe. The land is cared for by the National Trust, and near the summit a small obelisk remembers Tommy Jones, a five-year-old boy who died lost on the hill in 1900. It is a genuine mountain despite the crowds, and the weather turns fast up top, so carry layers and check a forecast. Start early: the car parks fill by mid-morning on any fine weekend.

Getting there

Pen y Fan is in Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons). It's roughly 16 min (4.8 miles) from Brecon , and within reach of Llandovery (49 min) and Caerphilly (64 min).

The nearest parking: Pont ar Daf pay-and-display on the A470. Grid reference SO 017 210 — works on any OS map and doesn't need a phone signal.

Good to know

The 'motorway' path from Pont ar Daf is the easiest (2–3 hrs return). Go early or midweek; the horseshoe via Corn Du and Cribyn is finer and quieter.

🌟 Best time: Long daylight for the Beacons horseshoe — around May–September.

On the map

View Pen y Fan on OpenStreetMap ↗, or open it in the Explore Wales trip planner to add it to a day out with drive times and offline maps.

Staying over?

Brecon makes a relaxed base for exploring the area — worth staying over to catch an early start or a golden-hour finish.

Browse places to stay near Brecon ↗ opens Booking.com — needs signal