Climbing The Secret Back Route To The Pen y Fan Ridge On A Glorious Spring Day

Snow at the top, sun in the valley and a late decision to make this an out-and-back made for an ideal spring hike

Snow on the north face of Cribyn & Pen y Fan plus a glimpse of people joining the ridge via the main route | Image my own

Pen y Fan is one of the most popular hills to climb in Wales, thanks to its notoriety as the highest point in the Brecon Beacons. Hordes of weekend warriors travel from Cardiff, Bristol and further afield just to get up here.

Luckily, we managed to find a route that was wonderfully deserted - save for local dog walkers and the occasional sheep - and includes one of the most picturesque mountain tarns in the range. It’s a definite one to recommend and felt like a cheeky secret we had discovered by chance.

The out & back alternative to the circular route to take in all the peaks and none of the dull valley floor | Source: All Trails

Hike Stats

Elevation gain: ~3,500 ft
Distance: ~10 miles
Time: ~5 hours
Season: Spring (April)
Special equipment: Standard mountain hiking kit

Trail Description

While we used the All Trails map above, our priority at the start of the hike was to simply reach the main ridge and bag all four peaks in a row: Cribyn, Pen y Fan, Corn Du and Fan y Big. I was childishly fixated on reaching the last one because of its silly name, so falling short of this just wouldn’t do for me.

I wasn’t wild about the boring valley slog to get back round to where the car was parked but my wife Sarah was concerned about how the out-and-back profile would feel on a body already knackered from a gruelling workweek.

Our compromise proved ideal: she sat in a sunny hollow just shy of the Corn Du peak and watched me as I ran the up and down trail to the top of Fan y Big and back.

Oooh, my legs ache after that run in hiking boots. Also, check out that scenery! | My own image

Fieldnotes

Hundreds of sheep with their baby lambs fill the valley floor. The hike up is hot but as soon as you reach the ridge that wind from the south keeps your ears ringing.

Snow at the top! Frog spawn covers the tarn! Mountain bikers on Fan y Big!

Final Thoughts

I would definitely recommend the out-and-back approach we took, rather than closing the loop with 5 miles of valley floor trudging. If you’ve driven to the Brecons for a mountain experience, you will certainly make the most of that by following our road less travelled from the north.

Blue skies and sheep at the end of the walk | Image my own