Climbing this mountain is a must when visiting Wales
LAST weekend, I decided to take my English classmates on a hike to Pen y Fan, one of the highest peaks in the Brecon Beacons.
For tourists and locals alike, climbing Pen y Fan is a must while in South Wales.
As most of my classmates have only visited Cardiff, I wanted to continue the tradition and take them up the idyllic Welsh mountain.
On Saturday, March 12, we left a sunny Cardiff at 10.30am and drove an hour to the Brecon Beacons National Park.
The weather was a lot cooler than it had been in Cardiff and we instantly regretted not bringing warmer jackets, gloves, hats and scarfs.
At 886m, Pen y Fan translates to “the top peak” and there are several routes that you can take to reach the summit.
![](https://cardiffjournalism.co.uk/thecardiffian/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2022/03/Pen-y-Fan-walking--1024x879.jpg)
We decided to take route one, which begins at Pont ar Daf car park and is a 6.4km round trip.
We started our hike at 12.30pm. The average time to get to the top is two hours, but we decided to challenge ourselves to complete it in a quicker time.
![](https://cardiffjournalism.co.uk/thecardiffian/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2022/03/PYF-2--1024x684.jpg)
As we reached the top of the footpath, we were close to Corn Du, the second-highest peak in the Beacons – and this is where the weather began to worsen.
The wind got stronger the higher we got, and we witnessed the Mountain Rescue team airlifting a woman to hospital.
![](https://cardiffjournalism.co.uk/thecardiffian/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2022/03/PYF-1024x510.jpg)
The conditions were difficult and we needed a lot of breaks, but we made it to the top in 1 hour and 15 minutes.
To celebrate our success, we treated ourselves to a much-needed McDonald’s on the way home.
Most of the group enjoyed the experience and I hope to show them more scenic spots in Wales before they leave Cardiff this year.