Pen-y-Fan

Having driven from Chepstow to see Pee-y-Fan . I was very disappointed The nearest point to it has a scruffy overcrowded carpark with cars parked over the moorland ruining the countryside with a burger van. driving past it there are parking areas all with burger vans . Why not build a proper carpark with a decent restaurant ware you could enjoy the great views?

Pen y Fan was a must do for our short break in the Brecon Beacons. I had climbed the mountain as a child 45 years before and I wanted to touch the sky again at this beautiful place. It is fair to say the the ascent was tough and I had to catch my breath (or admire the view) many times on the route from the Pont ar Daf car park. The path is clearly marked and even on a Wednesday in September there was alot of visitors. Walking boots and poles are essential and dress for the weather and be prepared for rapid changes. Take food and drink with you, there are toilets in the car park and a helpful guide who will explain the various walking routes opinions.
This is a beautiful place and the views are breathtaking. It is definitely worth the time and energy to get to the top before winding back down via Corn Du and via the Storey Centre.
Parking is free for National Trust members but £7.50 for others. There is also parking available in laybys off the main road for free.

Lovely part of the country. Walk up to the summit was manageable, and they’ve made sure the path is maintained (they ask you not to walk on the grass) to reduce slipping and accidents. My fitness levels are so-so, and I got a little winded at first but once I got into the rhythm it was fine.

On the day of our visit, the weather was pretty rubbish, rain & wind etc, but that can’t be helped. Still had a really enjoyable time.

Make sure you wear / take comfortable and warm clothing and footwear. Despite the rain, the temperature was mild at the bottom, but as expected, as you walk up, it becomes colder and the wind picks up. At the summit the wind was blowing at about 70mph (and I genuinely thought I was going to blow over the side. Not actually sure that’s possible though) and it was raining sideways. So I would urge caution.

Sadly we couldn’t see anything at the top, because of the cloud cover. But that’s fine, we’ll just go again and hope for the sun is out. Walking back down was difficult because of the weather and I was starting to get cold.

There was a car park with plenty of spaces and some portaloos - not the cleanest of loos, but much better than at a festival. I’m not sure if they’re working to install a visitor centre or something, but there was work going on around the car park. There was no where to buy refreshments, but we took our own water anyway.

Please note, this is part of nature and FREE; therefore there are no safety rails/ attendants/ gift shops. It feels silly having to say this, but I heard people complaining about it. If you want all the mod-cons, go somewhere else.

It took us about 1hr 30 to walk up, and about 45 mins down, but we were hampered by the winds/ rain. Really pleased I did this, and would definitely go again.

We did this climb as a family from 10 year to 54 years old . Parked near Pont ardaf car park, by 10.00 the car park was full so we parked on the grass verge . Was portable Loos and refreshment van at the start/ end . It was incredibly steep in places . Walking boots are a must . It is quiet busy in places but that didn’t bother us . The whole walk is breathtaking . You could feel the temperature drop at the last step climb . Very windy . It’s was beautiful and sunny for us but still very cold at this point. We did the circular walk . Some of us took a cross country walk back , instead of keeping to the path . They found a waterfall , steams and broke up the trudge of getting down .

Visited with children and dog, car park was full but joined a long line of cars parked along the road. Toilets and burger van in car park were handy. The path is wide enough to accommodate lots of people which was handy because there certainly were a lot of people when we visited. The hike was mostly a slight challenge with a few sections that were really quite tiring and a few that felt very gentle. We are a fit young family and took it quite slow because it was very hot but the whole round trip took 3 hours.

Will definitely be coming back to do this again. As you can see mine was not the best day to have tackled this. Did not have the fantastic view I’ve read so much about. The climb was harder than I’m sure it would normally have been as a result of the high winds and heavy sleet and snow. Wrap up warm!!

There’s two Burger vans by the entrance. Parking is free but has it been a sunny day can imagine it being hard to come by from noon onwards.

Taking the slightly harder route from the storey arms was well worth the challenge for me and my seven year old. We set off at 0 centigrade which meant a good pace would keep us warm. Spectacular scenery as we climbed above 600 metres. One hour and twenty minutes later we reached the summit. With a wind chill of minus 8 it was a little uncomfortable so a quick photo and an immediate descent seemed sensible. Although my granddaughter is tough I would recommend slightly warmer weather for young children, perhaps 10 degrees or above. Well worth it.

We arrived at around 11am and copied other visitors by parking on the grass verge. The weather was dry but cloudy but we commented that we wouldn't have wanted to do the walk on a hot day. The views are magnificent and far reaching. It's well worth the effort. You need decent walking boots and it was much colder at the summit so wear appropriate clothing because the weather is very changeable. We came down a steeper more challenging route but you can go back the way you go up. It does get busy.

We visited Pen y Fan on 10th January 2024. Parked at Pont ar Daf car park. Plenty of spaces at 11:30am, lots of Accessible Parking Bays. Parking charges are FREE for Blue Badge Holders, FREE for National Trust Members and £7.50 for Non-members.

There are 'basic' toilets in the car park including Accessible facilities.

The weather can change very quickly so be prepared for all conditions.

The trails are NOT accessible with Electric Scooters, as you would expect but the scenery is awesome!

There's plenty of space to park your car for free along the grass verge. There's portsloos and a couple of shacks selling chips, burgers, drinks etc down the bottom, and a map showing the different paths you can take. It was very busy (bank Holiday Monday) but the paths are wide enough in most parts for this not to be an issue. We took the slightly easier route up (the shortest route, which was also fairly flat in places) and a slightly more difficult route down (a longer route, on a much steeper path). We went to the top of Pen y Fan and the adjacent Corn Du, and spent
some time just sat taking in the views. It took us about 3 hours up and back down and we did stop quite a few times to take photographs, have a drink, take in the views etc, and we weren't walking particularly fast. It's not a terribly difficult walk but walking boots are recommended, and a warm top/jacket for when you get to the top as you really notice the drop in temperature as you reach the top. All the way up we thought that Corn Du was Pen y Fan. It wasn't until we almost reached Corn Du that we realised that we had slightly further to go until we reached Pen y Fan. It was a really pleasant walk and there were quite a few people jogging! There were people of all ages so it could be a fun family outing for those that like the outdoors!