Waterfall Country: Part 1

Whilst Wales is known for its poor weather-wet and windy conditions- it gives way to some of the most beautiful waterfalls in the United Kingdom. If your travels should bring you to the UK, I would highly recommend Waterfall country in the Brecon Beacons. 

Our first stop on this wet adventure (we actually had sunny weather with blue skies highly uncommon for Wales… you will learn later where the wet part comes in but we are jumping ahead of this story)…where was I? Oh yes, the first stop on this wild venture was to the Waterfall Welcome Centre. Hit up this place for a spot to park and, once inside the staff will give you instructions on where to start the trailhead. You can also purchase a trail map (but as I love all my readers, I thought I’d give you a freebie and load the map free of charge here):

As I was saying, free parking across the road from the Welcome Centre, where the Elidir trailhead  begins found in the same car park as the pub called The Angel Inn. Great spot to warm up in after your long hike. Doggies are welcome here too and the food is fantastic! 

Pick up the Elidir trail just behind the Angel Inn and start you way up the hillsides to the falls. This trail is moderately difficult, lacking in handrails and can become slippery when wet. Wear good sturdy shoes but also ones you don’t mind getting wet or muddy. Mud. There is a lot of mud. Whilst wellies are great to jump in the puddles, they don’t work so well for traction or when water logged in a stream (more on that later)…Personally I find hiking sandals from KEEN to be excellent. Water proof and great for traction control but a wee bit cold in the winter months of Wales. 

The Elidir trail will take the average person about two hours to hike, even if you are with a mate who has to stop to take a photo every 10 paces. You all know what I’m talking about; we all have at least one of those friends.

This trail is an in-and-out trail meaning you must come back on yourself to get back to the car. Unless you create your own trail on other side of the falls which isn’t a trail at all and leads to someone’s back garden with a very territorial Jack Russell terrier barking loudly at you to stay away from his house where you scramble down the mountain side only to discover the only way back to where you began is across the river and oh yeah….there are rapids…

But should you want to cross the trail using the wooden bridge to the other side to see an old mining cave full of bats (yes they are in there. I checked), then follow the trail 10 minutes to the cave and THEN COME BACK TO THE WOODEN BRIDGE to catch the trail you came in on. The trail that leaves the cave does look wide enough to start but narrows as you continue. Trust my mate to want to carry on  to the other side of the mountain finding old mining ruins but alas leading us to the river after the escapade mentioned above. Let me just tell you now (so you don’t do it) that there is NO good way to cross a river-if even in wellies. Because as good as wellies are at keeping water out, they are that much better at keeping the water that flowed into them after you fell over in the stream (which looked like a deceivingly calm place to cross with plenty of rocks to hop across but turns out most the of riverbed is slippery with algae and you fall arse over tit into the…wait for it….icy, cold water running straight from the mountains off the falls you just visited and into the river you just fell) in. 

*and breathe*

Please take my advice and use the same trail you came in on to see the falls. 

You will walk quite some time before you come to the first set of falls known as Sgwd Gwladus (meaning The Lady Waterfalls. I have yet to decipher the Welsh language so I just go with it). To get to these falls you will have to leave the main trail and cross a bridge to a short path (don’t worry this is still a marked trail and no river involved). You can get right up to the falls on this trail and if heavy rains beforehand, you are able to walk (carefully) behind Gwladus Falls and wave to your friends from behind the falls.

Gwladus (The Lady) Falls

The next set of falls are Sgwd Bedol (Horseshoe falls). I think they are named this because the water falls off the rock cliff edge shaped like a horseshoe. These are fun to play in too, but wear shoes you don’t mind getting wet and have good traction.

Horseshoe Falls

After Horseshoe falls, come the Lower and Upper Gushing falls (Sgwd Ddwli Isaf & Sgwd Ddwli Uchaf respectively –see map above). Again you can scramble up them to see from the top or have a dunk in the really cold water in front of them splashing around.