Brecon Beacons

The Brecon Beacons (Template:Langx; Template:IPA<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>) are a mountain range in Wales. The range includes South Wales's highest mountain, Pen y Fan (Template:Convert),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> its twin summit Corn Du (Template:Convert),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Craig Gwaun Taf (Template:Convert),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> which are the three highest peaks in the range. The Brecon Beacons have given their name to the larger Brecon Beacons National Park, and the range itself is therefore sometimes known as the Central Beacons to differentiate the two.

Toponymy

Bannau Brycheiniog derives from the Welsh bannau, "peaks" and Brycheiniog, the early medieval kingdom which covered the area. The English name is derived from the Welsh.<ref>Template:Citation</ref><ref name="Gomer">Template:Cite book</ref> This name is first attested in the sixteenth century in John Leland's 1536–1539 Itinerary of Wales.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref> Under his description of the Brecknockshire landscape Leland states :

The name Brecon Beacons first occurs in the eighteenth century (as "Brecknock Beacons") and referred to the area around Pen y Fan (which itself was sometimes referred to as "the Brecknock Beacon"). For instance, Emanuel Bowen's A New and accurate map of South Wales (1729) labels the peak as 'The Vann or Brecknock Beacon', John Clark's 1794 General View of the Agriculture of the County of Brecknock refers to 'the Vann, or Brecknock Beacon, the undisputed sovereign of all the mountains in South Wales', and an 1839 tithe map of Cantref parish labels the mountain simply 'Beacon'.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A slightly wider definition was used in 1809 by the Breconshire historian Theophilus Jones, who wrote that 'of the lofty summits of the Brecknock Beacons, that most southwards is the lowest, and the other two nearly of a height, they are sometimes called Cader Arthur or Arthur's chair'.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite book</ref> This implies that "Brecknock Beacons" referred to only three summits, including Pen y Fan and Corn Du.

To distinguish the Brecons Beacons range from the national park, the range is sometimes called the "Central Beacons".<ref name="Central Beacons">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Geography

File:Brecon Beacons National Park UK relief location map.png

Relief map of the Brecon Beacons National Park (bordered), with the Brecon Beacons located in the central area of the national park.

The Brecon Beacons comprises six main peaks, which from west to east are: Corn Du, Template:Convert; Pen y Fan, the highest peak, Template:Convert; Cribyn, Template:Convert; Fan y Bîg, Template:Convert; Bwlch y Ddwyallt, Template:Convert; and Waun Rydd, Template:Convert. These summits form a long ridge, and the sections joining the first four form a horseshoe shape around the head of the Taf Fechan, which flows away to the southeast. To the northeast of the ridge, interspersed with long parallel spurs, are four cirques (Welsh: cymoedd, sing. cwm) or round-headed valleys; from west to east these are Cwm Sere, Cwm Cynwyn, Cwm Oergwm and Cwm Cwareli.

The Brecon Beacons range, Fforest Fawr, and Black Mountain form a continuous massif of high ground above 300 metres (1000 feet). The A470 road forms an approximate boundary between the central Beacons and Fforest Fawr.

National park

Template:Main articles The Brecon Beacons National Park was established in 1957,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the third of the three Welsh parks after Snowdonia in 1951<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park in 1952.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It covers an area of Template:Convert, which is much larger than the Brecon Beacons range. Over half of the park is in the south of Powys; the remainder of the park is split between northwestern Monmouthshire, eastern Carmarthenshire, northern Rhondda Cynon Taf and Merthyr Tydfil, and very small areas of Blaenau Gwent, and Torfaen.

Brecon Mountain Railway

Template:Main articles A railway with narrow gauge trains is run by the Brecon Mountain Railway. The railway is a Template:Track gauge narrow-gauge tourist railway on the south side of the Brecon Beacons range. It climbs northwards from Pant along the full length of the Pontsticill Reservoir (also called 'Taf Fechan' reservoir by Welsh Water) and continues past the adjoining Pentwyn Reservoir to Torpantau railway station. The railway's starting point at Pant is located Template:Convert north of Merthyr Tydfil town centre.

Military training

File:Brecon Beacons UKSF.jpg

A soldier training in the Brecon Beacons above Llyn y Fan Fawr.

The Brecon Beacons are used for training members of the UK armed forces and military reservists. The Army's Infantry Battle School is located at Brecon,<ref name=telegraphheatdeaths>Template:Cite news</ref> and the Special Air Service (SAS) and Special Boat Service use the area to test the fitness of applicants.<ref name=telegraphnocharge>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> An exercise unique to the area is the 'Fan dance', which takes place on Pen y Fan.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In July 2013 three soldiers died from overheating or heatstroke on an SAS selection exercise. An army captain had been found dead on Corn Du earlier in the year after training in freezing weather for the SAS.<ref name=telegraphheatdeaths />

See also

• Brecon Mountain Railway
• Brecon Beacons Food Festival

External links

• Tourist Information Brecon Beacons Park, Official Brecon Beacons Tourism Association