| Tor y Foel | |
|---|---|
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 551 m (1,808 ft) |
| Prominence | 157 m (515 ft) |
| Listing | Marilyn |
| Geography | |
| Parent range | Brecon Beacons |
Tor y Foel is a hill in the Brecon Beacons National Park in the county of Powys in Wales. It is located on the eastern flank of Talybont Reservoir, and the summit at 551m is marked by a small cairn. It gives excellent panoramic views over the valley of the River Usk, across to the Black Mountains and west to the Brecon Beacons. [1]
The hill is formed entirely from sandstones and mudstones of the Brownstones Formation of the Old Red Sandstone laid down during the lower Devonian period. Where they are exposed these rocks are seen to dip gently southeastwards. Small diggings near the top of the hill may have been for stone suitable for use as roof tiles. [2]
The upper reaches of the hill are mapped as open country and therefore available for walkers to roam at will. A minor public road from Talybont-on-Usk skirts the western side of the hill and a bridleway from Llangynidr gives access to the eastern corner of the hill.
Bwlch is a small village and an electoral ward in the community of Cwmdu and District, Powys, south Wales. The settlement is strung out along the A40 road which crosses a low col above the Usk Valley at this point on its route between Brecon and Crickhowell.
Blorenge, also called The Blorenge, is a prominent hill overlooking the valley of the River Usk near Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, southeast Wales. It is situated in the southeastern corner of the Brecon Beacons National Park. The summit plateau reaches a height of 1,841 feet (561 m).
Talybont-on-Usk is a village and community in Powys, Wales, in the historic county of Brecknockshire. It lies on both the Caerfanell river and the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal, about 1 mile (1.6 km) from the River Usk. In 2001, it had a population of 743, reducing to 719 at the 2011 census. The community includes the settlements of Llansantffraed, Scethrog, Aber Village, and Pencelli.
Fan Brycheiniog is the highest peak at a height of 802.5 metres (2,633 ft) in the Black Mountain region of the Brecon Beacons National Park in southern Wales. There is a trig point at the peak and on the edge of the escarpment, and nearby, a stone shelter with an inner seat. It lies just inside the historic county of Brecknockshire which gives the mountain its Welsh name. A subsidiary top, less than a kilometre from the summit along the ridge to the northwest, is the highest point of the neighboring county of Carmarthenshire. Fan Brycheiniog is also within the Fforest Fawr Geopark designated in 2005 in recognition of the area's geological heritage. The views of the moorland and open country to the north are spectacular when the weather is clear, and reveals the isolation of the range, especially when compared with the more popular Pen y Fan range to the east.
The Black Mountain is a mountain range in South, Mid and West Wales, straddling the county boundary between Carmarthenshire and Powys and forming the westernmost range of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Its highest point is Fan Brycheiniog at 802 metres or 2,631 ft. The Black Mountain also forms a part of the Fforest Fawr Geopark.
The Beacons Way is a waymarked long distance footpath in the Brecon Beacons National Park, Wales. It is a linear route which runs for 99 miles (159 km) east to west through the National Park, and passes many of the most important landmarks and mountain peaks in the mountain range. It also includes a few of the towns in the park as well as popular attractions such as Carreg Cennen Castle near Llandeilo at the western end of the path.
Cefn yr Ystrad is a mountain in the Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales. It is an outlier of the Central Beacons group.
Fan Fawr is a mountain in the Fforest Fawr section of the Brecon Beacons National Park, in Powys, Wales and over 734 m (2,408 ft) high.
The Caerfanell is a river which rises in the central section of the Brecon Beacons National Park in Powys, Wales. It rises as Blaen Caerfanell on the plateau of Gwaun Cerrig Llwydion and drops steeply down south-eastwards into the head of Glyn Collwn before turning east then north-east into Talybont Reservoir. It emerges from the hydro turbine beneath the dam just above the village of Aber and continues northwards to its confluence with the River Usk at the hamlet of Llansantffraed.
Mynydd Illtud is an extensive area of common land near Libanus, Powys, Wales, located in the Brecon Beacons National Park and some three miles south-west of Brecon. The common is an undulating plateau lying between 330 and 370 metres above sea level. Its highest points are 381 metres (1,250 ft) at Allt Lom and 367 metres (1,204 ft) at Twyn y Gaer trig point overlooking the valley of the River Usk. Twyn y Gaer is the site of an Iron Age hill fort.
Moel Penderyn is a hill on the edge of Penderyn village, in the Brecon Beacons National Park in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taff, south Wales. It also appeared on older maps as 'Y Foel Penderyn'. Its summit at 371m is marked by a trig point.
The Grwyne Fawr is a river in the Brecon Beacons National Park in south Wales. A section of it forms the administrative border between Powys and Monmouthshire and also of the historic counties of Brecon and Monmouth. The river and its major tributary the Grwyne Fechan flow into the River Usk at Glangrwyney.
Mynydd Llangatwg or Llangattock Mountain is a hill in the Brecon Beacons National Park in the county of Powys, south Wales. It is named from the village of Llangatwg which sits in the valley of the River Usk to the north of it. It is essentially an undulating plateau rising in the west to a height of 530 metres (1,740 ft) at grid reference SO171157 and in the east to a height of 529 metres (1,736 ft) at Hen Dy-aderyn / Twr Pen-cyrn. This spot is marked by a trig point. The shallow pool of Pwll Gwy-rhoc sits in a broad depression towards the northern edge of the plateau whilst a smaller pool frequently occupies a large shakehole a few hundred metres to its west. The hill forms an impressive northern scarp overlooking the Usk valley and commonly referred to as the Llangattock Escarpment. Its southern margins are more subdued. Its eastern end is defined by the drops into the Clydach Gorge. Beyond the B4560 to the west the hill merges with Mynydd Llangynidr which has a similar character.
The Afon Crawnon is a river in the Brecon Beacons National Park in the county of Powys, Wales. The headwaters rise on the hills north of Trefil and flow northeast down a valley known as Dyffryn Crawnon for 7 km to a confluence with the River Usk just west of Llangynidr. The valley is notable for being at the centre of a major green energy initiative known as The Three Green Valleys project and which involves the construction of several micro-hydro schemes. Dyffryn Crawnon is translated from Welsh to mean "Valley of the Garlic River".
Allt yr Esgair is a hill in the Brecon Beacons National Park in Powys, Wales. It is commonly referred to locally as simply 'The Allt'. The Welsh name signifies 'wooded slope of the ridge'. It takes the form of a northwest-southeast aligned ridge which rises to a height of 393m and which overlooks the valley of the River Usk to the west and south. To the northeast are panoramic views across Llangorse Lake to the Black Mountains There is a viewfinder on the summit erected as a monument to Eirene Lloyd White, Baroness White of Rhymney. It is a Marilyn with a prominence of 199 metres.
Aber Village or Aber Clydach is a hamlet within the Brecon Beacons National Park in Powys, Wales. It is centred on the minor road which runs south from Talybont-on-Usk up the Caerfanell valley known as Glyn Collwn across the Brecon Beacons to Pontsticill and Merthyr Tydfil. Aber Clydach lies within the community of Talybont-on-Usk about 1.5 km to the south of the village of Talybont and 0.5 km to the north of the dam of Talybont Reservoir.
Llanfrynach is a village and community in the county of Powys, Wales, and the historic county of Brecknockshire. The population of the community as taken at the 2011 census was 571. It lies just to the southeast of Brecon in the Brecon Beacons National Park. The village sits astride the Nant Menasgin, a right bank tributary of the River Usk. The B4558 passes just to its north and the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal also passes around the village. The Welsh name signifies the 'church of Brynach'. The community includes the hamlets of Llanhamlach and Groesffordd.
Pen-y-crug is a hill in the Brecon Beacons National Park in the county of Powys, south Wales. It is commonly referred to locally as simply 'The Crug'. The Welsh name signifies 'top of the mound'. It slopes are moderately gently on three sides; only to the west do they steepen somewhat. Its flat trig point adorned summit at 331m overlooks the valley of the River Usk to the south. To the southeast are panoramic views over Brecon whilst eastwards are the Black Mountains and south the Brecon Beacons.
Buckland Hill is a low hill in the Brecon Beacons National Park in the county of Powys in Wales. Sitting transversely across the Usk valley between the river and the village of Bwlch, it provides excellent panoramic views down the valley and across to the Black Mountains. The summit at 316m above sea level is marked by an OS trig point though this is now within a dense conifer plantation and so no longer affords any outward views. Buckland Hall sits at the foot of the hill's afforested northwestern side.
Pencelli is a small village within the community of Talybont-on-Usk in the county of Powys, Wales, and the historic county of Brecknockshire. The Welsh name signifies the 'end of (a) grove'. It lies just to the southeast of Brecon in the Brecon Beacons National Park. The village sits near the confluence of the Nant Menasgin with the River Usk. Both the B4558 and the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal pass through the village. There is a pub - the Royal Oak, an outdoor education centre and a campsite within the village. Pencelli Castle is likely a late eleventh century fortification which fell into disuse in the thirteenth century.