Tor y Foel
The distinctive mountain of Tor y Foel lies sandwiched between the Black Mountains and the central Brecon Beacons, offering great views of both ranges. This walk, one of the shortest in the booklet, starts in Bwlch, then crosses the mountain following good paths up from the canal at Llangynidr. It descends, via the Taff Trail, into the village of Talybont on Usk.
- Start
- BwlchGR SO148220
- Finish
- Talybont on UskGR SO113227
- Distance
- 12.8km 8 miles
- Total
- 550 metres
- Classification
- Moderate
- Walking Time
- 4 hours
- Bus No.
- The X43 connects Brecon with both Bwlch and Talybont on Usk.
The walk could be done by using public transport into Brecon and
taking the bus from there. - Stop
- Bwlch - All Saints. Talybont on Usk Post Office
- START. From the bus stop, keep the New Inn on your left and walk down the narrow lane next to it - Darren Road. Follow this for around 1km to a waymarked footpath on the left. Cross the stile and walk down the fenced path to the bottom, where you turn right to another stile. Cross this and turn left to walk down through a gateway and then bear half right to the bottom right hand corner of the field, to the right of a barn. Cross a stile and keep to the right of the house to join a track that leads down to the road. Turn right and follow this down to Llangynidr bridge.
- Cross this and then turn right onto a waymarked footpath. Follow this behind gardens for a short distance and then drop to the river bank. Now continue upstream, you’ll soon pass a path on the left and after a few more paces, you’ll see open pastures on the other bank. Shortly after this, head up a set of steps to your left. Turn right at the top, and follow the narrow drive up to a road that runs alongside the canal, by a lock. Join the towpath and turn right to walk beneath the B4558 then curve around to the right to the next lock.
- Bear left over the little bridge, and follow a clear footpath up through woodland to a stile, which is waymarked with a Beacons Way disk. Continue through the woodland to another stile which leads out onto open pasture, and keep straight ahead across the field to another stile, still following the Beacons Way. Bear right to follow the hedge to another stile and cross this and turn left to follow the field edge up to a drive.
- Go straight across this and continue in the same direction, towards the top corner, where you cross another stile. Now continue in the same direction, following Beacons Way signs, until you reach a lane ahead of a farmhouse. Turn right onto this and follow it up and around to the left, where you need to turn right onto a tree-lined track.
- Now follow this straight up, keeping to the right hand edge of the field the whole time. Continue like this until a stile leads onto a narrow finger of open hillside, with a plantation to your right. Continue straight ahead, passing the end of the plantation and climbing steeply up onto the summit.
- To descend, stay on the main path across the summit plateau and then steeply down to the road. Turn left then right to follow the fingerpost pointing down the steep hillside towards Pant-y-rhiw. Cross a main forest track and then turn right onto another, following it to a junction with the main forest track. Keep straight ahead onto a narrower track, signed Brin Ore Tramroad, and stay on this to a gate at the edge of the forest. Keep ahead again and drop to meet the Taff Trail, following it to Talybont on Usk.
