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Walk the Sychryd Cascades and Sgwd Yr Eira Trail

By Dave Roberts   

on September 22, 2018    No ratings yet.

Posted as a walk in – Brecon Beacons National Park, Europe, Low Level and Easier Walks in Brecon Beacons, Wales

Walk the Sychryd Cascades and Sgwd Yr Eira Trail

Route Essentials

Route Summary

Walk to Sgwd yr Eira from Pontneddfechan in the heart of Waterfall Country

See the end of the article for local information about parking, public transport facilities, pubs and cafes.

Distance

6.5 km

Ascent

234 m

Time

couple of hours

Calculate the time using Naismith’s Rule and factor in your own pace.

Start Location

Pontnedd fechan to Pont Felin Faen

Difficulty

Easy Walk, Trail or Fell Runs

Hazards

Waterfalls can be dangerous – so take care if you go off path. When in spate, you should take extra care and avoid venturing off officially marked tracks.

Weather Forecast:

Met Office Brecon Beacons Mountain Weather

Check out our Best Mountain Weather Forecast?
Remember that we cannot outline every single hazard on a walk – it’s up to you to be safe and competent. Read up on Mountain Safety , Navigation and what equipment you’ll need. 

Walk the Sychryd Cascades and Sgwd Yr Eira Trail Ordnance Survey Map and GPX File Download

View the full route map

Download file for GPS

Walk the Sychryd Cascades and Sgwd Yr Eira Trail

This walk from Pontneddfechan in Brecon Beacon’s Waterfall Country, takes you first along the Afon Sychryd and it’s Cascades before heading off to view the more famous Sgwd Yr Eira. The path is easy to follow and clearly way-marked and includes a number of points of interest along the length as well as a set of downloadable MP3 files that you can listen to at specified points in order to learn more about the walk. This includes the steep limestone crags at Craig y Ddinas and Bwa Maen, with the former towering 45m high. It is no surprise that this was the location of an Iron Age hillfort.

There are also links to the industrial revolution along the route, with an old gunpowder work and a silica mine. The gunpowder was made with charcoal from the forest and powered by the river, while the silica mine created heat resistant bricks for blast furnaces.

The highlight of the walk is Sgwd yr Eira, one of the few waterfalls you can walk behind. There is an actual path here, with the name Sgwd yr Eira translating to the Snow Waterfalls – which is what it looks like when you’re under the falls and looking out. The route then returns the same way – with the distance above for the full walk out an back again.

However, if you wanted a longer walk, you could easily tag on the Four Falls Walk to the end of this walk, and then returning the same way. That adds the waterfalls of Sgwd y Pannwr, Sgwd Isaf Clun-gwyn and Sgwd Clun-gwyn.

Sychryd Cascades and the Sgwd Yr Eira Trail Route Description

More information can be found at this link.

Sgwd yr Eira
Sgwd yr Eira

Local Information and Recommended Maps and Guidebooks

Route Summary:

Walk to Sgwd yr Eira from Pontneddfechan in the heart of Waterfall Country

Route Start Location: Pontnedd fechan to Pont Felin Faen

Distance
 Ascent
 Time
6.5 km 234 m couple of hours

Calculate the time using Naismith’s Rule and factor in your own pace.

Activivity Type: Easy Walk, Trail or Fell Runs

Summits and Places on this Route

Facilities

Number of pubs in Pontneddfechan  – with the walk starting directly next to The Angel Inn. There’s a cafe and a couple of other pubs –  The Old White Horse Inn and the Dinas Inn.

Hazards

Waterfalls can be dangerous – so take care if you go off path. When in spate, you should take extra care and avoid venturing off officially marked tracks.

Remember that we cannot outline every single hazard on a walk – it’s up to you to be safe and competent. Read up on Mountain Safety , Navigation and what equipment you’ll need.

Parking :

Public Transport:

Occasional buses from Neath and Swansea – 55.

Traveline for UK Public Transport

Weather Forecast:

Met Office Brecon Beacons Mountain Weather

Check out our Best Mountain Weather Forecast?

Recommended Maps: 

Guidebooks:

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Dave Roberts

Dave Roberts founded Walk Eryri in 2004, with the aim of providing routes that are off the beaten track. Walk Eryri is now part of Mud and Routes which continues to provide more off beat routes and walks in Snowdonia and beyond. Dave has been exploring the hills of Eryri for over thirty years, and is a qualified Mountain Leader. Dave also established Walk up Snowdon, Walk up Scafell Pike and Walk up Ben Nevis just to mention a few.

More Posts by Dave Roberts

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