Location:Craig Cerrig Gleisiad, Brecon Beacons An interesting day today. We ventured up to the Brecon Beacons National Park to a wonderful Nature Reserve called Craig Cerrig Gleisiad.
We knew Ring Ouzel have been sighted there, it even says on the information board at the entrance of the reserve, but we've never ever seen one here...until today.
The start of the walk with a information sign...
...Ring Ouzels!
We made our way to the reserve and were dwarfed by the overpowering steep crags. This fascinating landscape is the result of the Ice Age 20,000 years ago and over time the ice carved the 150m cliffs we see today.
Despite the reserve's tough, mountainous setting it has an array of wildlife. Over 500 plants can be found here and 80 different birds including; Peregrine Falcons, Kestrels, Red Gouse and of course the Ring Ouzels. In addition to the plants and birds, you will find many species of fungi, insects, amphibian and reptile species.
The step crags of Craig Cerrig Gleisiad
Green Tiger Beetle
Red Tailed Bumblebee (I think)
We explored deeper into the reserve and noticed a large bird perched on a cliff in the distance, we couldn't really work out what it was, so we checked the pic on the camera's screen and noticed another bird on the right of the pic...we couldn't believe it, a Ring Ouzel! We saw with our own eyes the Ring Ouzel was join by another one and attacked the bird on the left until they eventually chased it off.
Here is the pic, you can see the large bird on the left (which is in fact a buzzard) and to the right you can see a small black bird (the Ringed Ouzel) with the distinctive white collar
After all the excitement and no other sighting of the Ouzels we decided to call it a day. Walking back to the car we spotted a fox and watched as Pen Y Fan disappeared behind hill fog.
Location: Ogof Ffynnon Ddu National Nature Reserve
After our visit to Cwm Du Glen we decided to venture up to the Brecon Beacons to a Nature Reserve not to far from Craig-y-Nos Castle. Last year we spotted a cuckoo there, so we were hoping to have a repeat sighting.
The nature reserve is famous for it's cave system and is one of the most extensive in Europe; more than 45 kilometres of passages have been found. The caves are home to bats and insects, whilst little white blind fish reside in the underground steams. It is also the sight of past industrial activity with quarries, tram roads and bricked buildings remaining.
But we were here for the wildlife and birds...this is what we discovered:
This was taken near the car park, one of the first Swallow I have spotted this year!
Lots of Wheatears around (this one is a male)
Impressive quarry
Scene from the higher ground of the moorland
"I can see you" lots of lambs around this time if year
Skylark
Female Stonechat
Sheep against a fantastic backdrop
Great views of Fan Hir which is part of the Carmarthen Fans
Lambs on the path
Path Blockers!
Male Wheatear
Female Wheatear
Meadow Pipit
Amazing landscape from the higher points of the reserve!
It had
been a week since we climbed Pen y Fan but we were still craving the delights
of the Brecon Beacons.
Throughout the week I had been checking the weather uipdates and each day heavy
snow had been forecast on the mountains. Our time in the Beacons was not yet
finished and we decided to venture to the other side of the A470 and head up to
the summit of Fan Frynych
Once again our journey took us over the Black
Mountain and, like every other trip over this stretch of road, we had to pull
over to get some photos of the amazing scenery. There was still a lot of snow
on the ground and the wild ponies were grazing near the edge of the road - two
of them came right up to us looking for food. Unfortunately we didn't have
anything suitable for them but we did manage to get some lovely pics of them.
One of the beautiful wild ponies
There was still a lot of snow over the Black Mountain
We drove
past the Pen-y-Pant car park where we had stopped the week before and were
amazed at the amount of cars parked both there and on the road. We glanced up at
the path to Pen y Fan and saw people walking up like an army of ants...hence
its nickname, the Pen Y Fan Motorway! It was so busy and part of us was
relieved that we were going to a much quieter part of the National Park.
Our hike
began from a layby on the A470
(grid ref: SN956227) - a few miles north of the Storey Arms. It is quite a large layby with a picnic bench and information
boards - but no toilet or refreshment facilities. We made our way through a
wooden gate and into Craig Cerrig-gleisiad nature reserve.
A cheerful robin greets us
The beginning of the nature reserve
We continued
walking up a well laid path which was surrounded by deciduous trees and snow on
the ground. It's a fairly steep climb, a little uneven in places and
unfortunately not really suitable for wheelchairs or pushchairs. We reached
another gate and as we walked through we were presented with the most beautiful
winter wonderland.
The path from the layby
Going through the main gate into the reserve
A winter wonderland with very icy paths
Walking
through the reserve we were dwarfed by the overpowering steep crags of
Craig Cerrig-gleisiad. This fascinating landscape is the
result of the Ice Age 20,000 years ago and over time the ice carved the 150m
cliffs we see today.
We made
our way along the icy paths which kept disappearing under the thick snow. The
reserve is in continuous shade in the winter due to the massive cliffs creating
almost an amphirheater and
this meant that the paths were getting icier and there was no sign of the snow
melting. This shaded area creates perfect conditions for some rare arctic
plants that can only be found in this part of the Beacons. The cliffs are also
a favoured nesting place for peregrine falcons.
As we
climbed we turned around and were starting to get fantastic glimpse of Pen y
Fan and Corn Du - they were both covered in snow and you could see the
dark wintry clouds surrounding
the summits.
Corn Du and Pen y Fan in the distance
The
weather was starting to change quite dramatically and as we ventured uphill we
were caught in several spin drifts. The sky was turning black in parts and it
started snowing off and on, but we continued on the path.
We
inadvertently went off path a couple of times due to the snow cover, but
luckily we knew the area and managed to get back on track. We could just about
see the path in the distance and we followed it, passing the bare hawthorn
and rowen trees on the way.
We got to
our usual point where we would have a rest and a cup of tea…but the rock we
would usually sit down on was completely covered in snow. We didn't mind though
- we needed a rest and the views of Pen y Fan were beautiful.
The stormy sky
You can just about make out the path with rowen and hawthorn trees scattered across the landscape
Our rest point - with an awesome view of Pen Y Fan
After
warming up with a flask of tea and a Mars bar we continued up the mountain. The snow was getting extremely
thick in parts, almost knee deep! In the near distance we could see a cairn and
ventured towards it.
Dan battling against the thick snow
The snow was almost knee deep!
The cairn in the distance
When we
got to the cairn we once again had awesome views of Pen y Fan and Corn Du in
the distance. At this point you have an option to go one of two ways to the
summit of Fan Frynych: To the left
of the cairn is a ridge which we tried to walk, but the snow was far too thick
to see the path, so instead we went straight on (with the cairn behind
us).
Cairn
The sun begins to set
The ridge path was impossible to do due to it being so steep and full of thick snow
The route
we took to Fan Frynych didn’t
appear to have been touched by hikers for a while, which gave us great
satisfaction by making footprints in the unspoiled snow. With the path covered
in snow we had to rely on memories of previous visits to navigate to the stile
that takes you out of the reserve and onto Fan Frynych.
When we
eventually reached the stile the snow was coming down thick and fast with the
wind blowing a gale - it was the start of a blizzard!
Walking in untouched snow
The stile that leads out of the nature reserve and onto Fan Frynych
The two of us caught in a blizzard
It wasn't
long before we could see the trig point of Fan Frynych. The mountain is 629m above sea level and part of the
Forest Fawr section of the
Beacons. There is usually a well worn path that leads to the trig point, but
due to the snow we couldn't see it. So with the summit straight ahead of us and
watching where we were walking we headed straight for it.
I filmed
the walk to the trig point… it was freezing, windy and visibility was poor -
it wasn't very pleasant but definitely an experience! On top of the
blizzard we had to be aware that there were deep pools of water in this area,
so each step on the snow was risky.
Where did the path go? The trig point in the distance
Dan in the blizzard to the trig point
When we
finally got to the trig point the blizzard was in full force - it was so cold
and the wind was very strong. We got our obligatory trig point photos and then,
within ten minutes, the blizzard had ended and the sun came out which brought
blue sky and amazing 360 degree views. Please watch the video above to see what
we experienced on the summit.
The video of the walk to the summit
Me with the trig point
Dan in the Antarctic...errr actually Mid Wales :)
The Awesome Welsh Dragon trig point of Fan Frynych
We spent
a good few minutes up on the summit and as we were loosing light fast it was
time to make our way back down the mountain. The footprints we had left whilst
walking to the summit were now completely covered over due to the recent
snowfall, but eventually we got back to the icy path and then found the stile
to get back into the nature reserve.
Going
down was both fun and scary. When we have climbed this mountain previously the
path up is rocky, sometimes steep and very close to the edge - now it was completely covered with snow. We just had
to go for it and spent most of the incline sliding,
falling and just hoping for pot luck! We did however have a lot of fun
too... snowball fights, snowmen building and endless falls...the snow in the
Beacons was awesome!
Snowman!
Snowball fight anyone?
The sun
started setting whilst we descended creating
a beautiful pink and purple sky, it was also joined by a full moon.
We always
have a fantastic time when we visit the quieter side of the Beacons and it was
extra special in the snow. I would certainly recommend this area if you are fed
up with the large numbers of people on Pen y Fan - the walk is challenging but
you are rewarded with magnificent views of the National Park…and
solitude.
