We’re planning a visit to Brecon when the Coronavirus lockdown restrictions allow us to safely do so. Last Friday The First Minister of Wales announced that travel restrictions in Wales may be lifted on the 6th of July. Yaaaaayyy!
So, we’re hoping that this is our last post for our series of posts on Making travel plans during lockdown in Wales. But things have been about as far from our normal as you can get so far this year. So you never know.
We said in previous posts that we’d be focussing initially on visiting places within Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion, as the restrictions are eased. Before moving on to places further afield in Wales when things start to open-up a bit more. The Vale of Glamorgan is one of those places along with somewhere very close to our hearts, Brecon.
This will be at least a 200 mile round trip and definitely a full day excursion. It may even be an overnighter if we want see everything below. One of the things we’ll have to consider is whether the public conveniences are open again. One of us has quite a weak bladder! Age! Haha!
If you’re thinking of planning a visit to Brecon some of these may be places of interest for you when the lockdown restrictions in Wales are eased.
Brecon
We loved our last visit to Brecon but it was far too long ago. It’s a really nice town with a beautiful cathedral and we’ve been coming here for 40 years. And there’s plenty to do. We’ve camped here, shopped here, dined here and had more than 1 or 2 nights out here! It’s also just nice for a relaxing stroll around. So we are keen to go back.
Pen Y Fan
Not quite as relaxing but every bit as enjoyable, Pen y Fan is undoubtedly one of our favourite mountains. There are numerous reasons for this but we’ll keep it short.
Firstly, it was the first mountain we all climbed outside of our locality. So we’ve got an affinity for it that stretches back decades. All those really wonderful memories. Secondly, it’s a relatively short hike. And third but definitely not least, the views up here are breath-taking.
We’ve climbed Pen y Fan on numerous occasions and a few years back one of us completed the Welsh Peaks challenge atop this very mountain. This really is a special place for us and we’re excited to return.
Ystradfellte
This is a small village but the main attraction here are the waterfalls. Did we mention one of us is obsessed a big fan of waterfalls? We have been here but remember absolutely nothing about it. Nor exactly where it is. So this will be a bit of an nightmare adventure trying to find. But we hope we do and that we’ll be able to share some photos and info with you.
Thoughts
When we actually get around to visiting Brecon we’ll be writing a post about it which we hope will contain some useful inormation for you if you too are planning a visit to Brecon.
We’re hoping that lockdown in Wales will be eased gradually and sensibly and if it is we’re planning on being sensible ourselves. We should be able to socially distance in these places and if we really can’t we’ll simply view the beauty of Wales from the car. Even to see these places from that relative safety will be worth it and when we do we’ll be sharing our experiences right here with you. In the meantime stay safe and take care.
Planning a visit to Brecon
How to get there
By Road
An hour from Cardiff, Brecon is easy to get to by road. Situated in mid-Wales you can take the A40 from the West or East, and to get here from the north you can take the A438 and A470.
By Rail
Unfortunately there are no Train stations in Brecon itself. The nearest Train stations are at Abergavenny (south east of Brecon) or Llandovery to the West. Abergavenny trains run on the Cardiff to Manchester route. Llandovery station is on the scenic Heart of Wales line where trains run from Llanelli, Swansea and Shrewsbury.
By Air
For international visitors the nearest airport is Cardiff International Airport. It has good rail and bus links to Cardiff City Centre where you can take a bus to Brecon. Plenty of airlines fly into Cardiff Airport and we always use Skyscanner to check out the best current deals on flights.
By bus
There is a bus service which runs from Cardiff to Brecon every 2 hours. The journey takes 1 hour 45 minutes.
Where to stay
There are plenty of places to stay in and around this area from luxury independent Hotels to B&Bs, guesthouses and budget chain hotels. Something for everyone. We use booking.com to find the best deals on places to stay. The Castle Hotel is a particular favourite of ours.
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4 thoughts on “Planning a visit to Brecon”
did you say a village known for waterfalls??? count me in!! i’d love to be free to roam and visit brecon beacons! thanks for sharing!
We did. We did! We love a good waterfall too! Thanks for reading Lannie.
Great post! Will definitely consider having a day trip from Cardiff to Brecon when we’re next in Wales 🙂
Thanks for reading and taking the time to comment Meaghan. It’s well worth it. And the journey from Merthyr to Brecon on the A470 is really scenic.