Keith and I thought we’d found an excellent base for the meet at the Llanthony campsite adjacent to Llanthony Priory. Unfortunately, we’ve now discovered that the weekend of our meet coincides with the annual Llanthony Festival, which is held in the campsite field. So we thought we’d save Llanthony for another year and change the venue for this August to Cwmdu, north-west of Crickhowell and on the western side of the Black Mountains. There is a campsite here that appears to have good facilities (www.campingbreconbeacons.com ) that is within walking distance of the local inn.
Cwmdu provides a good base for the western side of the Black Mountains, making it easy to include the highest point of Waun Fach. For those wanting to stretch their legs a bit, there is a 28km circuit with 1400m of ascent direct from the campsite, traversing Mynydd Llangorse, Mynydd Troed, Waun Fach and Pen Allt-mawr. There are several ways to cut this short or alternatively there is a most attractive round of the hills surrounding Llangorse Lake: Allt yr Easgair, Mynydd Llangorse and Mynydd Troed (21km/ 830m). The Bannau Brycheiniog (I’d better get used to that!) are close at hand also, so there should be plenty of variety. There are also cycling opportunities to explore.
Campsite booking is rather more formal than at Llanthony; there is an on-line booking form with quite a few options. The price is £10 per person per night in a tent. There are pitches for both tents and camper vans. When I enquired, they said that they had good availability now for our weekend, but that it was likely to fill up. I suggest that you book individually, if you’d like to come, owing to the number of options. But please mention the Rucksack Club in the ‘special request’ box so that they can group us together. They are taking payment on booking.
Andrew Beckett
