Boundless Beacons
The Brecon Beacons National Park is one of Carmarthenshire’s proudest possessions. The western end of the Beacons, which falls within south-east Carmarthenshire, is seen by many as the real jewel in the crown as this is home to many of the least explored sections of the national park.
The area of high, rolling country high above Llandovery, Llandeilo and the Towy Valley is known locally as the Black Mountain. This brooding peak really lives up to its name and even seems to have a personality of its own - remote and atmospheric, it is untamed and exciting.
The Black Mountain has recently been named as part of the Fforest Fawr Geopark, which is itself the only site in Wales to be listed among the most exceptional geological sites in Europe.
Fforest Fawr (the name translates as 'Great Forest' in English) is a swathe of upland country which was included within the Brecon Beacons National Park when it was designated in 1957. These uplands lie at the heart of the Geopark although it extends beyond them to include much surrounding countryside.
In fact Fforest Fawr Geopark's 300 square miles / 763 km2 include mountain and moorland, woods and meadows, towns and villages, lakes and rivers and a great deal more besides.
The geopark covers roughly half the Brecon Beacons and stretches from Llandeilo in the west to Brecon and Pen y Fan in the east. It is an area of wild hills and lonely commons - providing a thrilling contrast with the gentler slopes and nestling towns down in the valleys.
To help walkers get the most out of the natural and man-made landscapes of this are, a series of geotrails are being developed. Some are easy strolls while others are more physically demanding. There will be some that focus on the underlying rocks, others that look at how man has shaped the place.
Pick up your geotrail leaflets at the Llandovery Tourist Information & Heritage Centre.
The gentler side of the Black Mountain can be found around the Usk Reservoir where you’ll find easy waymarked walks and cycle routes. The Fforesr Fawr mountain range comes next, just across the Carmarthenshire border. This is another slice of high moor land that plunges into narrow, wooded valleys craved by waterfalls and riddled with caves. The third mountain range, the central beacons has all the classic Brecon Beacons features - the grassy flanks, the open spaces, the big skies and the razor-sharp ridges, rising to Pen y Fan, South Wales’s summit.
© 2010 Carmarthenshire County Council.