a(nother) weekend in the Brecon Beacons

Last weekend 11 of us drove to the Brecon Beacons for a couple of days of walking, boozing and just generally enjoying each others' company.

We stayed at a pub called The Dragon's Back which I would highly recommend if you're planning a trip to Brecon. The owners were absolutely lovely plus they've got accommodation to suit all sorts (we opted for the bunkhouse which included breakfast) and, speaking of food, the pub grub was spot on.

On Saturday we took the easy route up to Pen Y Fan, with a slight detour to the peak of Corn Du on the way. It might be called the easy route (a 2.5 - 3.5 hour walk) but I was a bit out of practice so it suited me just fine! We were engulfed in clouds during our ascent and when we reached the top of Corn Du there was no view to be seen, but there was snow! Still surrounded by mist, we pushed on to Pen Y Fan and then, to everyone's relief (we've been on a few hill and mountain hikes only to be denied a view), the clouds cleared. The scenery was breathtaking, these pictures really don't do it justice.

The descent would have been straightforward had it not been for the crazy weather! We got snow, sleet, sun and a bout of horizontal hail stones, which, I can tell you, are painful and make it difficult very difficult to see when they're hurtling into your eyeballs. We all reached the bottom in one piece and headed back to the pub for an afternoon and evening of well-deserved pints, pies and boards games.

Sunday was altogether more chilled: a quick visit to Llangorse Lake before exploring some incredible caves at The National Show Caves park which also, rather randomly, featured A LOT of 90s-looking dinosaur sculptures. The park was 14 quid to get in which, on reflection, was a bit pricey given that all you really need to see are the caves, particularly the Cathedral Cave which is gigantic and, so everyone kept saying, is sometimes used a wedding venue! A bit too wet and slippery for my liking but to each their own.

After a quick pootle around the farm (which involved petting a variety animals include miniature Shetland ponies (who knew they could be more miniature!)) back to London we went. I feel v.lucky that I get to bugger off to fun places at weekends, fingers crossed for a few more trips this year :)