All walks › Bannau Brycheiniog: Fforest Fawr and the Waterfalls
Bannau Brycheiniog: Fforest Fawr and the WaterfallsYstradfellte and the Limestone Country
Above the waterfalls onto open limestone country, with shakeholes, dry valleys and the river disappearing underground.
- Distance
- 5.0 mi / 8 km
- Time
- 2 hr 50
- Ascent
- 280 m
- Difficulty
- Demanding
- Shape
- Circular
Where it is
The circle shows the general area, not the exact start. Use the directions link below to get to the car park itself. Contours and paths shown are OpenTopoMap, drawn from OpenStreetMap data.
The route
From the village, lanes and paths climb onto the limestone plateau and loop back by the Llia valley. Open and exposed once out of the trees.
Worth knowing
- Porth yr Ogof, where the Mellte disappears into a cave mouth, is a short walk from the village and is spectacular.
- Do not enter the cave. It has killed people and is for equipped cavers only.
- Shakeholes across the plateau; watch your footing.
What you’ll see
Porth yr Ogof cave mouth, dry valleys, shakeholes and open limestone country.
Background
Porth yr Ogof has the largest cave entrance in Wales and the Mellte runs underground for several hundred metres.