FAN BRYCHEINIOG AND FAN FOEL
Thursday 25 April 2002

It was a case of wait for the weather to improve then away to the hills. The object of today's walk was to ascend to Bwlch Giedd from Llyn-y-Fan Fawr, go on to Fan Brycheiniog and Fan Foel, then drop down south of the summit of Fan Brycheiniog in search of the wreck of the ANSON L9149 which crashed in January 1939. Details of the accident can be found in the pamphlet "Aircraft crash sites-and the stories behind them" obtainable at the Mountain Visitors Centre near Libanus, Brecon.

The pamphlet gives a grid ref for the crash site, but with modern GPS a more accurate reference was given to me by Roger Chapman who walks this area frequently.

Having parked my car alongside the Trecastle road from Tafarn-y-Garreg, pub just a few hundred metres towards Brecon from Craig-y-Nos on the A 4067. The reference for my start point was SN 85274 21772. From here it is possible to follow the infant River Tawe to a point where you come across some old sheep pens on the right of the river. At this point cross over the river and follow a tributary to the left heading for Bwlch y Giedd. The path can get a bit boggy, but not too much so, and soon you reach the southern edge of Llyn-y-Fan Fawr. The path past the  edge of the lake and is a bit rough for about 150m then the climb starts up the path which takes you to the top at Bwlch-y-Giedd. The path is not too steep and the ground alongside is certainly not as steep as it appears from down below.

At the top, having had a bit of a breather I took in the view of Llyn-y-Fan Fawr southern end, and the northern end. I headed to my right to reach the summit of Fan Brycheiniog. The path has undergone some erosion repair, and the job has been quite well done. Later the pitched stone path changes for a luxurious flagstone path. When I came to the end of the paved bit, I was on the mountain proper with some magnificent views all around. I soon reached the top having first arrived at the stone shelter - a construction of dry stone walling about 2.5m diameter and about 1.5m high with a little doorway (GR SN 82550 21773), very handy for a break. A bit further along is the Trig point followed a little further by a cairn on Twr-y-Fan Foel. The view from here is breathtaking with Llyn-y-Fan Fawr below. Finally having reached Fan Foel, the full splendour of the north east facing face of Fan Brycheiniog could be appreciated. The Cairn atop Fan Foel must have been very important in its day, as it must have been huge. The existing cairn is a trifling affair when you consider the size of the ring of stones which I presume outlined the original base. From alignments of local cairns and stone circles, Fan Foel Cairn was indeed important being pivotal in the many straight lines that pass through it. Incidentally the cairn is now  home to a pair of nesting Wheatears!

My walk of the summits complete, I went in search of the Anson wreck. I set the Grid ref (SN82507 21256) as a GOTO and let my GPS take me to the site. The remains don't look anything like the photo in the pamphlet, I suspect so much has been removed. I would have had difficulty it finally spotting the site but for a tiny cairn someone has built to mark the spot. Of the six wreck sites on the Western Fans, this was the last one for me to find - I have given up hope of ever finding the site of a Liberator crash on Moel Feity.

It was back to Bwlch-y-Giedd, steadily down the steep path and back to the car. I was satisfied with a project achieved.