The Brecon Beacons (; ) are a mountain range in Wales. The range includes South Wales's highest mountain,
Pen y Fan (), its twin summit
Corn Du (), and
Craig Gwaun Taf (), which are the three highest peaks in the range. The Brecon Beacons have given their name to the larger
Brecon Beacons National Park, and the range itself is therefore sometimes known as the Central Beacons to differentiate the two.
Toponymy
The name ''Bannau Brycheiniog'' is first attested in the sixteenth century, and 'Brecon Beacons' first occurs in the eighteenth century as "Brecknock Beacons".
''Bannau Brycheiniog'' derives from the Welsh ''bannau'', "peaks", and ''
Brycheiniog'', the name of an early medieval kingdom which covered the area.
The English name is derived from the Welsh one; in the eleventh century the town of Brecon is recorded as 'Brecheniauc', which became "Brecknock" and "Brecon".
In a paragraph on Brecknockshire,
John Leland's 1536–1539 ''Itinerary'' notes that:
Leland ascribes the name "Banne Brekeniauc" to the hills surrounding "Artures Hille" (Pen y Fan), also calling the range the "Banne Hilles".
The term "Brecknock Beacons" was used in the eighteenth century and referred to the area around Pen y Fan, which was itself sometimes called 'the (Brecknock) Beacon'. For instance, Emanuel Bowen's ''A New and accurate map of South Wales'' (1729) labels the peak as 'The Vann or Brecknock Beacon', John Clark's 1794 ''General View of the Agriculture of the County of Brecknock'' refers to 'the Vann, or Brecknock Beacon, the undisputed sovereign of all the mountains in South Wales', and an 1839
tithe map of Cantref parish labels the mountain simply 'Beacon'. A slightly wider definition was used in 1809 by the Breconshire historian
Theophilus Jones, who wrote that 'of the lofty summits of the Brecknock Beacons, that most southwards is the lowest, and the other two nearly of a height, they are sometimes called Cader Arthur or Arthur's chair'.
This implies that "Brecknock Beacons" referred to only three summits, including Pen y Fan and Corn Du.
To distinguish the Brecons Beacons range from the national park, the range is sometimes called the "Central Beacons".
Geography

The Brecon Beacons comprises six main peaks, which from west to east are: Corn Du, ; Pen y Fan, the highest peak, ;
Cribyn, ;
Fan y Bîg, ;
Bwlch y Ddwyallt, ; and
Waun Rydd, . These summits form a long
ridge
A ridge is a long, narrow, elevated geomorphologic landform, structural feature, or a combination of both separated from the surrounding terrain by steep sides. The sides of a ridge slope away from a narrow top, the crest or ridgecrest, wi ...
, and the sections joining the first four form a horseshoe shape around the head of the
Taf Fechan, which flows away to the southeast. To the northeast of the ridge, interspersed with long parallel spurs, are four
cirque
A (; from the Latin word ) is an amphitheatre-like valley formed by Glacier#Erosion, glacial erosion. Alternative names for this landform are corrie (from , meaning a pot or cauldron) and ; ). A cirque may also be a similarly shaped landform a ...
s (Welsh: ''cymoedd'', sing. ''cwm'') or round-headed valleys; from west to east these are Cwm Sere, Cwm Cynwyn, Cwm Oergwm and Cwm Cwareli.
The Brecon Beacons range, Fforest Fawr, and Black Mountain form a continuous massif of high ground above 300 metres (1000 feet). The
A470 road forms an approximate boundary between the central Beacons and Fforest Fawr.
National park
The Brecon Beacons National Park was established in 1957, the third of the three Welsh parks after
Snowdonia in 1951 and the
Pembrokeshire Coast National Park
Pembrokeshire Coast National Park () is a National Parks of England and Wales, national park along the Pembrokeshire coast in west Wales.
It was established as a National Park in 1952. It is one of the three National parks of Wales, the others ...
in 1952. It covers an area of , which is much larger than the Brecon Beacons range. Over half of the park is in the south of
Powys
Powys ( , ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It borders Gwynedd, Denbighshire, and Wrexham County Borough, Wrexham to the north; the English Ceremonial counties of England, ceremo ...
; the remainder of the park is split between northwestern
Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...
, eastern
Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire (; or informally ') is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. ...
, northern
Rhondda Cynon Taf and
Merthyr Tydfil
Merthyr Tydfil () is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydfil, daughter of K ...
, and very small areas of
Blaenau Gwent
Blaenau Gwent (; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county borough in the South East Wales, south-east of Wales. It borders the Local government in Wales, unitary authority areas of Monmouthshire and Torfaen to the east, Caerphilly County Borough ...
, and
Torfaen.
Brecon Mountain Railway
A railway with narrow gauge trains is run by the Brecon Mountain Railway. The railway is a
narrow-gauge tourist railway on the south side of the Brecon Beacons range. It climbs northwards from
Pant along the full length of the
Pontsticill Reservoir (also called 'Taf Fechan' reservoir by
Welsh Water) and continues past the adjoining
Pentwyn Reservoir to
Torpantau railway station. The railway's starting point at Pant is located north of Merthyr Tydfil town centre.
Military training

The Brecon Beacons are used for training members of the UK armed forces and
military reservists. The
Army
An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
's
Infantry Battle School is located at Brecon,
and the
Special Air Service (SAS) and
Special Boat Service use the area to test the fitness of applicants.
An exercise unique to the area is the '
Fan dance', which takes place on Pen y Fan.
In July 2013 three soldiers died from overheating or
heatstroke on an SAS selection exercise. An army captain had been found dead on
Corn Du earlier in the year after training in freezing weather for the SAS.
See also
*
Brecon Mountain Railway
*
Brecon Beacons Food Festival
References
External links
Tourist Information Brecon Beacons Park Official Brecon Beacons Tourism Association
{{Authority control
Brecon Beacons National Park
Brecon Beacons
Dark sky preserves in Wales
Geography of Merthyr Tydfil County Borough
Geography of Monmouthshire
Landforms of Merthyr Tydfil County Borough
Landforms of Powys
Mountain ranges of the Brecon Beacons National Park
Mountain ranges of Wales
National parks in Wales
Protected areas established in 1957
de:Brecon-Beacons-Nationalpark