Fforest Fawr
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Fforest Fawr is an extensive upland area in the county of
Powys Powys (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh succession of states, successor state, petty kingdom and princi ...
,
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
. Formerly known as the Great Forest of Brecknock in English, it was a royal hunting area for several centuries but is now used primarily for sheep grazing, forestry, water catchment and recreation. It lies within the
Brecon Beacons National Park The Brecon Beacons National Park ( cy, Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog) is one of three national parks in Wales, and is centred on the Brecon Beacons range of hills in southern Wales. It includes the Black Mountain (range), Black Mountain ...
.


Extent

The area extends from the edge of the Black Mountain in the west eastwards to the
A470 The A470 (also named the Cardiff to Glan Conwy Trunk Road) is a trunk road in Wales. It is the country's longest road at and links the capital Cardiff on the south coast to Llandudno on the north coast. While previously one had to navigat ...
Brecon Brecon (; cy, Aberhonddu; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the coun ...
to
Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil (; cy, Merthyr Tudful ) 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 Tydf ...
road, just west of the Brecon Beacons themselves. It includes the peaks of
Fan Fawr Fan Fawr ( Welsh 'great peak') is a mountain in the Fforest Fawr section of the Brecon Beacons National Park, in Powys, Wales and over 734 m (2,408 ft) high. The summit overlooks the steep eastern face and is marked by a cairn. Un ...
(734 m),
Fan Frynych Fan Frynych is the northernmost peak of the Fforest Fawr massif in the Brecon Beacons National Park, South Wales. It is classed as a subsidiary summit of Fan Fawr and makes up half of the Craig Cerrig-gleisiad and Fan Frynych National Nature Re ...
(629 m),
Craig Cerrig-gleisiad Craig Cerrig-gleisiad is a subsidiary summit of Fan Fawr in the Fforest Fawr section of the Brecon Beacons National Park, South Wales. It makes up half of the Craig Cerrig-gleisiad and Fan Frynych National Nature Reserve with its sister peak Fa ...
(629 m),
Fan Llia Fan Llia is a subsidiary summit of Fan Fawr in the Fforest Fawr section of the Brecon Beacons National Park, Wales. In common with other peaks in the Fforest Fawr uplands it lies within the county of Powys. The hill has the form of a broad ridg ...
(632 m),
Fan Nedd Fan Nedd is a mountain in the Fforest Fawr area of the Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales. In common with the rest of the Fforest Fawr uplands it is within the county of Powys. The hill is in the form of a broad flat-topped ridge whose summi ...
(663 m),
Fan Gyhirych Fan Gyhirych is a mountain in the Fforest Fawr section of Brecon Beacons National Park in south Wales. It lies within the county of Breconshire, and administered as part of the unitary authority of Powys. Its highest point at 2379 feet (or ...
(725 m),
Fan Bwlch Chwyth Fan Bwlch Chwyth is a peak in the Fforest Fawr section of the Brecon Beacons National Park and within the county of Powys. Its summit (at 603 m) is marked by a trig point at OS grid ref SN 912217. Geology The hill is formed from sandstones and ...
(603 m) and Cefn Cul (562 m). Traditionally Fforest Fawr also included the peaks of
Fan Hir Fan Hir is a peak at the eastern end of the Black Mountain (''Y Mynydd Du'') in the Brecon Beacons National Park (''Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog'') in southern Wales. It is a subsidiary summit of Fan Brycheiniog. It falls within the coun ...
and
Fan Brycheiniog Fan Brycheiniog is the highest peak at a height of (above sea level) in the Black Mountain (''Y Mynydd Du'') region of the Brecon Beacons National Park in southern Wales. There is a trig point at the peak and on the edge of the escarpm ...
, although the modern recreational use of the name tends to be restricted to the area east of the Black Mountain of which they form a part.


Geology

The area is largely underlain by sandstones and mudstones of the
Old Red Sandstone The Old Red Sandstone is an assemblage of rocks in the North Atlantic region largely of Devonian age. It extends in the east across Great Britain, Ireland and Norway, and in the west along the northeastern seaboard of North America. It also exte ...
, the more resistant sandstone beds of the Brownstones Formation give rise to the major peaks. To the south of the main peaks are two more broken north-facing scarps, that of the
Carboniferous Limestone Carboniferous Limestone is a collective term for the succession of limestones occurring widely throughout Great Britain and Ireland that were deposited during the Dinantian epoch (geology), Epoch of the Carboniferous period (geology), Period. T ...
and, to its south, that of the
Twrch Sandstone The Marros Group is the name given to a suite of rocks of Namurian age laid down during the Carboniferous Period in South Wales. These rocks were formerly known as the Millstone Grit Series but are now distinguished from the similar but geographi ...
, commonly referred to as the Basal Grit or Millstone Grit. These three suites of rock all dip southwards into the regionally important
South Wales Coalfield The South Wales Coalfield ( cy, Maes glo De Cymru) extends across Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, Bridgend, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Merthyr Tydfil, Caerphilly, Blaenau Gwent and Torfaen. It is rich in coal deposits, espec ...
basin. The area is criss-crossed by faults which fall into two groups. Two major faults which are closely associated with tight folding of the rocks through which they pass, constitute one group. These are known as the
Cribarth Cribarth, sometimes referred to as the Sleeping Giant, is a hill in the Brecon Beacons National Park located in the traditional county of Brecknockshire (currently administered part of the unitary authority of Powys) in southern Wales. The summit ...
and
Neath Disturbance The Neath Disturbance is a geological structure which stretches across south Wales from Swansea Bay northeastwards as far as Hereford in western England. It consists of a series of both faults and associated folds which were active during the mo ...
s. They run north-east to south-west through the area and are usually associated with the
Variscan orogeny The Variscan or Hercynian orogeny was a geologic mountain-building event caused by Late Paleozoic continental collision between Euramerica (Laurussia) and Gondwana to form the supercontinent of Pangaea. Nomenclature The name ''Variscan'', comes f ...
though the origins of these weaknesses in the Earth's crust can perhaps be ascribed to the earlier
Caledonian Orogeny The Caledonian orogeny was a mountain-building era recorded in the northern parts of the British Isles, the Scandinavian Mountains, Svalbard, eastern Greenland and parts of north-central Europe. The Caledonian orogeny encompasses events that occ ...
. The second set of faults form something of a swarm which run north-northwest to south-southeast and are most apparent within the limestone and Millstone Grit outcrop. The area was glaciated during the ice ages and at least three glacial
cirques A (; from the Latin word ') is an amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion. Alternative names for this landform are corrie (from Scottish Gaelic , meaning a pot or cauldron) and (; ). A cirque may also be a similarly shaped landform ...
are evident, of which Craig Cerrig-gleisiad is the most dramatic. At both this location and on the eastern slopes of
Fan Dringarth Fan Llia is a subsidiary summit of Fan Fawr in the Fforest Fawr section of the Brecon Beacons National Park, Wales. In common with other peaks in the Fforest Fawr uplands it lies within the county of Powys. The hill has the form of a broad ridge ...
are spectacular
landslip Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of environments, ...
s.


Archaeology

There are many extant prehistoric monuments in the area, and especially two famous
standing stone A menhir (from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large human-made upright rock (geology), stone, typically dating from the European middle Bronze Age. T ...
s, Maen Llia and
Maen Madoc The Maen Madoc or Maen Madog stone is a menhir which lies adjacent to the Roman road Sarn Helen that runs across the Brecon Beacons in what was a key area of Roman Wales, about one mile (2 km) north of Ystradfellte. It stands approximatel ...
, both of which stand near to the
Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...
of
Sarn Helen Sarn Helen refers to several stretches of Roman road in Wales. The route, which follows a meandering course through central Wales, connects Aberconwy in the north with Carmarthen in the west. Despite its length, academic debate continues as t ...
. There are also remains of
hut circle In archaeology, a hut circle is a circular or oval depression in the ground which may or may not have a low stone wall around it that used to be the foundation of a round house. The superstructure of such a house would have been made of timber an ...
s,
stone circle A stone circle is a ring of standing stones. Most are found in Northwestern Europe – especially in Britain, Ireland, and Brittany – and typically date from the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, with most being built from 3000 BC. The be ...
s,
stone row A stone row or stone alignment is a linear arrangement of upright, parallel megalithic standing stones set at intervals along a common axis or series of axes, usually dating from the later Neolithic or Bronze Age.Power (1997), p.23 Rows may be in ...
s and other traces of habitation such as hut platforms and pillow mounds. The mounds are the large remains of former attempts to farm
rabbit Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit speci ...
s or
cuniculture Cuniculture is the agricultural practice of breeding and raising domestic rabbits as livestock for their meat, fur, or wool. Cuniculture is also employed by rabbit fanciers and hobbyists in the development and betterment of rabbit breeds and the ...
on the
moorland Moorland or moor is a type of habitat found in upland areas in temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands and montane grasslands and shrublands biomes, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils. Moorland, nowadays, generally ...
. There are also
round barrow A round barrow is a type of tumulus and is one of the most common types of archaeological monuments. Although concentrated in Europe, they are found in many parts of the world, probably because of their simple construction and universal purpose. ...
s visible usually as
cairn A cairn is a man-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the gd, càrn (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehis ...
s sometimes on the peak summits, such as that on Fan Gyhirych but also elsewhere on what is now wild
moorland Moorland or moor is a type of habitat found in upland areas in temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands and montane grasslands and shrublands biomes, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils. Moorland, nowadays, generally ...
. They are mainly of
British Bronze Age Bronze Age Britain is an era of British history that spanned from until . Lasting for approximately 1,700 years, it was preceded by the era of Neolithic Britain and was in turn followed by the period of Iron Age Britain. Being categorised as t ...
date of 2000 BC and sometimes earlier, although few have been excavated scientifically. The cairn on
Fan Foel Fan commonly refers to: * Fan (machine), a machine for producing airflow, often used for cooling ** Hand fan, an implement held and waved by hand to move air for cooling * Fan (person), short for fanatic; an enthusiast or supporter, especially wit ...
excavated in 2002-4 showed a central
cist A cist ( or ; also kist ; from grc-gre, κίστη, Middle Welsh ''Kist'' or Germanic ''Kiste'') is a small stone-built coffin-like box or ossuary used to hold the bodies of the dead. Examples can be found across Europe and in the Middle East ...
with the ashes and bones of a woman and two children of date about 2000 BC with a possible wreath of meadowsweet flowers.


History

Although it is an area of open moorland today, it was much more wooded in the past; but that is not the meaning of "Fforest" in the name. In the Middle Ages, "forest" referred to land demarcated for hunting, with the right to hunt animals there restricted to the local lord (cf
Radnor Forest Radnor Forest ( cy, Fforest Clud) in the county of Radnorshire, Wales is a rock dome composed of Silurian shales, mudstones and limestone in Mid Wales. It is a forest in the medieval sense of the word (an area of land set aside for hunting). I ...
and
New Forest The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, featu ...
). Bernard de Neufmarche, Norman lord of Brecon, established the forest around 1100. In the 13th century, another part of the highland was added, to the SW of
Sennybridge Sennybridge ( cy, Pontsenni) is a village in the historic county of Brecknockshire, Wales, now within the unitary authority area of Powys, situated some from Cardiff and from Swansea. It lies west of Brecon on the A40 trunk road to Llandov ...
; the two were distinguished by the names ''Fforest Fach'' (Little Forest) and ''Fforest Fawr'' (Great Forest). Following the
Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...
the area was owned by the Lord of Brecon, Bernard de Neufmarche, eventually passing into the possession of
the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...
in 1521. It was sold by the Crown in 1819 to raise funds depleted by the cost of the
Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
. The entrepreneur John Christie purchased some of this land and subsequently constructed a tramroad across the area from
Sennybridge Sennybridge ( cy, Pontsenni) is a village in the historic county of Brecknockshire, Wales, now within the unitary authority area of Powys, situated some from Cardiff and from Swansea. It lies west of Brecon on the A40 trunk road to Llandov ...
to
Ystradgynlais Ystradgynlais (, ) is a town on the River Tawe in southwest Powys, Wales. It is the second-largest town in Powys and is in the historic county of Brecknockshire. The town has a high proportion of Welsh language-speakers. The community includes ...
in an effort to improve agricultural production though the venture ran into financial difficulties. Parts of the area, notably on the flanks of Cefn Cul above
Cray Reservoir Cray Reservoir is a storage reservoir located in the Brecon Beacons National Park (named after the village of Crai) for the water supply to the city of Swansea in South Wales and was built between 1898 and 1908 by Swansea Corporation. The rese ...
, were set aside during the 19th century for rabbit breeding for both fur and meat. 'Pillow mounds' remain as the most obvious sign of this venture. These long low earth mounds were constructed to allow the animals to burrow in what were otherwise thin soils. Since October 2005 it has formed the core of the
Fforest Fawr Geopark Fforest Fawr Geopark is a Geopark in the Brecon Beacons National Park, south Wales. It is the first designated Geopark in Wales having gained membership of both the European Geoparks Network and the UNESCO-assisted Global Network of National ...
, the first
Geopark A geopark is a protected area with internationally significant geology within which sustainable development is sought and which includes tourism, conservation, education and research concerning not just geology but other relevant sciences. In 20 ...
in Wales and one of several areas in the UK designated for their outstanding geological heritage.


Modern land use

The waters of the southerly-flowing
Afon Dringarth The Afon Dringarth (or simply ''Tringarth'') is a river in Powys, Wales and wholly contained within the Brecon Beacons National Park. Its headwater streams drain the eastern slopes of Fan Dringarth (which is probably named after the river), the ...
have been impounded between Fan Fawr and Fan Llia as
Ystradfellte Reservoir Ystradfellte Reservoir is a water storage reservoir on the Afon Dringarth in the upland area of Fforest Fawr within the Brecon Beacons National Park in South Wales. It lies just north of the village of Ystradfellte in the county of Powys at OS ...
. The headwaters of the northerly-flowing
Afon Crai The Afon Crai is a river in Powys, Wales rising in the Fforest Fawr section of the Brecon Beacons National Park and flowing north into the River Usk. The headwaters known as Blaen-crai flow north from Bwlch Bryn-rhudd, a col between the Crai ...
are stored in
Cray Reservoir Cray Reservoir is a storage reservoir located in the Brecon Beacons National Park (named after the village of Crai) for the water supply to the city of Swansea in South Wales and was built between 1898 and 1908 by Swansea Corporation. The rese ...
immediately west of the A4067 Ystradgynlais to Sennybridge road. There are numerous conifer plantations on both the northern and southern slopes of Fforest Fawr. Fan Frynych and Craig Cerrig-gleisiad are protected as a national nature reserve which is owned and managed by
Natural Resources Wales Natural Resources Wales ( cy, Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru) is a Welsh Government sponsored body, which became operational from 1 April 2013, when it took over the management of the natural resources of Wales. It was formed from a merger of the Count ...
for its
Arctic–alpine An Arctic–alpine taxon is one whose natural distribution includes the Arctic and more southerly mountain ranges, particularly the Alps. The presence of identical or similar taxa in both the tundra of the far north, and high mountain ranges much f ...
flora. Almost the entire area is open access for walkers. A major
long-distance path A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking, cycling, horse riding or cross-country skiing. They exist on all continents excep ...
, the
Beacons Way The Beacons Way (Welsh: Ffordd y Bannau) is a waymarked long distance footpath in the Brecon Beacons National Park, Wales. It is a linear route which runs for east to west through the National Park, and passes many of the most important lan ...
, runs east–west through Fforest Fawr.Sansom, R. & Michael, A. 2005 ‘Ffordd y Bannau/The Beacons Way’, Brecon Beacons Park Society


References


External links

{{Commons category-inline Mountain ranges of the Brecon Beacons National Park Landforms of Powys Mountain ranges of Wales