Mountain rank by height: 47 out of 188
Height: 2,608ft | 795m
Region: Brecon Beacons
Grid ref: SO023213

One of the big three from probably the most recognisable ridgeway in Wales, the Cribyn is an impressively sharp point. When you look down from Central Wales, or up from South Wales, you can almost always recognise Pen y Fan, Corn Du and Cribyn in the distance.

Medart
Taken from Medart hill, South Wales, you can clearly see the big three, with Cribyn on the right. | Minolta MD 35-70 @ 70mm, f11.

I walked Cribyn from the East, walking the anti-clockwise Horseshoe walk, so you have to drop down from Fan y Big and go sharply up the Cribyn ridgeway, before a more gentle approach to the summit.

A sense of scale
The Cribyn is the most pointed of the big three. | Minolta MD 35-70 @ 70mm, f11.
View from Fan y Big
Cribyn, viewed from Fan y Big. You can see the sharp ascent on the far left. | Minolta MD 35-70 @ 35mm, f11.

The summit is not marked in any way, but has been worn down to bare stone in most places due to its popularity. It offers fantastic views of Pen y Fan and Corn Du, there is a drop of around 130m down before you ascend Pen y Fan, so you get that sense of them being properly separate peaks.

Cribyn
The steady flow of walkers helps give a sense of scale. | Minolta MD 35-70 @ 35mm, f11.

Between Fan y Big and Cribyn you have some wide paths up from the South that offers a gentler approach to Cribyn, or you can take the Beacons Way that skirts around Cribyn and takes you straight to Pen y Fan.

Gentle walks
Gentle approaches from the South between Fan y Big and Cribyn. | Minolta MD 35-70 @ 35mm, f11.

I can’t understand why the Beacons Way skips the Cribyn, when it is such a recognisable peak and it offers such great views of Pen y Fan.

Cribyn
The distinct point of Cribyn. | Minolta MD 35-70 @ 35mm, f11.
Cribyn
Cribyn summit with its bare rocks. | Minolta MD 35-70 @ 35mm, f11.

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