Cadair Fawr is a 485m hill above Llwyn-onn Reservoir and Garwnant Visitor Centre. It offers great views across the Brecon Beacons and in every direction and is very quiet. I walked it on a sunny Bank Holiday Monday and didn’t see a single person, yet Garwnant Visitor Centre waws full and laybys all around were busy. As with most hills around this area, the lure of Pen y Fan and surrounding mountains is just too strong for any of the minor hills to get a look-in.

Forest Track
The start of the route is wide forest tracks. | Tamron Adaptall SP 24-48 @ 24mm, f11.
Forest View
The views from the forest track looking East. | Tamron Adaptall SP 24-48 @ 24mm, f11.

The loop is quite a nice one, starting out on wide tracks and forestry walking before moving into open moorland and still on a fairly established track.

Beacons View
Once you leave the forest track you are on classic Beacons moorland, with the views to match. | Tamron Adaptall SP 24-48 @ 24mm, f11.

Once you get to the summit the views can be taken in from soft grass and it is definitely a place you want to sit down and just breathe it all in.

Cadair Fawr
Cadair Fawr profile. | Tamron Adaptall SP 24-48 @ 24mm, f11.
Cadair Fawr
Cadair Fawr. | Tamron Adaptall SP 24-48 @ 24mm, f11.
Cadair Fawr
This hill is a true gateway hill to the Brecon Beacons. | Tamron Adaptall SP 24-48 @ 24mm, f11.
Cadair Fawr
Cadair Fawr looking South. | Tamron Adaptall SP 24-48 @ 24mm, f11.

The walk from this point is over open moorland following sheep trails and the odd bit of longer grass before you reach the fairly busy road, following this until you take a right turn on a footpath.

Beacons View
Changing light keeps the view constantly changing. You can view the road that you are heading towards here. | Tamron Adaptall SP 24-48 @ 24mm, f11.

This footpath is not the easiest to follow, and when you near the forest you’ll be able to see the gate in, but I could not find the pathway towards it. Instead I was in grass that was often waist height with my feet and legs taking turns sinking into deep hidden mud and water. It was a very frustrating few minutes with plenty of bad language as water overrun my walking shoes and mud and water being sprayed up my legs with each sunken foot.

The Road
Before the trouble starts you walk parallel to this road briefly. | Tamron Adaptall SP 24-48 @ 24mm, f11.

That is one of the problems with any less-travelled route: at some point the footpath is going to just vanish for a bit.

Once into the woodland the path is clear – and spongy – until you once again hit wide gravel tracks which take you all the way back to the visitor centre.

That one awful section aside, this is a good walk and a hill well worth the effort so I would recommend it, just maybe modify the trail so you avoid that boggy section if you can.

Cadair Fawr
You’ll often have sheep for company on this walk. | Tamron Adaptall SP 24-48 @ 24mm, f11.

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