This week we had a glorious couple of days, where we climbed the highest mountain in South Wales – Pen Y Fan in the Brecon Beacons. At only 886m it’s not exactly Everest, but it’s surprising how fickle the mountain can be. I’ve taken Laura to see it three times … and it’s has always been shrouded in mist.

Also, it has claimed a surprising number of lives over the years, mostly because the UK special forces (SAS) train in the region. In the winter the winds on top can be enough to blow a grown man off the edge, especially in whiteout conditions.

That said, our two days we climbed (4th and 5th of Sep 2013) were glorious.

The first route we took was from below the Upper Nuadd Reservoir, up the roman road, then to the top. About 7.9 miles all in, so very light apart from the last few hundred feet.

We finished the day with a rindonculous cream tea close to the route start. I’ve never had scones as good as at this place, a little farmhouse tea shop which opens for the summer season.

The second route was from the Storey Arms. This was a quick little 4 mile jaunt we did with my sister and brother-in-law on an absolutely glorious day. With a cold front coming in from the West, the cloud layer was actually below us the whole day. Beautiful!