Green Travel Guide to the Brecon Beacons National Park
Words by Tom Watts and Florence Fortnam. Film produced by Green Traveller.
Artwork for Green Traveller's Guides by Tina Smith and Mark Edwards.
Foreword by Brecon Beacons National Park Authority
Brecon Beacons National Park is Wales at its most rugged and awe-inspiring, a dramatic landscape of snowcapped peaks and deep valleys, of thundering waterfalls, hidden caves and jagged gorges with adventure around every corner, whether it's hiking across mountain tops, biking through forests, paddling down rivers or exploring historic market towns.
As a National Park there is already a huge amount of effort being put into conserving and managing the countryside. Our work to make holidays greener is based on the fact that wherever we go and whatever we do, we have an impact. We help our visitors to make better choices, have richer experiences and make their impact on the places they love to visit a positive one!
Our Green Tourism Business Scheme award winners ensure that your accommodation or the business you are using is working hard to look after the destination every bit as well as they look after you. They help keep this place special for your holiday today, and so future visitors can continue to enjoy fabulous holidays in this special destination tomorrow. Look out for the distinctive Green Tourism logo which shows that the business displaying it has been visited and assessed for its green credentials.
Of course not all businesses making a difference necessarily want to have an official eco-label to show this so we are delighted that Greentraveller’s team of experts have also picked out the best places to stay, things to see and do and places to eat and drink fine local produce which they feel fit the ethos of taking a greener and better holiday.
As well as having greener businesses, visitors will find getting here and getting around without a car simple. Once you’ve arrived, we’ve lots of ideas for things to do using public transport.
Our Ambassadors are local businesses in the National Park who have a passion for the area and have attended three days training to give visitors a better understanding of the National Park. In this way we hope you’ll leave – and come back – as keen supporters of our protected landscape. We are all looking forward to welcoming you to the Brecon Beacons! To find more about visiting the National Park :
What Green Traveller's writers discovered in the Brecon Beacons
From the magnificent Black Mountains that dominate the east, to the wild expanses of Fforest Fawr, the Brecon Beacons National Park is rugged and awe-inspiring. We've chosen the best places to stay, from lovingly restored Welsh farmhouses to authentic Mongolian yurt camps, as well as the best places to eat, from food festivals to Michelin-starred restaurants. Find also lots of ideas for walking, cycling, riding and geocaching. We give you information on how to reach the Park's main attractions by train and bus, as well as how best to travel without a car.
Stay, Eat, See & Do
Our pick of places across Brecon Beacons
Google Map Key:
Click on the coloured icons for more information about each listing
Green = Places to stay; Blue = Places to eat; Yellow = Attractions; Purple = Activities
Click on the square brackets top right of map to reveal expanded map
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The National Park covers 1,346 square kilometres or 520 square miles covering four distinct mountain ranges. This is the same size as the London underground system.
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There are 1,983 kilometres or 1,232 miles of public rights of way - that’s about the length of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia!
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The largest town is the cathedral town of Brecon with a population of 7,500.
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Four of the five longest cave systems in the UK are in the National Park.
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Less than 1.5% of the park is covered by roads and development, including all buildings.
This guide was originally researched by Tom Watts and has since been updated by Florence Fortnam.
Image credits: thanks for Visit Wales for providing images used in this guide to Sustainable Tourism in the Brecon Beacons. Where caption credit is given as 'Photo: Visit Wales' all © Crown copyright (2011) Visit Wales.
The update to this online guide to the Brecon Beacons National Park in 2016 was funded by Welsh Government.
