Brecon Beacons

Places to stay in the Brecon Beacons range from country house hotels with acres of grounds to town-centre inns handy for the hills. Around Brecon itself, The Coach House and The Castle of Brecon Hotel put you within walking distance of the market town and its cathedral, while Peterstone Court and Nant Ddu Lodge combine spa facilities with easy access to the peaks.

Further out, the Usk valley has some of the grandest options: Gliffaes and Glangrwyney Court sit in mature gardens above the river, and Llangoed Hall offers a more formal country house experience. The Felin Fach Griffin and The Bear Hotel in Crickhowell lean towards the pub-with-rooms style, good for walkers wanting a proper meal and a comfortable bed after a day on the trails. Choice really comes down to whether you want a base near the mountains or one closer to the valley towns.

The park rewards walkers above all, but there is plenty here for people who would rather not spend a day on a ridge.

• Pen y Fan is the highest point in southern Britain and the reason most first-time visitors come. The direct route from the Storey Arms lay-by on the A470 takes about two hours return but is busy year-round; the horseshoe from Cwm Gwdi or the approach from Neuadd reservoirs is longer, harder and far quieter.
• Sgwd yr Eira is the best known of the Waterfall Country falls, near Ystradfellte, and the one you can walk behind along a ledge in the rock. The Four Waterfalls Walk that links it with Sgwd Clun-Gwyn and its neighbours takes around three hours and involves steep, slippery steps.
• National Showcaves Centre for Wales at Dan-yr-Ogof opens up the limestone underworld near Abercraf, with three show caves, an Iron Age farm and a field of concrete dinosaurs that children take far more seriously than adults expect.
• Hay-on-Wye sits at the park's north-eastern corner and has built its identity on second-hand books, with shops crammed into an old market town below a ruined castle. The Hay Festival each May and June brings writers and audiences from across the world.
• Brecon Mountain Railway runs narrow-gauge steam trains from Pant, near Merthyr Tydfil, alongside the Pontsticill and Taf Fechan reservoirs and up towards Torpantau, with a stop for walks by the water.
• Llangorse Lake is the largest natural lake in south Wales, good for paddleboarding, sailing and birdwatching, and home to a reconstructed crannog, an artificial island dwelling of a kind rare outside Ireland and Scotland.
• The Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal gives a completely level alternative to the hills. Day boats and longer hires run from Brecon and Goytre Wharf through Talybont-on-Usk and Llangynidr, and the towpath makes easy cycling.
• Carreg Cennen Castle, near Trapp on the western edge, stands on a limestone crag above the Cennen valley. A passage cut into the rock leads down to a cave beneath the walls; take a torch, as they are not always for hire.

Welsh lamb from these hills is the obvious starting point, and it appears on menus everywhere from farm cafes to serious restaurants. Welsh Black beef, venison and river trout are common too. Look for cawl, a slow-cooked lamb and vegetable broth served with bread and cheese, and for Welsh cakes and bara brith in bakeries and tearooms across the park.

The Felin Fach Griffin, between Brecon and Hay, is the best known dining pub in the area, holding a Michelin Bib Gourmand and drawing much of its produce from its own kitchen garden. Crickhowell punches above its weight, with the Bear Hotel long established for pub food and a run of independent delis and bakeries along the high street. The Black Mountains Smokery at Crickhowell smokes salmon, trout and duck and has a shop worth a detour.

Brecon holds a market in the Market Hall several days a week, with a farmers' market on the second Saturday of the month bringing in local cheese, meat and preserves. Talybont-on-Usk is known for its apple juice and cider, and the Brecon Beacons has a growing set of small producers in gin, beer and cheese. Abergavenny, just outside the park, hosts one of Britain's leading food festivals each September, with two days of producers, demonstrations and tastings that fill the town.

Camping in the Brecon Beacons means accepting that it rains here, often and hard. The hills catch weather coming in off the Atlantic and annual rainfall on the tops is several times what falls on the coast. Sites in the Usk valley and around Brecon sit on reasonably free-draining river terraces, but higher ground and old pasture can hold water for days after heavy rain. A groundsheet, a decent flysheet and pegs that will hold in soft ground are worth more than any luxury.

Most established campsites are strung along the valleys rather than on the hills: the Usk between Brecon and Crickhowell, the Taff Fechan valley north of Merthyr Tydfil, and the lanes around Llangorse Lake. That means level pitches, good access and generally sheltered ground, with the hills a short drive or walk away. Sites near the A470 and the main trailheads book up early for summer weekends.

Wild camping is not permitted as of right in the national park. Around seventy per cent of the land is privately owned, and legally you need the landowner's permission. In practice, discreet high-level camping above the wall line is often tolerated if you arrive late, leave early, camp in ones and twos, light no fires and leave nothing behind. Never assume it is allowed near the honeypot summits, where the park authority actively discourages it.

The practical season runs from Easter to the end of September, with May, June and September offering the best balance of weather, daylight and space. Many sites close from November to March. Bring warm layers whatever the month: clear nights on the valley floor can drop close to freezing well into May, and midges appear near still water in high summer.

Glamping has spread quickly here, with pods, safari tents and shepherd's huts on many farms, and it makes a sensible compromise if you want the dark skies without the risk of a soaked tent. The park is an International Dark Sky Reserve, so on a clear night the stars alone justify the trip.