Standing on the summit of a prominent hill above the Usk Valley, this is one of the most impressive hillforts in the Brecon Beacons National Park.
The remains of Pen-y-Crug hillfort can be found on The Crug, a hill 1.5 miles northwest of Brecon, at a height of 331m. Its ramparts, which today are rounded earthwork banks and ditches, would once have been impressive stone and earth revetments with a wooden defensive palisade built on top. They allowed those who occupied the hillfort to defend themselves and proved a formidable obstacle to anyone attempting to attack the settlement. Entry to the interior of the hillfort was gained through a single well-guarded entrance on the southeast side of the hillfort. The hill has extensive views of the central Brecon Beacons, and also views to a number of neighbouring hillforts including Coed Fenni Fach on the adjacent (now wooded) hill and to Twyn-y-Gaer on Mynydd Illtud on the other side of the valley. More info here.
We Love this video taken by Nigel Forster Photography!
Allt-yr-Esgair is a hill with panoramic views of the Usk Valley to the west and south and across Llangorse Lake to the Black Mountains to the northeast. In Welsh, Allt-yr-Esgair means wooded slope of the ridge. Locally, the hill is known as The Allt. The summit (393m) is crowned by a hillfort presumed to be of Iron Age origin, one of several in the Usk Valley. The Roman road that links the Roman fort of CICVCIVM at Y Gaer, Brecon and Gobannium at Abergavenny runs along the ridge. More info on the hill here.
The hill is designated as open country and therefore is freely accessible to walkers, with great views even when the Black Mountains are in cloud due to its lower altitude.
This big, bold, bald hill, at 596m, has a magnetic quality – everyone who visits Abergavenny just has to climb it. They’re rewarded with one of the finest views on the planet, as mountain ranges roll away for 360 degrees in great waves of green. Look west to the flat-topped central Beacons, north-west to Pen Cerrig-calch, north to the Black Mountains, north-east to Hatterall Hill, east to Skirrid Fawr and south across the Usk valley to the Blorenge. What a panorama!
Looming over Crickhowell, it’s easy to see why this 451m peak was thus named. Sloping at a slightly tipsy angle, its flat top is an iconic Brecon Beacons feature. Etymologists will be interested to learn that Crickhowell’s name derives from this lofty spot. It’s an Anglicization of Crug Hywel, or Hywel’s Fort, a reference to the Iron Age hillfort that crowns Table Mountain. Despite the exposed, weatherbeaten location, extensive remnants of this ancient Celtic stronghold still survive in the form of ditches and ruined stone defences. The views are sensational. At your feet gazing westwards you have the lovely Usk valley rising into the central Brecon Beacons and industrial valleys of South Wales, while the brooding Black Mountains look over your shoulder. Click here for a walk up the mountain.
Highest Peak: Fan Foel with Picws Du being the second highest peak.
The Legend: The place is steeped in legend, and has a close association with the Physicians of Myddfai, the true history of whom has become inextricably linked with the legend of the Lady of Llyn y Fan Fach, a famous Welsh folk tale. According to the legend, the Physicians of Myddfai were descended from a beautiful fairy who lived in the lake. This fairy was wooed by a local shepherd boy, and they eventually married and set up home at Esgair Llaethdy, a farm near the village of Myddfai, where they raised three sons. Following three “unjust blows”, the Lady left her husband and returned to the depths of the Lake, but before she went she taught her three sons the arts of healing and showed them where to find the necessary herbs, all of which grew in profusion in the area. According to one version of the legend, her eldest son was named Rhiwallon.
What is certain is that, in the early 13th century, a man named Rhiwallon Feddyg was the personal physician of Rhys Gryg, Lord of Dinefwr and the warrior son of the Welsh Prince, Rhys ap Gruffydd. Rhiwallon had three sons, Cadwgan, Gruffydd and Einion, and they and all their descendants became famous for their skill as doctors, not only in Wales, but throughout the UK and Europe. Their medical wisdom is recorded in the Red Book of Hergest, which dates back to the 13th century, and several of their original manuscripts are held in the British Museum. These show that their healing powers were based upon a materia medica of about 175 herbs, all of which grew locally, and many of which still thrive in the area. The last named “Physician of Myddfai” died in 1842, and his tombstone lies in the porch of the village church.
