Beacons Way Improvements

Almost 100 miles (161km) of footpaths in the Brecon Beacons have recently experienced major improvement. The extremely popular Beacons Way route across Powys, Carmarthenshire and Monmouthshire has been upgraded thanks to current wardens and volunteers.

The path has been eroded by heavy rainfall, with bridges and walkways near area's of waterfalls also being improved. Funding of £92,000 for the project came from the Countryside Council for Wales and the Welsh Assembly Government.

The improvements were made to three sections of the Beacons Way, which traverses nearly 100 miles across the national park from Skirrid Mountain, near Abergavenny, to Bethlehem in Carmarthenshire.

The first section of repairs started at the foot of Craig y Fan Ddu in the central Beacons. A second section - the path from Llyn y Fan Fawr to Fan Brycheiniog - was also upgraded to minimise erosion and improve the experience for walkers. While a third section of the footpath in Carmarthenshire received a new non-slip walkway, along with way marking and sign posting improvements.

Richard Ball of the national park authority said: "The three footpath sections that we've improved along the Beacons Way are strategically very important and will have a significant impact on the walkers who use this route regularly - particularly the Craig y Fan Ddu section of the Beacons Way walk which stretches from Llangynidr to the Storey Arms. This steep and popular section of the route was identified as being in poor condition and in desperate need of repair by walkers and national park staff who survey the route annually."