Running around Dyffryn Crawnon
What a fabulous route. What a fabulous day it turned out to be.
My expectations were that I would need to be wrapped up warm and ready for bleak weather conditions as I headed out of the house for a long steady run.
The plan was to run up the lane to the head of the Dyffryn Crawnon, before taking the trail that heads steeply up to the Trefil quarry. From there I would follow Brinore Tramroad all the way around the Crawnon to where it meets the Talybont valley, where I would make a decision about the best route home.
The first couple of miles was pretty sketchy as the lane was icy and visibility poor due to the thick fog. I was so pleased it was a run day as I’m not a fan of cycling when there is patchy ice on the roads. I made my way gingerly, taking shorter, softer strides than usual. Soon I got a sense that the sun might be getting ready to put in an appearance. The light was stunning as the sun wrestled with the fog to gain control of the day and as I headed further up the valley, I was getting a tingle of excitement for what might lie ahead. By the time I reached the end of the lane I had emerged from the mist and the full glory of a wintery landscape lay before me.
The trail to Trefil is steep yet steady and so, once you settle into a rhythm it’s a fairly straightforward exercise to pick a route up the rocky, muddy track. It heads up through trees where the sun struggles to penetrate and so the chill of the season lingers. The sound of a waterfall is audible way before it pops into view and this creates a wonderful highlight halfway to the top. Around a corner the barren moorland comes into view and the top is within reach. Today a herd of cattle were guarding the trail and a couple of the beasts were locking horns, which I hadn’t seen very often. As I made my way carefully past I was hoping that they would be more interested in fighting each other than teaming up to have some fun with me. It proved so as they didn’t even give an inch as I came past.
I was now up on the top and turned right at the Aneurin Bevan memorial stone to pick up the Brinore Tramroad that carves its way, at times pretty perilously, around the head of the Crawnon valley. Everytime I run along this trail I’m staggered by the thought that only 150 years ago this isolated spot was at the heart of the industrial revolution, with horses dragging huge trucks of iron ore across these mountains to reach the canal at Talybont. It can often be wild up there, but what a contrast today. The weather was glorious. Not a cloud in the sky, not a breath of wind and I had to remove my gloves and unzip my jacket to prevent myself from overheating. From my bird’s eye view on the tramroad I could see for miles and was treated to the spectacular sight of the mist and fog still hanging around in all the valleys. It looked like soft white blankets but unlike blankets it was keeping the temperatures cold rather than warm!
When I reached the shoulder between the Crawnon and Talybont valleys I decided I wanted to go higher and so continued on up to the summit of Tor Y Foel. The hard work up the “super steep” slopes was worth it as the reward of the 360 view was magnificent. The sight of the High peaks of Black Mountains to the east and the likes of Pen Y Fan to the west, peeping nervously out of the blanket of fog was pretty special.
From there it was downhill all the way home. Usually, I can see our house as I let gravity do its thing, but today our part of the Dyffryn was well and truly hidden. As I ran into the mist, the temperature dropped significantly and almost immediately the beauty and warmth of the previous hour and half seemed like a dream.
My jacket was soon zipped right up again as I trotted across the last few fields. When I got home, I was buzzing and full of tales of blue skies and warm temperatures. My wife thought I was joking until I showed her my pictures.
I hope you like the video and feel inspired to want to come and run and ride with us here in Brecon Beacons. We can’t wait to welcome you.