A Brecon Beacons Walk with Pen-y-Fan

The towns on this trip are very charming and people very friendly.  We met a nature blogger at the Punchbowl and ended up visiting with him while we ate our picnic.  He was so intriguied by four Americans being there that he wrote about us in his weekly article for a local publication.  We shared emails and he sent it to us, with the picture he took.  What a charming way to interact with the locals.

We had generally fine weather for our week of walking, with great accommodation and food at all 3 locations.  We found the descent on the Blorenge walk challenging and were very pleased we had taken walking poles, which were actually useful on the other walks too. The buses have moved to their autumn timetable, so were running slightly later than the information in the notes.

The Angel hotel was lovely, closely followed by Mount Place House.  Scenery spectacular but take pruning shears - some paths were massively overgrown after a very wet June. The canal is a real gem and walking the towpath a great way to relax.

The holiday was a great mix of walking terrains to experience. All the 3 locations had interesting local independent craft shops, food shops and restaurants to explore. The Angel Hotel was excellent and the Coach House offered the best breakfasts and great accommodation.

The best walking was off road - Blorenge, Crug Hywel (Table Top) and the walk up to St Elli's church and down to Tal y Bont. 

We booked an extra night in Brecon so that we could do both recommended walks, but it wasn't worth it - I wouldn't recommend the Taff Trail walk to anyone. It would be better to find an alternative low level walk.

In Crickhowell, the picnic/sandwich possibilities in Jehu's and the Spar (per your recommendation) are pretty dire. There's a lovely little cafe called Cafe Le Gallois & they do lovely take away sandwiches. 

In Brecon, you need to book if you want to eat at the Hop In.

Great walking holiday. Walks were very well planned and interesting. Angel and Coach House hotels were both very high standard; Bear was adequate. Staff in all the accommodation were very pleasant and helpful.

A fantastic holiday, and despite an ominous weather forecast, we had minimal rain. Weather changes rapidly, so be prepared. Debated about bringing poles on this hike; ultimately were not needed for all but the last day up Pen y Fen, where they were very useful - made the tricky steep bit much easier. Gurkha Corner rated 1/5 by health department as of summer 2024, consider before deciding to eat there and Vine tree is closed.

Inntravel organised outstanding accommodation, clear and alternative walking routes, and a number of high quality meals which made walking through the Brecon Beacons an absolute pleasure. The additional information they gave was a real bonus, without being too much. We would definitely recommend them for walking holidays plus! 

Our highlight was probably our climb up Table Top mountain in beautiful weather, we were lucky enough to have had magnificent views.

We really enjoyed this trip. The hikes were varied, with amazing views, adventurous explorations and we encountered, to our delight, very few people on the hikes. All three towns had a lot to offer in terms of restaurants, bakeries and groceries. The hotels were excellent. The local people, as well as the staff in the hotels, were quite friendly and extremely helpful. This was our first experience with this sort of holiday and we found it well organized, easy and a fun way to vacation.

The view from our room at Mount Street House was very picturesque. Excellent breakfasts at all venues.

Walk to Table Mountain was a particular highlight in Crickhowell.

Nice cinema at Abergavenny.

Recommend the Dragonfly Cruises boat trip along the canal from Brecon and the exhibitions at the Brecon Library and Museum. Also the Gurkha Path walk in Brecon.

Two of the three of us packed hiking poles; however, the one who didn't bought some at the local sporting goods store before the Pen-y-Fan hike and was very glad he had them! Each town had good stores for purchasing equipment.

For picnics, we found we got the best selection of meats and cheese from the local butcher shops. (And it didn't hurt that one was offering a gin tasting when we were in there!)

We had superb meals at the following: Abergavenny - The Gaff (Michelin-rated) - fun al fresco dining; Crickhowell - Vine Tree - easy walk across the river; Brecon - Gurkha Corner (open on Sunday, which was key!); Hop In Beer & Gin - great spot to celebrate the end of the walk as they offered 60 varieties of gin and had wonderful service!

We recommend the Angel Bakery in Abergavenny for buying a picnic lunch, and we had a good meal at the Dragon Inn in Crickhowell. We were lucky to have fine weather and enjoyed the combination of canal and hill walks through the picturesque landscape.

Accommodations were excellent. The carefully crafted walks were very enjoyable and Pen y Fan a delightful highlight.

We were fortunate in having great weather, so the Table Mountain ascent in Crickhowell was well worth the view. Very tempted by Pen-y-Fan on the last day, but cautious about making the descent given a muscle injury and the vertigo caution, so reluctantly passed on that, but enjoyed the lower level walk. Info about (temporary) detour to Angel hotel car park worth sharing with others travelling there by car.

If doing this walk early in the year it might be helpful to let walkers know that the fields may be VERY muddy and the numerous streams swollen. It was also noticeable that some paths were in poor condition and several stiles broken. Most of our comments are observations, and later in the season conditions and repairs may be better, please do not take them as complaints. We did in fact have a good and enjoyable holiday.

Good walking mostly along the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal with good accommodation. 

This was our first experience of a 'slow holiday' ever, but it will definitely not be our last! We greatly enjoyed the itinerary, the hotel selections, the sense of personal service, and the gracious accomodation that the organizers showed, especially as we booked the entire holiday with less than two weeks notice for InnTravel.  

Each day offered charming, varied routes and landscapes for the hikes. The notes and descriptions of the daily walks are well detailed. The approximate time needed and exact distances, provided several times throughout each walk, were especially helpful for determining our pace, and for translating what are considered 'easy' and 'moderate' hiking routes.

We really enjoyed the variety of walking as the canal sections were a bit 'samey' unless there were boats etc. to see. Booking meals in advance was essential, as recommended, the Hop Inn and Gin and the Three Horseshoes in Brecon were both excellent, as was The Vine in Crickhowell.

Our walking holiday was wonderful!  The towns, hotels, and suggested walks were all very enjoyable. The key to the walks proved to be the detailed written instructions provided by Inntravel.  We had only one problem with directions across several farmer's fields. We suggest travellers make sure they understand the instructions well before setting out on a given walk. All staff at Inntravel were very helpful and accommodating, as were the hotel staff. All in all, this tour was well worth the expense and we may choose another tour with Inntravel in the future. Highly recommended.

This was our first holiday of this sort and I was surprised at how easy it was to book. I was a bit worried about my ability to walk these distances every day as I'm not an experienced hiker so feeling very pleased that I did it and enjoyed it! 

Wonderful walking holiday, varied terrain from flat routes along by the canal to the more challenging Pen y fan. Lovely choice of accommodation with welcoming and friendly hosts. Would strongly recommend this holiday to anyone with a love of the great outdoors and an appreciation of the countryside.

It would have been useful to have had information about opening hours of pubs etc mentioned in notes as many places do not open at the beginning of the week e.g. day 4 White Hart Inn closed Mon-Wed, Star Inn doesn't open until 4pm Mon-Fri. Overall a very enjoyable, well organised trip. Would echo previous comments about finding places to eat. We particularly enjoyed the Hop In in Brecon but recommend booking.

This is a delightful walk through farming areas of Wales and the beautiful Brecon canal. Everything went smoothly, the accommodation was excellent and the towns visited were all slightly different and a pleasure to visit.

Our favourite walk was the Table Mountain walk from Crickhowell. Glorious scenery and 360 degree views from the top. Simply stunning! We would reccommend the Gaff restaurant in Abergavenny and the Hop in Beer and Gin in Brecon but it's essential to book in advance as they are both very popular!

We thoroughly enjoyed the Brecon Beacons holiday, our first walking holiday since 2019. We didn't know this area of Wales at all but we have discovered how beautiful it is and have understood some of the area's history aswell. The walks were varied and interesting with great views and peaceful interludes along the canal. The flowers in the meadows and hedgerows were lovely and there were lots of animals to see and the birds were singing all the time, or so it seemed. The weather was mostly fine, we didn't need our wet weather over trousers but did need our coats when it rained a bit. We needed our sun hats when the spring sun shone. We received lovely welcomes at all the hotels/guest houses and we were very comfortable. Everyone was cheerful and helpful. We came home feeling relaxed and recharged.

This is a genuine grade 2 walk and the Blorenge walk on the first day is quite a test. Although a couple of the days are quite long, much of the walking is on a well-made canal towpath with a lot of historical interest and, in many places, excellent views. Accommodation was good and meals at both hotels were excellent (the picnic sandwich from the Angel was amazing!). However, eating out was a bit tricky if you don't book (even early in the season). Brecon was disappointing for restaurants but the Brecon Tap was friendly and served a good pie! If you need a picnic in Crickhowell the Maiflower Bakery opposite the Bear was really very good.

A very well thought out and planned walking holiday with a variety of accommodation.  We loved it and had fantastic weather - not a drop of rain. We did Blorenge at Abergavenny, Table Mountain At Crickhowell (possibly our favourite) and which made up our minds not to do Pen y Fan so we could do the other walk on the last day and visit the waterfalls which were delightful. For eating outside of included dinners we would recommend The Hop In Gin and Beer in Brecon.  Small plates, homemade British cooking and quirky venue.  Also had excellent lunch at The Royal Oak, Pencelli in their canalside garden on the walk from Crickhowell to Brecon.  The breakfasts at The Coach House were brilliant with a huge choice. A mention for Crickhowell Taxis - that all worked superbly and we booked them to transfer us back from Brecon to collect our car at Abergavenny which was well worth it.  

This was another wonderful Inntravel trip. The hiking was great--very varied and interesting and generally not difficult for us, though most days, we walked more distance than the route suggested. We loved the people, the food, the lack of crowds, the perfect weather which we were so lucky to have. Our train travel was totally smooth, no problems at all. We can't wait to do another trip with you; it will be our 5th one, and they have all been great. You make the traveling very easy without leading us around in a group, which we don't enjoy. Inntravel has been a perfect fit for us.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers combined our The Brecon Beacons and Snowdonia: from Sea to Summit walking holidays

We thoroughly enjoyed our Welsh holiday with its combination of attractive countryside, fascinating industrial heritage and interesting small towns. It's hard to believe that the comfortable Bear hotel is almost 600 years old, but the history of the area made this walking trip memorable. Highlights included April wild flowers, ancient rocky paths lined with knarled old trees and the Coach House breakfasts.

Another excellent Inntravel holiday. We were pleased we had booked an extra night in Abergavenny as it enabled us to do both walks and explore Abergavenny which had amazing features. Don't miss the tapestry in the Tithe Barn, especially if you can get someone to provide the history of its making. Also the Jesse effigy in St Mary's Priory (again, a fascinating explanation freely provided by a local guide). For eating out we fully recommend The Gaff (restaurant not cafe); stunning food. The walks were a good mixture of peaceful canal and fields and more challenging hills. Great industrial history was evident everywhere. We did not climb Pen-y-Fan as it was raining but the alternative walk was one of the best and the sun was shining by the time we ate lunch at the "secret waterfall" in perfect isolation and tranquillity. Note that when we visited both the White Hart Inn and the Star Inn mentioned in Day 4's walk were closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.