The great outdoors

Ah, the sun is shining and spring is in the air. There's nothing better then the fresh outdoors to chase any mid-term stress away, and there is plenty of beautiful countryside on your doorstep, just waiting to be explored. Josh Gardner gives you his guide

The first thing you’ll notice about the Brecon Beacons is the clichés; rolling mountains, imposing clouds, plunging valleys…and sheep, oh yes, lots and lots of sheep. You might have noticed, “Going Out” is taking its name rather seriously this week and as the usual signs of spring; daffodils, crying Welsh rugby fans, pound a pint Tuesday at the Taf, all start to present themselves, we have broken forth from our sedentary student lives and ventured into deepest darkest Wales….

Now where was I? Ah yes, sheep. If ever there was a place where the stereotypical sheepshagging Welshman would feel at home, it’s in the Brecon Beacons. As your intrepid reporter navigates the road taking you from the Welsh Valleys up into the heady heights of one of Britain’s first National Parks, you find yourself in a continual game of chicken with about half a million sheep, no fences, barriers or ditches here, just faith and gratuitous horn use to keep the fluffy buggers from becoming permanently intimate with your bonnet, it can be quite the hair-raising experience.

You might wonder why we would abandon Neighbours, Tea, and all the other comforts of city life to venture forty miles further into Wales to get involved in Ovid standoffs, but your answer comes as you break the crest of that first hill, and are greeted by some of the most spectacular views you will ever see. Peter Jackson can keep New Zealand, the majestic, unspoilt mountains and valleys of the Beacons take your breath away, equal parts beautiful and dramatic, the view on a clear day could make the hour’s journey more than worth it.

Things to do…

Yet the Beacons are more than just magnificent scenery, there is good reason why an estimated 3.6 million people visit ever year, and there’s a wealth of activities to tempt you from the comfort of the couch and out into the harsh light of day. Walking, might seem like a means to an end; lectures, pub, Tescos, these things all require its tedium to achieve.

Yet the Beacons aim to make walking worthwhile again. Whether a seasoned hiker, or a fat bastard who’s been sent out to the sticks by cruel editors, every level is catered for, with a chance to enjoy spectacular wildlife and scenery, with the bonus of many remotely located pubs to happen upon in your travels, its actually more fun than it sounds, key places to check out here are the Sugarloaf Mountain (neither sugar, nor a loaf, but still impressive), Blue Pool in Ystradfellte (try asking a local for directions there and see how far you get), and the ever popular Pen-Y-Fan, Wales’ tallest mountain, and a magnificent sight to behold on a clear day. I’d love to be able to tell you that the view from the top is spectacular, but I can barely make it over the bridge by the Union, so I just took the word of some fit looking pensioner that it was…

If walking isn’t your thing however, the park offers a vast array of trails for cyclists to experience the sights while minimising damage to the countryside.

If equine pursuits are more in your interest, there are a variety of riding and pony-trekking centres, its also worth noting that the Beacons was recently BHS Access Award for the National Park most active in setting up horse riding routes, and is considered to be some of the best riding in Europe.

The Park also caters for those of a more “extreme” persuasion, there are sixteen “way marked” mountain biking routes of varying intensity for those who fancy hurtling down a mountain at great speed. If going up the mountain is more your thing, there are 400 outdoor “climbs” in the area for you to test your mettle against, catering from novices to hardcore climbers (see http://www.southwalesmountaineering.org.uk for more info).

Unsurprisingly for a land that should have a picture of a rain cloud on it’s flag, water sports are also on offer, windsurfing and sailing can be undertaken on Llangors Lake, the largest natural lake in South Wales. Kayaking and Canoeing are also on offer in various locations on the river Usk, and there are several hire, guide and instruction companies operating in the Park to get you started. Its not all just energetic fun however, making your way into Brecon town itself, you won’t find a great deal to do, until you venture down to the canal area, here on a fine day you can sit on the grass, enjoy an ice cream, play some football, or hire some pedaloes and recreate the Battle of Trafalgar using some basic weapons and your imagination. It’s a truly pleasant way to spend an afternoon, and once you’re done, you can relocate to one of the town’s pleasingly rural pubs and conjugate over the day’s endeavours.

It’s also worth noting that for one weekend, Brecon shrugs off its sleepy market town image and comes to life. From the 10th-12th of August, the Brecon Jazz Festival comes to town, filling the streets and venues with some of the world’s foremost jazz artists, it blends great music, atmosphere and setting to produce a truly unique experience. Slightly less bombastic, is the annual Hay Literature Festival, where some of the world’s top writers convene to give talks and workshops in the sleepy village on the river Wye, Bill Clinton called it “Woodstock for the mind” whatever that means, but I’d imagine its an endorsement of some kind.

How to get there…

The most straightforward way to enjoy one of the most pristine and spectacular places in the UK, is ironically, to take the car. Green concerns aside it allows you the freedom to come and go as you please, and to effectively explore the 525 sq/m of park. That being said, the bus and train routes that will, in a rather roundabout fashion, get you there. A better option after May 27th is the “Beacons Bus”. A service that runs from Cardiff and stops at many places in the park along the way, giving you greater freedom to explore and it even has a special bike trailer on the back to allow cyclists to enjoy the park without needing a car.

If the Beacons seem like a bit of a stretch for a day out, or a few days away, hold that thought. Yes, it’s not that easily accessible, and yes, on a wet and cold day it’s bloody miserable, but if you catch it on one of those rare Welsh summers days, you will not regret it, the scenery is mind- blowing, the activities a giggle, but more than that, you will fall in love with the sheer surreal absurdity that seems to follow you around. Whether it’s finding an ice cream van parked at the top of a barren mountain 365 days a year, come rain or shine, getting asked for a drink by a cheeky SAS recruit in the middle of their infamous “Fan Dance” exercise, or walking into a pub in the middle of nowhere, and seeing in pride of place amongst all the military memorabilia, a photo of Johnny Depp, behind the bar pulling himself a pint, you will have some stories to tell, and that, might even be worth missing neighbours for…

For more information on the Brecon Beacons, go to http://www.breconbeacons.org.