Climbed Pen y Phan on the busiest day of the year and saw people turning their backs in the parking lot and queuing for selfies at the top

It seems that everyone in South Wales grabbed Pen y Fan, took a picture of themselves on top of it and shared it on Instagram. In 2021, this popular walking route was voted the UK’s most scenic rural walk, with an impressive 22,437 Instagram hashtags per kilometre.

Pen y Fan roughly translates as ‘upper point’ from Welsh to English, and right at the top you can pose with the National Trust rock that says ‘886m’. A quick look at the hashtag #penyfan on Instagram reveals thousands of photos posing with the iconic rock, as well as sunrises and sunsets, dogs posing on top, and even rare cloud inversions.

Good Friday is a particularly busy day for Pen y Fan, with people from across South Wales making the most of the walk and the stunning views it offers. And this year’s Good Friday was no exception, as the spring sunshine made the Pen-y-Fan an even more enticing treat.

Read more: Animated scenes at Pen y Fan as hundreds climb the famous mountain and line up for photos

Hikers came by the hundreds to climb to the top. It was announced last year that people driving up the Brecon Beacons would pay £7.50 to park. Another 200 spaces were added to the Pont ar Daf car park. Pedestrians can use the parking lot for free at the moment, but from May it will be paid.

Hikers wanted to make the most of the Good Friday sunshine and extra parking, as the Pont ar Daf car park was filling up quickly. By late morning, some vehicles were being pulled out of the parking lot.

Additionally, some drivers choose to park on the side of the road, which has become a growing concern recently. Even at the top, there was a long line of pedestrians eager to take pictures near the famous stone.

But it cannot be denied that this peak is the favorite of many. With its interesting trails to the stunning views from the top, it’s no wonder so many people flock to this corner of Wales every year.

Lee Bradford and her seven-year-old son, Jax, were traveling from Bristol to the Brecon Beacons on Thursday night and fell asleep in the back seat of the car. Having never been to the top before, father and son decided to hike early in the morning to see the sunrise.

We met these two after they got back from their hike and started their “second breakfast” of the day. “We wanted to see the sun and moon at the same time,” Lee said. “The experience was incredible. There wasn’t much to see in the morning, but when the sun came out it was impressive.

“Many people I know have gone to Pen-y-Fan. I feel like I’m the only person who’s never been there. I thought a lot about taking my son there. We decided to invent and finally do it. My sister wants to do it now so we can come here very soon.”

Meanwhile, Glynneath RFC’s under-9 rugby team took part in Pen y Fan to raise funds for their upcoming rugby tour later in the month. Father and son Lloyd and Jack Jeffries, the latter a member of the ‘wolf pack’ as they are known, explained that they arrived at the Pen y Fan car park at 6:45 am.

“We are about 30,” said Lloyd. “It was difficult, it was quite windy at the top, but the weather was good and that helped.” Lloyd, a regular visitor to Pen y Fan, explained that parking was much better this time around. He added: “Now conditions here are much better, parking was definitely needed.

“Obviously when we got here this morning there weren’t as many people as there are now. And I think we could use a bigger car park with this as the cars are parked on the side of the road. Since it is a holiday, of course there are numbers ”.

Like Lloyd, friends Lydia Warburton and Alice Patterson from Abergavenny visit Pen y Fan quite regularly. “It’s still a little crowded in here,” Lydia said. “But it is much better than in previous years. We found a spot almost as soon as we got there this morning when we normally don’t find a spot. It’s good, I like it.”

Alice added: ‘We got here around 7.30am and it’s been pretty busy when we’ve been here in the past so we knew we’d be early anyway. We parked right away this morning so yeah that was great. However, walking to Pen y Fan this morning is the busiest I’ve seen.

“Normally I never come on a day like Good Friday, but despite how busy it is today, it seems like nobody is bothering me. Busy, but pleasantly busy.”

As we climbed the busiest route, Pen y Fan, it was easy to see that the good weather brought hundreds of people out for a walk with their friends and family. For the Trimby family, originally from Bournemouth, the walk was a long-awaited adventure.

It was father Mike’s sixth Pen and Fan walk, but this time he was accompanied by his wife Liz and their two children, eight-year-old Jessica and nine-year-old Benji. The family had planned to reach the summit on Thursday’s hike, but bad weather forced them to turn back home.

However, on Friday, the family managed to come out on top. “This is the first time I’ve seen the view from here,” Mike said. “Every time I’ve been here, it’s been cold, cloudy or raining. The landscape here is incredible. That’s why we’re here.”

Benji said: “It was really cold yesterday and we couldn’t make it. We got to Korn Du, we didn’t see anything, so we went back again.” Liz said: “We woke up this morning and thought, you know what? Let’s try again. So this is our second attempt and we did it.”

Mike added: “We didn’t expect so many people there, but the weather is good and so are the people. And what are you waiting for? It’s such a popular place with such a fantastic view. We will definitely stay here again.”

When we reached the top of the mountain on Friday, there was a long line of hikers eager to take pictures near the famous rock.

The incredibly animated scenes were a testament to this beautiful natural gift we have here in Wales and a reminder that we must protect it and address parking, footpath and trail congestion issues.

Source: Wales Online