Bannau Brycheiniog Routes – www.welshmanwalking.co.uk/Brecon Beacons Hikes
10 Y Fan as you probably know or at least guessed by now, is a challenge to walk up and down Pen Y Fan, the highest peak in South Wales, 10 times in 24 hours. It’s one of those challenges that you have to do, to understand how difficult it is, some flew it, but for the average Joe, it is a test of stamina and mental endurance.
I completed 7, and thinking about the moment I decided enough was enough, I was knackered, my feet were battered, my thighs and calves were starting to cramp constantly, I had no appetite, and as soon as the heat returned my head went and I just simply couldn’t go up again. It sounds dramatic, but it’s the truth, and even now I wonder if I could have done more, but no I had to call it a day.
But it’s not all drama and pain, I loved the whole thing. The event is well oiled, the volunteers are absolutely brilliant, and I loved the atmosphere and camaraderie between the challengers and organisers and volunteers. They can’t do enough for you, always checking you’re ok, and the encouragement from them is huge, but they understand your limits.
This was my route and the peaks:
- Up and down Pen Y Fan from Pont-ar-Daf car park 😄, that’s it!
Bannau Brycheiniog Routes – www.welshmanwalking.co.uk/Tube Trekking London
It’s not long and the light starts to fade, and you’re hiking in the dark, and things start to get a bit lonely as we all have headlamps on, making it hard to see faces. But it stayed dry and it was pretty mild, so I kept my shorts on, put my jacket on, zoned out and just kept on going. I forgot to mention also there is a BBQ through the night, so you can have a hot dog or burger, and as much tea and coffee as you can manage.
There isn’t much more to say really, the sun returns pretty quickly, and if you time it right you can see a beautiful sunrise, which Pen Y Fan is famous for. We’ll be having another go in 2025, we learnt a lot and even though we have been hiking for a long while these long and tough challenges are new to us, so it’s another learning stage.
You just keep going, remember you have 24 hours, so rest in between climbs, drink plenty of water, eat well, make sure you got clothes for all weathers, and there is plenty of car parking space, and oh yes, the toilets in the car park are really near and very clean.
Event Link – 10 Y Fan – 10 Climbs, 24 Hours, 01 Cause
I’d be over the moon if you liked this post and shared it using the icons below, also if you fancied leaving a comment below that would be really nice of you too.
