Cefn yr Ystrad

Cefn yr Ystrad

The summit cairns of Cefn yr Ystrad
Elevation 619 m (2,031 ft)
Prominence 180 m (590 ft)
Parent peak Pen y Fan
Listing Marilyn, Hewitt, Nuttall
Translation Ridge of the dale (Welsh)
Location
Location Powys, Wales
Range Brecon Beacons
OS grid SO086137
Topo map OS Landranger 160

Cefn yr Ystrad is a mountain in the Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales. It is an outlier of the Central Beacons group.[1]

The broad northeast - southwest aligned ridge reaches an elevation of 617 metres (2,024 ft). One of the southernmost peaks in the Brecon Beacons, it rises to the east of Pontsticill Reservoir. The summit area is a great stretch of wild moorland, with the highest point marked by a trig point.

Geology

The hill is formed from successive layers of Carboniferous Limestone and the overlying Twrch Sandstone (formerly known as the Basal Grit of the Millstone Grit). There are extensive ice-smoothed pavements of the latter and loose rock abounds. The crest and southern slopes of the hill are home to dozens of shakeholes, some of which reach considerable proportions.[2]

Access

The hill lies entirely within open country and so access on foot is freely available. A bridleway running northeast from Pontsticill skirts the northwestern edge of the hill bound for Dyffryn Crawnon and the Usk Valley.[3]

References

  1. Nuttall, John & Anne (1999). The Mountains of England & Wales - Volume 1: Wales (2nd edition ed.). Milnthorpe, Cumbria: Cicerone. ISBN 1-85284-304-7.
  2. British Geological Survey 1:50K map sheets 231 Merthyr Tydfil and 232 Abergavenny
  3. Ordnance Survey 1:25K Explorer map sheet OL12 & OL13 Brecon Beacons National Park: western & eastern areas

External links

Coordinates: 51°48′52″N 3°19′38″W / 51.81443°N 3.32730°W