Usk Reservoir

Another sunny day. We have been fortunate this summer, there are showers about but not to spoil the day. Apparently it is the final day of the European Athletics Championship and it is vitally important that Lynnie watches otherwise the anticipated gold medals might not materialise!

The boys and I head off back to the Forestry Commission car park at Pont ‘ar Wysg on the edge of the Glasfynydd Forest. Today we have a bleat free journey so make it in good time.

Todays walk is very simple. We leave the car park and cross the road and then follow the cycle track around the Usk Reservoir. It is easy to describe and easy to do, but that does not do justice to what is a cracking walk.

I go round in a clockwise direction, initially only getting glimpses of the water through the trees. Then to my left there is open moorland with the water close on the right. As I continue round the views across the water are fantastic, in the far distance are the Brecon Beacons.

Further on I get wonderful views of the Carmarthen Fans.

The water level is not high and the warning signs to avoid walking on thin ice are not relevant today. I reach the dam and look back across the tranquil water it is very peaceful.

The source of the River Usk is on the moor below the Carmarthen Fans. I skirted parts of the river yesterday whilst walking on the moor. After passing through the reservoir it carries on down the valley through Sennybridge, Brecon, Talybont-on-Usk, Crickhowell and Abergavenny before reaching the town of Usk. It then flows through Newport and into the Severn estuary at Uskmouth. In total it is 63 miles long and is obviously joined by many tributaries along the way, being at the source of such a major river is an amazing experience.

The final loop takes me back to the car. It is about six miles around and I have covered it in an hour and forty minutes – so the boys and I have gone at a canter. Lynnie would have enjoyed the views and the ease of the walk but probably not the pace.

(17th August 2014)

[To follow my walk you will need Ordnance Survey Outdoor Leisure Map OL12 – Brecon Beacons National Park Western Area]

© Two Dogs and an Awning (2014)