2020 ~ The Adventures Begin...

Despite the heavy rain and howling wind, I had my first adventure of 2020 today, walking out to the Sgwd Clun Gwyn and Sgwd yr Eira waterfalls in the Brecon Beacons.

My first stop was at the mighty Sgwd Clun Gwyn waterfall. Although the spectacle of Sgwd Clun Gwyn was impressive in the extreme, this was not my primary port of call and after a quick photograph and video of the waterfall, it was then on to the more distant...

Sgwd Clun Gwyn Waterfall

... Sgwd yr Eira, Wales' finest waterfall!

Sgwd yr Eira Waterfall

Sgwd yr Eira really is a beautiful sight to behold. Despite the daunting number of large, nearly knee-high, steps that led down the valley floor, I reached the river Sgwd yr Eira serves feeling refreshed and excited (though the return climb is another matter altogether!)

Sgwd yr Eira 

This is one of Wales' most magickal attractions, and offers its intrepid visitors the rare opportunity of actually walking along a slippery ledge behind the curtain of its waterfall! :)

Looking out from behind the Sgwd yr Eira Waterfall

Yours truly getting well and truly soaked behind Sgwd yr Eira waterfall

As you can see from the videos below, you do have to be prepared to get wet if you take this little jaunt behind the waterfall. And during weather conditions as wild and woolly as they were today, when the water actually rampages down to the awaiting river below, you can actually get drenched here!

The ledge walk behind Sgwd yr Eira waterfall

Whilst it is the waterfalls themselves that attract visitors to this particular stretch of the Brecon Beacons, the surrounding woodland are themselves noteworthy. Given the dire conditions that marked particular visit, I was surprised at just how rich the mid-winter colours were in the woodland :)

There are actually four waterfalls of note here, but given the time of day we visited, the atrocious weather and the heavy gloom that descended pretty quickly after I left Sgwd yr Eira, I decided to leave them for another (and hopefully not too distant) day...

So, all in all, I'd mark my first adventure of 2020 a success, despite learning that my winter coat was not as waterproof as I had imagined it to be. The picturesque walk measured an easily manageable 13k steps on my Fitbit, although there were some very steep inclines to negotiate on the route (my Fitbit clocked me doing 111 floors during the walk).

Now, where shall I go for my second adventure of the year?