brecon off-road
well, it's a few years since i did this, but here goes:
starting at 039 246 just south of brecon, there's a roman road leads up to Bwlch a y Fan. it continues south past lower nuadd reservoir and rejoins the road at 035 174. the only slight hitch is a feature known (notoriously) as "the gap". it's at 034 181. you'll only spot it on the map by a slight kink in the contours. it's bloody obvious on the 1;25000 map!
you used to be able to avoid this by heading sw on the track to the lower nuadd reservoir road. not sure what the gates are like now.
you could always turn round and rettrace your steps, as it's a belter. might be a little daunting as a first effort, though. there may also be a TRO (boo, hiss) on this now...
then there's sarn helen:
start point 960 240, forest lodge. head on road sw, followed by increasingly interesting rocky track. joins the road to ystradfellte at 925 184. should give you no problems and boost your confidence.
you can follow sarn helen for a lot further than this, but it's muddy in parts and the next section has a ford followed by a very steep bank. i had to run alongside my bike up this. not nice.
sorry i haven't given you the map no. or the letter codes for the grid references. all my welsh maps seem to be hiding so i'm using an old KIMM map. the grid references are correct. if you want more ideas, you could call me in the shop on 01339 741242
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