Pen Y Fan by munki-boy
Pen y Fan
Pen y Fan is in Brecon Beacons National Park in The Wales.
At 886 metres (2,907 ft), Pen y Fan, translated as ‘The Mountain’s Peak’ or ‘The Beacon’s Summit’, is the highest peak in South Wales, situated in the Breacon Beacon’s National Park.
The summit is marked by a well preserved and structured Bronze Age cairn with a central stone cist. The cairn is fitted with a series of concentric stone kerbs to protect the central mound from slippage. The cist is a box formed by vertical stone slabs near the centre of the barrow, and it currently has the National Trust summit sign on it, but would have held the ashes or other remnants of a dead person or people. There would also have been grave goods left with the human remains, such as flint tools, cinerary urns and flower tributes.
Pen y Fan is formed from Old Red Sandstone, which were laid down during the Devonian period. The upper slopes of the mountain are formed from those of the Brownstones Formation, whilst the lower slopes are formed from the sandstones and mudstones of the Senni Formation. The summit, like that of neighbouring Corn Du, is composed of hard-wearing sandstones of the Plateau Beds Formation.
Created: 5 September 2016 Edited: 29 November 2023
Pen y Fan Details
Pen y Fan is a 886 metre high mountain in Powys.
Pen y Fan
Pen y Fan LiDAR Map
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0
Local History around Pen y Fan
There are some historic monuments around including:
Cefn Esgair-Carnau round cairn (S) Cross-Slab in Churchyard Cefn Esgair-Carnau round cairn (N) Earthwork 675m W of Dan-y-Cefn Afon Hepste Settlement Enclosure Twyn-y-Gaer Brecon BridgeWaun Tincer round cairn St Eluned's Chapel and Well Y Gyrn hut platforms Plas-y-Gaer Camp Standing Stone on Mynydd Illtyd Cefn Esgair-Carnau round cairn and long hut Rhyd Uchaf Hillfort Brecon CastleLower Neuadd Standing Stone Town Wall at Watton MountCraig Cerrig-Gleisiad Deserted Rural Settlement Ton Teg Hut Settlement Two Cairns on Traeth Mawr Y Gyrn hut platform (N) Y Gyrn longhuts Craig Cerrig-Gleisiad Prehistoric Settlement Llwyn-on Farmstead Waunfaeog Hillfort Twyn Garreg Wen Cairn Cefn Esgair-carnau Burnt Mound Storey Arms Anti-invasion Defences Bedd Gwyl Illtyd round cairn Cwm Cwareli Longhouse and Long Hut Enclosure West of Nant Cwm Llwch Roman Road on Mynydd Illtyd, North-Eastern section Town Wall and Gatehouse at Captain's WalkY Gyrn Hut Platform (S)Blaen Glyn Round Cairn Slwch CampCilwhybert Castle Mound .