A Day Trip to Brecon

 August 2019

Being so close to the famous Brecon Beacons National Park and not having visited was a crime, and our only excuse was the lack of our own transport. Getting to the national park by public transport was not easy at all, but we did find a bus that could take us to the village Brecon, so one weekend we hopped on the bus for a sunny day trip out. 
You know it's going to be a good trip when this is the sight that greets you getting off at the bus stop!

A cute market town once known as Brecknock (and if that isn't a great troll's name I don't know what is) it was once one of the few places the river Usk could be forded. Due to this, it was established as a Roman cavalry base for the Roman conquest of Wales. 

The trip from Cardiff to Brecon was nothing to sneer at, requiring a train and then a bus, for a total of almost 2 hours one way. Thus by the time we arrived, we were rather hungry, having devoured our snacks on the train. We wandered around the cute town looking for something to curb our appetites - expecting a sandwich somewhere. We were therefore pleasantly surprised to see a cute little Greek restaurant called Oti Kalo, with excellent reviews. 

We were easily sold, and so hungry we forgot to take any photos of the food, but I can promise you it was very enjoyable, as well as ridiculously well priced, with all the mezzes clocking in between 1-4 pounds each. Dining on dips and pita, Souvlaki, Borek, and some delicious Baklava for dessert, we were well fueled for our planned walk.

Aside from accessibility and the cute town, we had chosen Brecon because of the Monmouthshire and Brecon canal which runs from Brecon town, and makes for a very beautiful and peaceful walk.

 It's also full of canal boats that you can hire for the day, and I loved seeing these slowly chug past. I could almost imagine Toad from Wind in the Willows on the barge, dressed as a washerwomen on his escape from jail. Although luckily, no one was tossed from the boat in our eyesight!

Reaching a point where our feet were beginning to ache, we spotted the river off to the right, and departing from the canal, found a path down to it, to bathe our feet in the icy cold and clear river.

Eventually, knowing we had a two hour trip back to Cardiff, we had to call it and head to home, albeit reluctantly! It was a perfect trip, and I can only imagine it would be all the better if you were lucky enough to rent one of the canal boats, or stay the night in Brecon itself.