The Elidir Trail Falls, Powys, South Wales, Autumn
Our last full day in South Wales.
Our last full day in South Wales.
We’d previously enjoyed some waterfall action at Cwm Rhaeadr near Llandovery. But that was just one waterfall, even though it was a mighty one.
Deep in the heart of the Brecon Beacons National Park one can find Waterfall Country, home to a myriad of waterfalls. Easily the most popular trail around here is the Four Falls Walk, which we’ve done before way back in 2018. However, word is that this particular trail has become even busier.
Instead, for our last full day, we elected to walk the Elidir Trail. Somewhat less busy but the waterfalls are no less impressive.
We were not disappointed, and beautiful light for woodland and gorge walking aided us for our final day.
All photos shot on my Fujifilm X-T2 using my Vivitar “Series 1” 28–105mm f2.8–3.8 zoom and Laowa 9mm f2.8 prime lenses. RAWs converted in Capture One for iPad, then developed and finalised in Affinity Photo for iPad.
The Elidir Trail Falls, Powys, South Wales, Autumn by Ian Cylkowski is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
The Elidir Trail gorge heads upstream where it forks into two distinct sections. The shorter branch is a simple diversion to the viewing point for the main waterfall of the area, called Sgwd Gwladys. After a day or two of rain, the gorge was wet and the atmosphere was moist. Thankfully, that resulted in beautiful soft reflected light in this autumnal scene.
An ultra-wide composition of Sgwd Gwladys, and possible one of the greatest waterfall photos I’ve ever managed to shoot. A dead tree provided nutrition for a whole collection of fungi, serving as my foreground interest with Sgwd Gwladys gracefully rushing over a shelf in the distance.
We gingerly navigated the slippery and mossy boulders to get as close to the falls as possible whilst the light shining down into the gorge was still complementary. Rusty autumn leaves provide colour contrast in the foreground.
Further up the main gorge created by the River Neath (or Afon Nedd), a group of early-20s lads examined a potential swimming and diving spot.
Autumn in a micro scene, as the afternoon sun pierced the clouds above for a particularly strong burst of light.
Here the gorge and river widens up, allowing more autumnal light to pour into the scene on these two cataracts.
Towards the top of the Elidir Trail an almost impossibly perfect autumnal waterfall scene emerges as we clamber down the gorge to gawp at Scŵd Ddwli.
The name of these falls, Scŵd Ddwli, translates roughly to “gushing falls”, which we found to be wholly accurate. Around the edge of the plunge pool, rusty autumnal leaves had gathered making for a lovely composition.
Though we neared the end of the Elidir Trail, and the clouds had gradually covered the gorge, we got a final explosion of light from the late afternoon sun, shooting beams across the falls.
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Llansteffan, Carmarthenshire, South Wales, Autumn
Did you know that Wales is home to the most castles per square mile of any country in Europe?
Did you know that Wales is home to the most castles per square mile of any country in Europe?
Certainly during our stay in South Wales we visited our fair share of them, mostly in ruins, such as Dinefwr and Castell Carreg Cennen, and Llandovery castle.
Heading south towards Carmarthen Bay, where the Avon Twyi pours out into the Bristol Channel, one can find the sleepy little village of Llansteffan with yet another magnificent fort perched on a cliff top overlooking the bay. The village’s name means “Llan of St. Stephen”. You’ll find a lot of place names in Wales start with the prefix Llan; it refers to sanctified land occupied by Christian monks or communities, almost always named in honour of a Saint.
After checking out the ruins of Llansteffan Castle, we ambled along the beach below the castle, where I gawped and photographed the local geology.
All photos shot on my Fujifilm X-T2 using my Vivitar “Series 1” 28–105mm f2.8–3.8 zoom and Laowa 9mm f2.8 prime lenses. RAWs converted in Capture One for iPad, then developed and finalised in Affinity Photo for iPad.
Llansteffan, Carmarthenshire, South Wales, Autumn by Ian Cylkowski is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
A rather shapely tree that caught my eye on the way up to Llansteffan Castle.
From outside the castle ruins the views overlooking Carmarthen Bay were rather splendid.
The ruins of Llansteffan Castle. It sits on the site of a much older Iron Age fort, showing that Llansteffan has been inhabited for millennia.
The Normans built a castle here in the 12th century. Like a lot of castles here in South Wales it passed hands often between the Welsh and the English. By the 14th century it was described as being in a poor state.
One thing that struck in particular about these ruins were all the wasps. They were everywhere, tucked into various nooks and crannies of the stonework.
We braved the disconcerting hum of wasps all around us to explore this building for a composition whilst the light was particularly sympathetic.
Down on the beach below the castle, things were thankfully a lot more peaceful.
Historical glaciation and millennia of coastal erosion from the sea have exposed millions of years of geology history. Here Llansteffan would’ve been at various times a desert, at the bottom of a sea, and everything in between, with different rocks forming and deposited at various stages. Fascinating.
To quote Natural Resources Wales: “The bedrock geology of this area […] is dominated by Devonian Old Red Sandstone characterised by mudstones, siltstones, sandstones and conglomerates which were deposited in fluvial environments, such as meandering channels and floodplains. The rocks around Llansteffan include important exposures of calcrete (which is a fossil soil indicative of an arid or semi-arid environment). Overlying the Old red Sandstone is a classic sequence of Carboniferous rocks including shallow-marine carbonates (Carboniferous Limestone), shallow-marine and fluvio-deltaic deposits (Millstone Grit), and lacustrine, delta plain sediments and coal (Coal Measures).”
The exposure of Old Red Sandstone is clearer towards Scott’s Bay, where plenty of people were chilling with their pets, nestled into the crags.
I was beguiled by the shapes, forms and colours of the cliff rocks. Imagining the millions of years of this land, and how different the local landscape would’ve looked, makes my head spin!
A tighter composition reveals the joins and seems of various types of rocks as beautiful late afternoon light highlights the textures.
Llansteffan Castle and its dominating position above the village and the surrounding farmland.
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Port Eynon, Gower, South Wales, Autumn
Just outside of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, one can find other excellent stretches of South Wales coastline.
Just outside of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, one can find other excellent stretches of South Wales coastline.
East of Pembrokeshire, Swansea is home to the Gower Peninsula and the Gower AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty). We had already explored a small section of this area at the start of our holiday at Mumbles. But further along the coastline from Mumbles one can find a stretch of fantastical coastline between Port Eynon and Rhossili.
Whereas the cliffs at Lydstep Head were more vertiginous, at the Gower Peninsula the cliffs are formed from a faulted and folded sequence of Carboniferous rocks. More recent sculpting occurred in the last Ice Age as the Gower lay on the southern margin of the last ice sheet. As a result, the cliffs here feature fantastic shapes of curves and folds smashing into each other at peculiar angles.
All photos taken on my Fujifilm X-T2 using my Vivitar “Series 1” 28–105mm f2.8–3.8 zoom and Laowa 9mm f2.8 prime lenses. RAWs converted in Capture One for iPad, developed and finalised in Affinity Photo for iPad.
Port Eynon, Gower, South Wales, Autumn by Ian Cylkowski is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Port Eynon Bay, with its long sandy beach and tall dunes. Port Eynon is thought to be named after Prince Einion of Deheubarth or an 11th-century Welsh Prince named Eynon. “Eynon” is apparently a fairly common surname in Wales.
West of the beach one can hike up the cliffs to summit Port Eynon Point. My lovely Lisabet pictured here heading straight for the knife-edge tip of Port Eynon Point.
Looking back along the limestone cliff edge from Port Eynon Point towards the summit trig point, the open Overton Mere, and the Gower cliffs beyond.
From Overton Mere, looking back at Port Eynon Point, it’s easier to see the folding of limestone that’s occurred around this stretch of the Gower Coast. Seemingly impossible shapes and lines that are entirely natural.
Below Overton cliff more fantastic shapes are revealed, millions of years of folding, faulting, erosion, and glacial scouring.
On top of Long Hole cliff we navigated a join in the folds of limestone to use as a leading line towards the Common Cliffs, as beautiful late afternoon light highlights their shapes.
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Llyn y Fan Fach, Brecon Beacons, South Wales, Autumn
If I had one main personal goal for this fortnight in South Wales we’re enjoying, it’s to get up one of the mountain ranges in the Brecon Beacons National Park.
If I had one main personal goal for this fortnight in South Wales we’re enjoying, it’s to get up one of the mountain ranges in the Brecon Beacons National Park.
There’s a few mountain/hill ranges in the Brecon Beacons National Park, the main two I was interested was either:
The Brecon Beacons, at the heart of the national park, which includes South Wales’ highest peak Pen y Fan (886 metres/2,907 feet)
The Black Mountain, sometimes known as the Carmarthenshire Fans.
On this occasion, we elected to hike up the Black Mountain range above the mountain tarn known as Llyn y Fan Fach.
The day promised to be glorious, with puffy white clouds and strong sun in the crisp autumn air. Though we were disappointed at the sight of Llyn y Fan Fach halfway up the climb (it seems to be in the process of being emptied), the views on the way up to the peaks were absolutely astounding.
All photos taken on my Fujifilm X-T2 using my Vivitar “Series 1” 28–105mm f2.8–3.8 zoom and Laowa 9mm f2.8 prime lenses. RAWs converted in Capture One for iPad, developed and finished in Affinity Photo for iPad.
Llyn y Fan Fach, Brecon Beacons, South Wales, Autumn by Ian Cylkowski is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
After exiting a busy car park we started the ascent up the Beacons Way path direct towards the tarn. Looking to the east I nabbed this quick shot of the criss-crossing hills towards Bryn Blaen-Wysg.
About halfway up the path is a small hut where the dam is. Above it are these fish hatcheries which were originally used as filter beds. The rounded hills at the bottom of the path are in stark contrast to the shapes of the Black Mountain, as you’ll see.
As we climb the views get ever more extensive. The last time we visited Llyn y Fan Fach, back in October 2018, there were few people around. This time the car park was full and cars had been dumped on the grass verges along the road leading to the car park. Apparently this area became vastly more popular after being featured in a 2020 TV series “Secrets of Britain”.
From the left, Fan Brycheiniog and Picws Du come into view, with their heavily glaciated and steep northern craggy faces. Morning sun was attempting to break through the clouds above.
Wow, am I right? After seeing the state of Llyn y Fan Fach, we quickly continued our ascent up the Black Mountain. The views looking back to the peaks were too incredible to ignore. The tallest peak, Fan Brycheiniog, is on the left, or strictly speaking its “nose”, Fan Foel. This is followed by Picws Du, Cefn Twrch, and Waun Lefrith.
The hike up the western slopes of the Black Mountain is steep, and the drop down to the tarn is sheer… but I mean, look at those views. The light got more intense, too, as the clouds started to dissipate and reveal the sun.
These peaks are primarily composed of Old Red Sandstone, laid down around 400 million years ago, with bands of Carboniferous Limestone. I wanted to find some of the exposed red sandstone as a contrast to all the grass.
More cracks of ruby red sandstone which I wanted to emphasise with a vertical composition towards the Black Mountain peaks.
My lovely Lisabet, being immensely more brave than I as she stands atop an exposed crag with a 500ft sheer drop beneath her.
This was about as close as I dared go to those crags, with the beautifully curved glaciated wall of Waun Lefrith in the distance.
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Llandovery & Cwm Rhaeadr, South Wales, Autumn
If there’s a feature that—to my mind—typifies South Wales that isn’t it’s glorious coastline, it’s the waterfalls.
If there’s a feature that—to my mind—typifies South Wales that isn’t it’s glorious coastline, it’s the waterfalls.
In fact, in the heart of the Brecon Beacons National Park lies an area called Waterfall Country.
Outside of Waterfall Country though there are still plenty of places to find waterfalls. One of the bigger ones can be found in Cwm Rhaeadr Forest, north of the historical town of Llandovery.
After a morning spent wandering around this beautiful little town, we head to Cwm Rhaeadr forest to enjoy some forest bathing, autumnal colours, and one of the largest and most epic waterfalls we’ve ever come across.
All photos taken on my Fujifilm X-T2 using my Vivitar “Series 1” 28–105mm f2.8–3.8 zoom and Laowa 9mm f2.8 prime lenses. RAW files converted in Capture One for iPad, developed and finalised in Affinity Photo for iPad.
Llandovery & Cwm Rhaeadr, South Wales, Autumn by Ian Cylkowski is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Llandovery
On the southern side of Llandovery is a small knoll that overlooks the town, atop of which is perched Llandovery Castle. Next to the castle ruins is a stainless statue of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd Fychan, a wealthy Carmarthenshire landowner who was executed in Llandovery by Henry IV of England in punishment for his support of Owain Glyndŵr's Welsh rebellion.
The Normans built a castle here around 1166 AD, and it was rebuilt in stone in the 13th century. It was burnt down in the 16th century and never rebuilt. From the ruins you can enjoy vast views of the nearby hills of South Wales plus Llandovery’s car park. Lovely.
Towns in South Wales seem fond of their colourful buildings, and the Bear Inn in Llandovery is definitely one of the more vivid ones I’ve seen.
This is the 4th incarnation of Llandovery Town Hall, built in 1858 in the Italianate style. The first town hall on the site was built in 1485.
Cwm Rhaeadr Forest
In Cwm Rhaeadr Forest, glorious autumnal colours carpet the forest floor.
Our first glimpse of the massive waterfall as it roars down from Mynydd Mallaen 1,500ft above. Time to get as close and personal with the waterfall as we can.
She’s a powerful beauty! It was damned hard trying to get close to the waterfall, but many slips and slides we made it. I quickly equipped my 9mm ultra-wide lens to snap as many compositions of this waterfall’s sections as I could.
Cwm Rhaeadr waterfall drops about 100m+ from Mynydd Mallaen in between two crags, falling in several stages as various falls and cascades. That means it’s possible to scale down alongside the waterfall and shoot completely different compositions from each particular drop.
I shot many different compositions of this waterfall as we scaled down alongside it. Some were definitely shit, as getting a solid enough footing proved difficult. The ones you see above were the best I could manage.
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Tenby & Lydstep Head, Pembrokeshire, South Wales, Autumn
After a morning spent carefully watching the weather apps, it was time to venture out.
After a morning spent carefully watching the weather apps, it was time to venture out.
Southwest of Wales one can find the historical port town of Tenby, or Dinbych-y-pysgod (“Fortlet of the fish”) to give its proper Welsh name. While we drove through the lashing rain, we arrived at Tenby in relatively dry conditions, wandering around the town and its beaches as the clouds gradually lifted and broke apart.
With the light getting better and better, we drove a further ten minutes southwest to Lydstep Head, a new location for us, to check out the area’s fabled cliffs.
Boy it did not disappoint.
Photos taken on my Fujifilm X-T2 using my Vivitar “Series 1” 28–105mm f2.8–3.8 zoom and Laowa 9mm f2.8 prime lenses. RAWs converted in Capture One for iPad then developed and finalised in Affinity Photo for iPad.
Tenby & Lydstep Head, Pembrokeshire, South Wales, Autumn by Ian Cylkowski is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Tenby
St. Catherine’s Island is a tidal island, just off Tenby’s south beach. It’s home to St. Catherine’s Fort, a Palmerston Fort constructed in the 19th century, in response to concerns about an imminent invasion from Emperor Napoleon III of France. Since the 1960s the Fort has stood empty, owned by no-one, though there are community initiatives to accommodate visits and tours.
This is the old Lifeboat Station, built in 1905 and superseded by the newer one just round the corner of Castle Hill in 2008. The old Lifeboat Station is now a private residence. Can you imagine?
As we continued to round the shoulder of Castle Hill the clouds above broke up and lifted. This allowed glorious autumnal sunlight to start emerging onto the scene, highlighting the beautiful coloured buildings of Tenby.
Tenby Harbour, enjoying a lot more sun as the clouds were lifting and breaking. Such a wonderful Welsh coastal scene.
Gosker Rock, which stands conspicuously all on its own on Tenby’s north beach.
Back on Tenby’s south beach, conditions were really starting to get epic. Time to head back to the car and find the cliffs of Lydstep Head.
Lydstep Head
On Lydstep Head, passing squalls quickly dowsed us in rain before carrying on across the sea. Their cloud formations made for epic compositions. I stacked 5 frames on top of each to shoot this photo of the cliffs at Lydstep Point with the rain clouds being lit up in the distance.
East from Lydstep Head another squall dropped a load of rain on top of Caldey Island. I zoomed in for a tighter composition of this fantastic phenomenon.
I mean, wow. The vertical cliff pictured here is Whitesheet Rock, with its dramatic vertical folds. Lots of Pembrokeshire’s coastline is comprised of limestone, which can often produce incredulous rock and karst formations.
A tighter composition of Whitesheet Rock. It doesn’t seem possible that cliff formations can look like this.
The other side of Whitesheet Rock above the aquamarine waters of Lydstep Haven.
Getting some of these compositions around Lydstep Head’s cliffs were some of the most challenging tasks I’ve ever done. The winds coming across the sea were funnelled through and around the geography of the area, creating blusters of 50+ mph. For a lot of these photos, I pretty much had to “spray and pray” to ensure I got something.
Powerful winds force the sea to crash against and around the cliffs of Lydstep Head, as they have surely done for millennia. Who knows what these magnificent cliffs will look like in another thousand years?
Much of Lydstep Head is owned and maintained by the National Trust. Period regenerative grazing occurs here, but closer to the cliffs the land is largely left to do what it will in the elements.
A slow-moving squall sits above Caldey Island in the distance whilst the sun drench the Lydstep cliffs with warm late-afternoon light as powerful winds blast the sea at the seemingly impossible cliffs.
Beyond Lydstep Head to the west, the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path continues over and above the cliffs. That will have to wait for another day.
For this day, circumnavigating Lydstep Head in glorious light and epic conditions was more than enough for the day.