We did this walk the morning after the Fontaines dc Cardiff Castle concert, to clear our heads a bit! We were staying in the centre of Cardiff and the drive from there took us just over an hour. It is not easily accessible by public transport but that’s not to say its impossible. A combination of train (to Neath), bus and taxi/walk could take you to the start of the trail or to other walking routes in the area.
This area of the Brecon Beacons National Park is known as Waterfall Country due to the number that are located in the area. The Four Waterfalls Walk is popular due to the opportunity to see multiple falls on the one route.
We headed North out of the city via Merthyr Tydfil and towards Ystradfellte where the trail starts.
We managed to choose the only slightly rainy day of out holiday to do this so the journey was very wet and misty and as we approached the beginning of the National Park area via the recently opened Heads of the Valleys Road (A465) we felt like we were driving through clouds.
Once you come off the main roads the last few miles of the route are pretty much single track with passing places, which are situated quite regularly along the way. This is for about 5 miles. Luckily we only saw two other cars and were in wider areas where we could just about pass without having to reverse back to a passing space.
There are a couple of car parks that can be used to access the start of the route. The nearest to the start of the trip is Cwm Porth. The other is Gwen Hepste which you come to first by car but is a ten minute further walk away from the start of the trail. We headed for Cwm Porth fully prepared to have to turn around as we had been told that it fills up early in the day however the weather worked in our favour and there was plenty of space when we arrived at around 10am.
Parking is £6 for all day and is purchased on a pay and display machine that is card only. The machine is located near to the information office at the start of the walking route. We had brought both cash and card as we had read that the overflow car parks should we have needed them were cash only so we wanted to cover all eventualities.
There is a small van selling bacon/sausage sandwiches and other snacks as well as tea and coffee at very reasonable prices. Smelled delicious but we had brought our own food in the form of an M&S gluten free meal deal as we knew we would be unlikely to find much that was gluten free in this type of setting.
The car park is also equipped with toilets (not portaloos) and a changing area. The full walk from the car park and back is just under 9km and visitors are advised to allow 3-4 hours.
We went into the information office and purchased a map for £1 – the payment for this was also card only. I would recommend the map, as there are parts of the walk where there is very little phone signal. The lady in the information centre was very helpful and marked relevant points on the map for us to make sure we got back to the correct car park. She explained that the circular route is marked by numbered posts and that you join/the circular part of the walk at post 11.
We initially walked for about twenty minutes to the start of the circular walk and from there we took the warden’s advice and decided to do the walk backwards in order to see the largest waterfall first and have the opportunity to walk behind it without too many other people around.
It probably took us around 40 minutes to reach Sgwd ye Eira (meaning Fall of Snow) and this included the 180 steps down which are deep and steep at points. We are reasonably fit however these were a challenge. They are pretty well supported with handrails though and weren’t really slippy despite the wet weather when we arrived.
You will need sturdy shoes for this, I am glad my daughter insisted that my battered Converse wouldn’t be up to the job and insisted I invest in some Karrimor walking boots from the Cardiff branch of Sports Direct.
This waterfall is on the Afon Hepste river with the remaining three on the trail being on the Afon Mellte.
It really is stunning and well worth the effort of the steps to get down to it. To get behind the waterfall you have to walk along some narrower ledges and I did hold onto the grass wall for dear life in parts but I made it and once behind you have plenty of space to stand. We were very fortunate to have time to take our pictures and videos without pressure from anyone else approaching. There was just one other family who arrived as were heading back. Later in the day or on a day with better weather we would not have had this opportunity so we know we made the right choice to head the Sgwd yr Eira first.
We had to go back up the 180 steps to rejoin the circular part of the route and head to the next two waterfalls which are situated very close together. This took around 35 minutes more walking from the first one. Again there are steps down but not as many in one of as they are combined with gravel slopes with very uneven terrain in parts. The decline was quite a bit longer than the first waterfall and you really do have to watch your footing and take it slowly. The rain had long stopped by this point but it was still a little slippy in some areas.
Sgwd Isaf Clun-Gwyn is right at the bottom of the steps to your left and is viewed from above. Again, we were fortunate to have plenty of opportunities to get our photos. The river flows over the black rock bed and you can walk on this in parts without getting your feet wet.
A few minutes walk along the the water’s edge takes you to Sgwd y Pannwr. You have to climb over some rocks and go around the corner a little to see this one in its full glory. There are plunge pools that are reportedly popular with swimmers on warmer days (You are asked not to go into the water due to the risk of cold water shock but it did look inviting especially as the sun had come out by the time we reached that point!) While we were there a group of people were in the water who looked to be doing an organised swim as they had an instructor and all were wearing protective equipment.
As with the first waterfall you must retrace your steps up the incline to get back to the main route.
The final waterfall on the trail – Sgwd Clun-Gwyn – is only another twenty minutes ish away. The slope down to this one is a lot shorter but again very uneven. I found this one interesting because it looks like it once would have covered the whole rock surface and been a lot more spectacular (indeed it possibly is with heavier rainfall) however it currently covers a small space on the right hand side. The rock is on a diagonal as if purposely tipping the water off the edge.
From there we headed back along the water’s edge and returned to the part of the circular route that we had started on. From there our car park was clearly signposted. All in all very straightforward we found everything easy to navigate.
The whole thing took us just under four hours from starting the trail to getting back to the car park and that include a twenty minute stop to eat our food and quite a bit of time taking photos and looking at the scenery. We walked at a moderate pace. There are plenty of benches dotted around to take a break and eat your snacks.
Whee we returned the car park looked pretty much full so we were happy we decided to do this as a morning activity (we mostly do all our activities in the morning to avoid crowds in general and give ourselves the best chance of having a stress free experience).
Once back in the car, there is a one way route out of the car park in that you don’t go out the way you came in however you do loop back past the car park entrance after a few minutes so the second part of the road back up to the main road is two way traffic on very narrow roads. I did have to stop and reverse to a passing place a couple of times and I imagine on a really busy day this might get a little chaotic and stressful particularly if you are perhaps not a confident driver. I am not the most confident and I think I would have been a little overwhelmed if it was busier as the stretch back to the main road was around 8 miles!
Overall a lovely scenic walk, very enjoyable and we will definitely be returning to see more of this area. If you have time and want to make more of a day of it Castell Coch is just off the route back towards Cardiff. Henrhyd Falls is also close, around 20 minutes drive and not far of a walk from the car park.
compass and coaster 
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