Brecon to Talybont-on-Usk
The views smell Welsh and the WOW factor of this canal walk can take your breath away. You step into the company of mountains and your eyes touch the peaks of Pen y Fan and Sugarloaf, yet this hike on the hills is no more than a gentle canalside stroll - so whether you are an experienced rambler or someone new to walking, this is one of the most uplifting canal walks in Britain. The Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal is a tree-lined water trail through the heart of the Brecon Beacons National Park, with sweeps of spectacular mountain air to blow away cobwebs from your head and feed your soul.
About the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal
Originally the Brecknock & Abergavenny, now known as the 'Mon & Brec' Length: 35¾ miles Locks: 6 Aqueducts: 11 Tunnels: 2 Lift bridges: 5 Engineer: Thomas Dadford Completed: 1812 Abandoned: 1962 Restored: 1970    
Walk 01 Brecon to Talybont-on-Usk
Approx distance: 6 miles Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal
Start: Brecon. Grid ref: SO046281 Finish: Talybont-on-Usk. Grid ref: SO115225 
Leaving Brecon, the views open out as you walk parallel to the river Usk in the valley below. Brynich Lock will tempt you to gongoozle with the guaranteed arrival of the Dragonfly trip boat at certain times of the day. It's an award-winning lock perfumed by flowers and, just round the corner, Brynich Aqueduct carries the canal over the river. The path up to now has been well-surfaced but, after crossing a bridge over to the opposite bank, becomes more overgrown with a narrower trail. The canal becomes more enclosed by trees until just beyond bridge 160, as you approach Cambrian Cruisers' boatyard, when you'll gasp at magnificent open views around Pen y Fan. From here, views tease through the leaves until the canal becomes less tree-lined near Pencelli. There are several lift bridges along this stretch, usually left up for boats to pass, apart from the main one in Talybont as it's a through road rather than a farm track. The views to your left between Pencelli and Talybont are towards the Black Mountains and as you approach Talybont, there are reminders of the canal's past with limekilns and a tramroad which once linked the canal to the quarries and coalfields of South Wales' industrial valleys.
back to top
Where to stay
Canalside B&Bs
Canalside campsites
Canalside cottages
Canalside pubs & inns
Holiday hireboats on the Mon & Brec
|
Our guidebooks are packed full of ideas, colourful photos, and some of the best highlights we've found along the canals...
Find out more >> Secrets of the past
Watch out for these rusting signposts
 peeping over many of the bridges on the Mon & Brec. A world without cars seems inconceivable today, yet of course canals preceded our carbon-burning noise polluters. With the arrival of the motor car, new pressure was put on canal bridges originally constructed only for foot passengers or horse & cart. These signs warned drivers of new-fangled motors to beware of the weight limit (up to 5 tons!)
Fact file
Train info
Nearest train: Abergavenny
National Rail Enquiries T:08457 484950 Bus info Traveline T:0871 2002233
Beacons Bus A great way to combine walking on the canal and the Beacons. Walk one way then get the bus back More info >>
T:01873 853254 beaconsbus@breconbeacons.org
Tourist info office: Brecon T:01874 622485 brectic@powys.gov.uk
Brecon Beacons National Park T:01874 624437 More info >>
Theatr Brycheiniog (Brecon Theatre) Canal Wharf, Brecon T:01874 611622 enquiries@brycheiniog.co.uk
Taff Trail Canal Wharf, Brecon The Taff Trail Cycle Route follows the Mon & Brec Canal from just outside Brecon to Brynich Lock where cyclists head off on the road, though walkers on the Trail continue on the canal as far as Talybont Info >>
Boat trips Dragonfly Cruisers, Brecon Basin 
2½-hour cruises from Brecon to Brynich - Timings & days vary T:07831 685222 Ring for details
|
