16/09/21 – 19/09/21
I arrived a little later than the advanced party on Thursday evening to find the hut deserted and the advanced party, having worked up an appetite with various walks during the day, had gone to the pub.
After a meal (for those who had not yet eaten) we set about trying to find consensus for the route we should walk the next day, never an easy thing for the DPC. Talk was of walking up Pen y Fan but we went to bed no closer to deciding by which route than when the discussion had started.
The next morning all except John W (who went for a Hike’a’bike with his Brompton) set off in convoy to park at Taf Fechan Forest to climb Pen y Fan and its amusingly named neighbour Fan y Big. Amazingly for a DPC meet the party stayed together through most of the day and it was a real pleasure to be able to catch up with friends, many of whom had not seen since 2019. The ascent of Fan y Big was a steady affair but thoroughly enjoyable. The clear weather gave great views north towards Brecon and our party must only have passed a handful of other walkers on our way up. The summit of Fan y Big has a stone promontory which lends itself to heroic mountaineering poses and so to keep our club archivist happy we duly took a variety of pictures. We had lunch on top of Cribyn taking shelter from the south westerly breeze in the lee of the mountain and enjoying the vista.
Continuing onwards to Pen y Fan we passed what must has been part of the SAS reserve selection with several young men slogging up the mountain laden with equipment and weapons. I had been pleased with my fitness up until this point when I was told that this was the final part of the selection process and they had already covered 18 miles (29 km) carrying a 55 lb (25 kg) pack before the final ascent. I have huge admiration for these guys and I’m thankful that someone is willing to put themselves forward for the roles that they carry out. On the summit Rick S and I made a decision to increase our pace a little so we could get back to the hut and begin to prepare the meal (despite being ‘my’ meet I always accept the help of Rick to cook – he should have been a chef). So the party split and Rick and I threaded our way through the crowds of the highest mountain in Brecon Beacons, over Corn Du and back to the cars.
Friday evening brought the arrival of reinforcements in the form of Rob and Mike P along with more food supplies and Rob set about preparing a curry while we discussed plans for Saturday. Obviously the main activity had to be climbing and, with little climbing in the immediate vicinity we, headed for Three Cliffs Bay on the Gower peninsula. The climbing party comprised Rob, Mike, John W, David A, Syd, Rick and myself. We consulted the tide times and made our way across the beach to the cliffs and enjoyed a cracking day on the rock. Between us we climbed Joggled Wall, Joggled Wall Direct, Left Edge, Right Corner II, Arch Slab, and Scavenger. Only Syd had climbed here before but, according to his guide book, this was in a different geological epoch so didn’t actually count…
As the tide turned Syd was still on the crag dragging David up a route so Rob, Mike and I decided to swim and then to move Syd’s bag closer to the incoming water in an attempt to hurry him up. This however only resulted in a chuckle and the placement of even less runners than normal!
A splinter party of walkers was formed of John H and Chris G, who after the exertions of the day before opted for a local walk through the woods to the spectacular nearby waterfalls.
We were joined by Chris W for the evening meal and it was a reminder of how special we are as a club that any presence on a meet, however brief, is greatly appreciated by all.
Sunday brought the cleaning of the hut (though thankfully it is a caving club hut so not much was needed to return it to the condition of when we arrived) and departure for home, local walks and more climbing. This time the destination was Box Bay in Porthcawl where Rob, John, Mike and I climbed Three Gas Filled Dolphin Carcasses, Rise Above The Water, Left Corner, and Jelly Fish Tickler before having to retreat from the rising tide.
Once out of danger of having our climbing kit swamped we took the opportunity for another swim, taking care not to get wiped out by the numerous surfers and body boarders who were also taking advantage of clean, warm(ish) seas and some good surf.
Overall an excellent time was had by all across the weekend and I thank everyone for making the effort to attend.
Ed MShaw
Derbyshire Pennine Club 