Four Falls Trail

This was our first proper adventure of 2019 and a walk we’ve had earmarked for a while. Our trips to the Brecons usually involve climbing mountains, so finding a walk mainly through forest and down to the beautiful waterfalls was a really nice change for us. While the main path is flat and easy, to get up close to the waterfalls you need to go down narrow trails with a lot of steps. It’s definitely one for wearing proper walking boots or trail shoes as it was very muddy on the paths to the waterfalls. 

Distance: 5 miles
Time: 3 hours (allowing time for pictures/stops!)
Difficulty: Moderate
Sheep Watch:  None 
Parking: Cwm Porth car park (CF44 9JF) – £4 all day
Refreshments: None, but a lovely cafe in nearby village of Pontneddfechan called Gwladys

Download file for GPS

The Route

Leave the car park crossing the road directly next to the hut, and you’ll see  a path in front of you. Take this path and follow it for around a mile until you reach a red waymarker, take the trail to the right of this and head down the path to view the first waterfall – Sgwd Clun Gwyn.

Return to the path junction by the red waymarker  and turn right, following signs pointing to “Sgwd yr Eira”. It’s a nice flat walk for around half a mile, until you reach a green waymarker doubling back downhill on the right. Follow this path on the right all the way down to the river (around 15 minutes), where you’ll arrive at the second waterfall – Sgwd y Pannwr.

Just upstream from here is the third waterfall – Sgwd Isaf Clun Gwyn.

It’s then quite a tough climb to return to the main footpath, up the (very muddy) hill you’ve just come down. Once you’re back at the main path, turn right and follow the path for 5 minutes to reach the long set of steps down to Sgwd yr Eira on the right. Go down these steps to reach the river, where Sgwd yr Eira – the final waterfall is just upstream to the left. 

This really does save the best until last, and you can hear this waterfall long before you see it, a huge curtain of water off the 50-foot cliff. I never even knew it was possible to walk behind a waterfall so was really excited with the prospect of doing this, even though we got pretty soaked from the spray of the waterfall!

Once you’ve taken lots of pictures, it’s time to head back up the steps to the main path and turn right. The path bears left to head uphill away from the river and you’ll reach a crossroads with a bench to catch your breath. Take the path to the left and follow the track downhill for half a mile to another crossroads. Turn left, and follow the track through the woodland back to the red waymarker above Sgwd Clun Gwyn. Go right here and follow the river bank path all the way back to the start of the walk.

If, like us, you forget to take a packed lunch, there’s a wonderful little cafe we found in the village of Pontneddfechan called Gwladys. Their coffee is incredible, and we had a delicious sandwich too! 

Thanks for reading,

Cara, Andy and Poppy x