Work to fix one of the most eroded footpaths in the heart of the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park has been completed thanks to funding from the 2016 Mend Our Mountains Campaign. The repairs were to the Neuadd path high above the Neuadd Reservoir and part of the popular horseshoe walk that takes in all of the Central Beacons mountain range. It is now ready for the thousands of visitors that will walk the mountain range in South Wales this year.
The UK-wide crowdfunding campaign run by the British Mountaineering Council in May 2016 raised over £100,000 for urgent path repairs on some of Britain’s most iconic peaks, with £12,100 allocated to the Neuadd path. The path was in desperate need of work as it was at risk of eroding away. Thanks to funding raised by the campaign and a contribution from the landowners – the Honourable Artillery Company along with the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park Authority and the Welsh Government, phase 1 of the work on the upper section was completed in December 2016. The project was finished earlier this month. Much of the path is on steep slopes and weather conditions were particularly difficult with heavy rain and snow. 750 tonnes of stone was airlifted to the site and over 1,000 metres of path restored.
Ian Rowat, the National Park Authority’s Member Champion for Biodiversity and the Environment commented;
“The success of the Mend Our Mountains Campaign shows just how much the great outdoors matters to people. The four peaks of the Central Beacons; Pen y Fan, Corn Du, Cribyn and Fan y Big receive around 250,000 visitors each year. Patching up of popular footpaths can cost up to £170 a metre and the support from all funders and the public has ensured that this popular mountain path is once again in the best condition for everyone to enjoy.”
ENDS