UKH

I am hoping to walk up Pen y Fan sometime this year and I was wondering how popular other areas of the Beacons are. Do Cribyn and Fan y Big have as many visitors? I know there are many different ridges in the central Beacons area as well, such as Gwaun Taf.

I can imagine how fantastic the view is from Pen y Fan on a very clear day - I know you can see Exmoor and Hartland Point in very good conditions.
I can see Pen y Fan and Cribyn well from my local hill Sedgley Beacon near Dudley, 73 miles away.

In reply to Matt_79: The Black Mountain is more dramatic, the Black MountainS more agricultural (ie valleys farmed) and Central Beacons popular on east side of Storey Arms. Fforest Fawr (west side of Storey Arms) can be deserted whilst Pen y Fan side is heaving.

In reply to Matt_79: They are very popular and make a nice walk

On a clear sunny day you will mostly see other people!

In reply to Matt_79:
On a fine day, Pen y Fan will be swarming with people coming from all directions, and psycho sheep trying to mug you for your sandwiches. Cribyn and Fan y Big will be slightly less busy simply because they're more than an hour's relatively easy walk from the road.

As others have said, if you want quiet, go to Mynydd Du (the Black Mountain, to the west), with its spectacular long escarpment from Fan Hir all the way along to Llyn y Fan Fach.

In reply to m0unt41n:

I had heard the Black Mountain was more dramatic and I have seen many photos of the summits. The scenery in the Black Mountain area looks very remote as well.

I went to Brecon in the summer (although I didn't go close to the Central Beacons) and you are right about the Black MountainS, although I was still very impressed with their scenery.

I wonder why Fforest Fawr can often be deserted? I know Pen y Fan is obviously the most popular mountain but it still surprises me that not many people decide to walk Fforest Fawr.