Cefn yr Ystrad - GW/SW-008 SOTA (2021)

Summits on the Air Activation Report

Activation Date: Sunday 19th December, 2021.
Activator(s): Richard M1HAX.
Summit: Cefn yr Ystrad, South Wales, Wales.
Summit ID: SOTA reference GW/SW-008 (4+3 points).
Summit Height: 619m elevation, 180m prominence.
Summit Location: Lat./Long. 51.81379, -3.32441. Maidenhead Grid IO81it.
Also Activated: GW/SW-013.
Distance: 14.5km travelled with 519m of ascent.
Difficulty: SAC Grade T2.^(?)
Elapsed Time: 5hr 20m (incl. operating and other summit(s) on the same hike).
Weather: 9°C, light breeze, sunny with temperature inversion.
Radio Equipment: Yaesu FTM100D, MFJ-1714, Zippy 4200mAh 4S LiFePo4.
Callsign Used: MW1HAX/P.
Contacts: 9 (2m FM).

Trip Notes

Cefn yr Ystrad is a substantial mountain in the Brecon Beacons (Bannau Brycheiniog) in South Wales, rising to an elevation of 619 metres. It lies to the north of Merthyr Tydfil and south of Talybont Reservoir, in an area characterised by its limestone geology. The mountain features extensive quarry workings on its slopes, bearing testament to the region’s industrial heritage. The summit itself is marked by a trig point and offers panoramic views of the surrounding valleys and hills when weather conditions allow.

I have previously documented climbing Cefn yr Ystrad from the southern approach, but that route can become particularly wet and boggy during winter months. For this December activation, I was keen to try an alternative approach from the north.

My route began with an ascent of the nearby Tor y Foel (GW/SW-013), an easy summit I have written about before which added a worthwhile 5 SOTA points (with winter bonus) to my day’s score tally. After descending back to my starting point, I immediately embarked on the main objective of Cefn yr Ystrad.

The walk started from a small parking area at the end of a single-track road on the eastern side of Talybont Reservoir. To reach this spot, I drove through the village of Talybont-on-Usk. The parking area is modest, with space for perhaps four cars depending on how dry the grass verge is.

From the parking area, I followed a track heading southwest, which ascends gently towards Pen Bwlch Glasgwm at 520 metres. As the route continued, the well-defined track transitioned into a grassy path that was boggy in places.

After covering approximately 5 kilometres from the parking area, I reached the edge of the quarry workings. Here, the route follows a tarmac quarry road for a short while. This area is popular with locals riding scrambler motorbikes around the quarry workings.

Navigating around the main quarry area, I picked out a line following faint paths to reach the summit plateau behind. The final approach to the trig point at 617 metres was straightforward across the open hill side.

One of the most remarkable aspects of this hike was the presence of a stunning cloud inversion throughout much of the day. This meteorological phenomenon, where cloud fills the valleys while the summits remain clear, created some truly spectacular views of the surrounding landscape, including back towards Tor y Foel in the distance.

The summit’s activation zone is large, offering plenty of space to set up an amateur radio station for SOTA. Using a boulder as a makeshift table, I set up my Yaesu FTM100D with the MFJ-1714 antenna and began my SOTA activation. Operating on the 2-metre band, I made nine contacts, including two summit-to-summit contacts: Richard MW0GWG/P on GW/MW-005 and Martin M7BIA/P on G/SP-004.

After spending some time enjoying the rare view and completing my activation, I retraced my route back through the quarry and along the footpath to return to the car.

This northeastern approach to Cefn yr Ystrad, combined with the ascent of Tor y Foel, proved to be significantly more enjoyable than my previous approach from the south. The route offers varied terrain, industrial heritage, and on this occasion, stunning views enhanced by the cloud inversion. I would highly recommend this route to anyone looking to activate Cefn yr Ystrad for SOTA or simply enjoy a rewarding hill walk in the Brecon Beacons.

Photos

Below are some photographs taken during my activation of Cefn yr Ystrad on Sunday 19th December, 2021.

Walking Route for Cefn yr Ystrad

The interactive map below shows my GPS track taken to the SOTA activation zone for Cefn yr Ystrad. Note that this summit was activated as part of a multi-summit hike and the map below shows the full route taken on the day. The GW/SW-008 summit area is marked on the map with a blue pin icon.

You can download the route shown above as a GPX file suitable for use with most GPS devices. This file is provided for information only, to support your own walk planning and research (it may contain navigation errors, detours and/or safety hazards). The route downloads provided here are governed by the Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.

Station Log

I logged the following 9 amateur radio contacts operating as MW1HAX/P from GW/SW-008 Cefn yr Ystrad on Sunday 19th December, 2021 (all times shown are UTC):

In the notes field I will usually log the other operator’s name and the signal report they provided. In accordance with the Summits on the Air rules, I do not make a log entry where a complete exchange of callsigns and signal reports was unsuccessful.

Additional Information

The following resources may be helpful to walkers, mountaineers and SOTA activators interested in Cefn yr Ystrad:

• Sotl.as Summit Page for GW/SW-008 Cefn yr Ystrad.
• Hill Bagging UK Summit Page for Cefn yr Ystrad.
• Google Maps Page for Cefn yr Ystrad.
• Wikipedia entry for Cefn yr Ystrad.
• 360° Panorama near summit of GW/SW-008 Cefn yr Ystrad.

If you found this content valuable, why not Buy Me a Coffee?