Fan Nedd - GW/SW-007 SOTA (2022)

Summits on the Air Activation Report

Activation Date: Sunday 23rd January, 2022.
Activator(s): Richard M1HAX.
Summit: Fan Nedd, South Wales, Wales.
Summit ID: SOTA reference GW/SW-007 (4+3 points).
Summit Height: 663m elevation, 174m prominence.
Summit Location: Lat./Long. 51.85366, -3.57919. Maidenhead Grid IO81fu.
Also Activated: GW/SW-005, GW/SW-006.
Distance: 26.5km travelled with 1340m of ascent.
Difficulty: SAC Grade T2.^(?)
Elapsed Time: 8hr 5m (incl. operating and other summit(s) on the same hike).
Weather: 2°C, light breeze, low cloud base.
Radio Equipment: Yaesu FTM100D, MFJ-1714, Zippy 4200mAh 4S LiFePo4.
Callsign Used: MW1HAX/P.
Contacts: 6 (2m FM).

Trip Notes

Fan Nedd, a distinctive 663-metre mountain in the Brecon Beacons National Park, stands proudly with its broad, grassy summit ridge offering spectacular views across the central Beacons. Historically, the area was used for sheep grazing and peat cutting, with evidence of ancient trackways still visible along its flanks. Today, it offers a quieter, less crowded alternative to the popular Pen y Fan.

For this activation, I was undertaking a 26km circuit from the Storey Arms car park on the A470, aiming to summit three mountains in a single day: Fan Fawr, Fan Nedd, and Fan Gyhirych.

After summiting and activating Fan Fawr in the usual way, I began the journey towards Fan Nedd, following a faint grassy trail that contours around the northern side of the Ystradfellte Reservoir. This section was interesting as it involved crossing several streams - the Nant Mawr, Nant y Gwair, and Nant y Caseg - each presenting their own minor obstacles.

The weather was cold but mercifully windless, though low-lying cloud periodically obscured the surrounding peaks. Visibility remained sufficient for easy navigation across the open moorland without difficulty.

After traversing the wet cwm, I picked up the Beacons Way footpath heading south towards Fan Dringarth. The next section involved a pathless descent towards a fork in a minor road visible in the valley below. Although I had initially been concerned about crossing the Afon Lila river, it proved straightforward when I arrived at it.

From the road, I began a pathless ascent up the eastern side of Fan Nedd. As the slopes steepened, I turned towards the northern side to join the footpath I had used on previous hikes. The ascent was steady and relatively straightforward despite the absence of a well-defined trail.

Upon reaching the large cairn near the summit - which sits within the SOTA activation zone though not at the actual highest point - I set up my Yaesu FTM100D amateur radio with the MFJ-1714 antenna. Despite the remoteness, I made six contacts on the 2-metre band, including two summit-to-summit contacts.

After completing my radio activity, I continued towards Fan Gyhirych for my third SOTA activation of the day. Rather than returning via the same route, I later took a lower path back to the A470, following sections of the Cambrian Way to avoid re-summiting Fan Nedd. This route offered drier and better-quality trails, eventually reconnecting with the Beacons Way path towards Craig Cerrig-gleisiad, then Gorllwm, before descending back to the road.

This long circuit crossing three significant mountains provided an excellent day of remote hiking in the central Brecon Beacons. The route is perfect for experienced hill walkers seeking to escape the crowds on Pen y Fan and would also be well-suited to keen trail runners.

Photos

Below are some photographs taken during my activation of Fan Nedd on Sunday 23rd January, 2022.

Walking Route for Fan Nedd

The interactive map below shows my GPS track taken to the SOTA activation zone for Fan Nedd. 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-007 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 6 amateur radio contacts operating as MW1HAX/P from GW/SW-007 Fan Nedd on Sunday 23rd January, 2022 (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 Fan Nedd:

• Sotl.as Summit Page for GW/SW-007 Fan Nedd.
• Hill Bagging UK Summit Page for Fan Nedd.
• Google Maps Page for Fan Nedd.
• Wikipedia entry for Fan Nedd.
• 360° Panorama near summit of GW/SW-007 Fan Nedd.

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