Black Mountain (range)

In his description of a Blak Montayne, the antiquarian John Leland refers to a massif extending between Carmarthen and Monmouth i.e. what is now considered to be the Brecon Beacons in the wider modern sense of that term, thus also including the Black Mountains and the intervening high ground of Fforest Fawr.

The area was glaciated during the ice ages and a number of fresh moraines are to be found beneath the spectacular north and east facing sandstone scarps in the north-east of the range, especially below Fan Hir.

An especially famous circle occurs on the banks of the River Tawe below Fan Hir, and is known as Cerrig Duon, or "black stones".

The lake can easily be reached on foot from the car park on the Welsh Water access road near Llanddeusant.

[7] The lake can be reached on foot by either of two 1.7 mile (2.7 km) paths across the moor from informal roadside parking off the minor Trecastle to Abercraf road.

Virtually the entire massif consists of land mapped as open country and hence legally accessible to the public on foot under the provisions of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000.

Increased use of certain sections of path by walkers in recent years has resulted in accelerated erosion, a problem exacerbated by the sometimes thin, gravelly soils and the high rainfall, and has prompted repairs by the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority.

The red kite was previously restricted to this and adjoining areas in South Wales such as Mynydd Mallaen owing to persecution by gamekeepers in the rest of the country, but has since been introduced widely in southern Britain, such as the Chilterns.

The skylark is plentiful due to the extensive rough pasture present below the main peaks which allows ground nesting of the species.

The Black Mountain is generally considered to be one of the wildest regions of Wales and is associated with numerous myths such as the Arthurian legend of the Lady of the Lake and Twrch Trwyth.

More recent events are commemorated in prose and verse, e.g. 'From the Mist to Heaven' written after a tragedy played out on these moors in May 1904.

[8] Cribarth on its southeastern margin is sometimes known locally as the Sleeping Giant, after the appearance of its profile from Cwm Tawe to the south.