How To Do The Brecon Beacons Waterfalls Walk to 4 Waterfalls!

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The Brecon Beacons Mountains and National Park is home to many waterfalls! The most popular of the Brecon Beacons waterfalls walk is the walk which takes you to 4 waterfalls!

It is possible to do the 4 waterfalls walk in 3-4 hours and because there are a few different footpaths it can adapted whether you want an easier walk or you want an adventure and have a bit of a scramble over rocks along the river edge!

In this Wales travel blog I’m going to give you details on how to do the Brecon Beacons Four Waterfalls Walk, also referred to as the Brecon Beacons Four Falls Trail.

I’ll give you parking for Brecon Beacons waterfall walk as well as details on how to get to all 4 waterfalls and how to adapt your walk depending on how far you want to walk and how difficult you want the walk to be!

Brecon Beacons 4 Waterfalls Walk

Brecon Beacons Waterfalls Walk

I did this walk in just under 3.5 hours, I stopped a lot to take photos and had a 10 minute lunch stop. I do walk quite fast and I am fit so I found this walk not too difficult.

If you walk slowly or have children, this full Brecon Beacons Four Waterfalls Walk may take you a bit longer, but the best thing is, if you get tired or run out of time, you can miss parts out and miss 1 waterfall out to make the walk quicker!

In terms of the difficulty of the Brecon Beacons Waterfalls Walk, as you’ll see below I give you two options of how to do the walk as it can be adapted to be easier and harder!

However, to see the most popular waterfall which you can go behind – Sgwd Yr Eira, there are roughly 100 wide steps down to the bottom which of course you need to walk back up. This is definitely hard so be prepared for these, especially as this waterfall is the main focus of the walk!

Aside from this, the main gravel footpath that can be followed is fairly flat with small inclines and declines and there are some rocky footpaths to a few of the other waterfalls but that’s it.

Related Post: View all my top things to do in Cardiff here!

Brecon Beacons Waterfalls Walk Parking

The carparks are very close together, coming into the Brecon Beacons Mountains from Merthyr Tydfil I came to Gwaun Hepste first and then continued driving to Cwm Porth a few minutes away so if you visit one car park and it’s full, you can drive to the other in a few minutes.

Cwm Porth car park is close to a cave entrance which is popular to visit and it’s a bit closer to the start of the footpath for the Brecon Beacons 4 waterfalls walk so if you arrive early on in the day, I suggest trying to park here but as its the smaller car park, it does fill up quicker!

Brecon Beacons 4 Waterfalls

The 4 waterfalls that you’ll be visiting if you do the full walk are:

1. Sgwd Clun-Gwyn – This waterfall is impressive and can be seen from viewpoints either side of the river but not really up close!

2. Sgwd Isaf Clun-Gwyn – This waterfall was my favourite as it can be accessed really up close and is so powerful!

3. Sgwd y Pannwr – This waterfall is smaller and not as impressive but you can get up close and it has nice places around it to sit.

4. Sgwd Yr Eira – This is the most popular waterfall because you can walk around the back of it and wild swim in the water in front of it. It’s also a big area where you can sit on rocks and go in the stream.

Footwear for the Brecon Beacons Four Waterfalls Walk

Hiking shoes are best for the Brecon Beacons 4 Waterfalls Walk, if you don’t have them, trainers with a good grip are the second best.

Dolly shoes or Sandals with no grip and support will cause you to find this walk difficult and perhaps cause injury as there are a lot of rocks and stones on the path. These are my favourite walking boots!

To see the Brecon Waterfall walk, have a look at my Youtube video:

https://youtu.be/4_yOL0I5TOY

Four Waterfalls Walk Route

Now, I’ll explain how to do the Brecon Beacons 4 waterfalls walk so you can see all 4 waterfalls. I’ll advise easier and harder ways to do the walk depending on your fitness, your footwear and if you have children with you.

There is an option to follow the main footpath which is mostly a gravel footpath and easy to follow however this won’t take you as close to the waterfall, or you can get off the gravel footpath and get closer to the river and waterfalls and likely see less people!

Start at either one of the car parks mentioned above – Gwaun Hepste or Cwm Porth. The start of the footpath is easy to walk, it is a small country lane and is pretty flat with fields on either side and a few farms along the way.

Waterfall 1 – Sgwd Clun-Gwyn

Easier

The viewpoint for waterfall 1 – Sgwd Clun-Gwyn, is easy to come across. Continue along the path and you’ll hear the waterfall before you see it. The viewpoint is to the right.

There are signposts and signs about the waterfall at the right turning so it’s not hard to miss.

Harder

I accidentally took a right turning before getting to the viewpoint on the right, this track took me down to the river, across the river on a small bridge and to a viewpoint on the other side, this side seems much more hidden and if you have time on your Brecon Beacons Waterfalls Walk I recommend walking to this side and then walking back.

From here you can also keep walking along the river to see waterfall 2 from a high viewpoint too! But at this stage, from what I could see I had to walk all the way back on myself.

Waterfall 2 – Sgwd Isaf Clun-Gwyn

Easier

To get to waterfall 2 – Sgwd Isaf Clun-Gwyn the path is not that obvious and is a bit tricky. From waterfall 1 viewpoint walk down towards the river and there is a rocky footpath that takes you along the river.

After going over some rocks down and along the river you will see the dangerous path sign below.

At this stage you can follow the footpath back up which is the recommended route and therefore the easier route, however, this route will not take you as close to waterfall 2 Sgwd Isaf Clun-Gwyn.

Harder

If you decide to walk along the dangerous path, which from my experience was not that dangerous, despite recent heavy rain then you will come to the top of waterfall 2- Sgwd Isaf Clun-Gwyn which is a good viewpoint on the waterfall walk Brecon Beacons.

But if you continue down the side, which is a bit tricky but not too bad, you will come right to the bottom of the waterfall which is really impressive to see!

Waterfall 3 – Sgwd y Pannwr

Easier

Find the main gravel path again and follow the signs for the last waterfall which is Sgwd Yr Eira and then you will see a path to the right which does down. This is a main track however there are a lot of big stones that make up the path, followed by some steps to the waterfall.

The base of the waterfall is very open and you can get close to the waterfall. I saw people here Wirth tripods taking photos of the falls.

I liked this waterfall but I didn’t find it overly impressive out of all 4 waterfalls on the waterfall walk in the Brecon Beacons, so if you run out of time or think you’ll find this path hard then you can miss this waterfall out and not completely miss out I think.

Harder

To follow the harder route and more interesting route, from the base of waterfall 2 to waterfall 3 you continue along the rivers edge. This is rocky in parts but then it opens into a fixed footpath with wooden boards to show you are on the right track.

Because you are following the river, this path then opens up out at waterfall 3 – Sgwd y Pannwr, from the river, and is a different approach than the easier route mentioned above.

Waterfall 4 – Sgwd Yr Eira

Easier & Harder

From waterfall 3, to get to Waterall 4, there is only one option of how to get there! Follow the steps and the rocky footpath back up to the main footpath and continue along it for 10 minutes which is an easy and flat walk.

The right turning down to Sgwd Yr Eira which is the main waterfall people seem to want to visit on the Brecon Beacons waterfall walk is very obvious.

To get to the waterfall you have to walk down some big steps, I’d say there is about 100 steps which zig zag down.

At the bottom you reach the river with the waterfall in front, this is a nice place to sit with plenty of rocks for everyone to sit on and to get behind the waterfall just keep walking towards it and there is a clear path behind it.

If you want to go wild swimming in the Brecon Beacons, this is the only waterfall you can swim it and it is a great place for swimming in the Brecon Beacons!

To end, after walking back up the steps from Sgwd Yr Eira, turn left and follow the footpath all the way back to the carpark, half way through it will meet the footpath you started on when you started the Brecon Beacons Four Waterfalls Walk!

I hope you enjoy this Brecon Beacons Waterfalls Walk!

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• For more of my Wales posts to help you see the best of Wales see:
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• Complete South Wales Itinerary For A Lush 1 Week in South Wales!
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• 36 Stunning Wales Road Trip Destinations For Your Itinerary!