0:00:13 > 0:00:16This has got to be one of the most stunning views
0:00:16 > 0:00:19in the whole of the Brecon Beacons National Park.
0:00:19 > 0:00:22I'm standing here on Mynydd Troed, which, roughly translated,
0:00:22 > 0:00:26means "a mountain shaped like a foot".
0:00:26 > 0:00:28Behind me is Llangorse Lake -
0:00:28 > 0:00:31it's the biggest natural lake in South Wales.
0:00:31 > 0:00:35And then in the distance behind that is Pen y Fan.
0:00:35 > 0:00:39At 886 metres above sea level,
0:00:39 > 0:00:42it's the highest peak in the whole of southern Britain.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47For many, the Brecon Beacons is a playground,
0:00:47 > 0:00:50but for me it's a place to escape.
0:00:52 > 0:00:54A place to be alone with nature.
0:00:56 > 0:00:58And this is a big park,
0:00:58 > 0:01:00it's 500 square miles
0:01:00 > 0:01:05and it extends from the English border, ten miles to the east,
0:01:05 > 0:01:10all the way over to Carmarthenshire, 30 miles away to the west.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13And it's not just mountains - it's historical sites
0:01:13 > 0:01:17and a wide range of fabulous landscapes.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21In this series, I'm exploring the magic of the Beacons -
0:01:21 > 0:01:24its changing beauty over the seasons,
0:01:24 > 0:01:27its wonderful wildlife
0:01:27 > 0:01:29and its people.
0:01:53 > 0:01:57The Brecon Beacons is rightly famous for its mountains
0:01:57 > 0:02:00and its harsh upland environment
0:02:00 > 0:02:05and it doesn't get much worse than a day like this in deep midwinter.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08Now, I'm on the eastern edge of the park in the Black Mountains,
0:02:08 > 0:02:12heading up towards one of the peaks, Twmpa, up there
0:02:12 > 0:02:15and this weather wasn't forecast,
0:02:15 > 0:02:18but that's mountain weather for you - constantly changing.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24'I know from experience that the uplands can be
0:02:24 > 0:02:27'very different to the lowlands, particularly during winter.
0:02:29 > 0:02:32'While conditions on Twmpa's summit are extreme,
0:02:32 > 0:02:36'it's a sunny day in the valley near Hay-on-Wye.
0:02:42 > 0:02:43'Much of the Black Mountains
0:02:43 > 0:02:46'in the eastern part of the Brecon Beacons National Park
0:02:46 > 0:02:50'are 600 metres or 2,000 feet above sea level.
0:02:50 > 0:02:52'It's a wild landscape.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57'But in fact, in common with the rest of the Beacons,
0:02:57 > 0:02:59'it's land which has been shaped by people...'
0:02:59 > 0:03:02COW LOWS
0:03:02 > 0:03:04'..and this has been going on ever since
0:03:04 > 0:03:08'cutting and digging tools were invented during the Stone Age.
0:03:10 > 0:03:12'The uplands had already been cleared of trees
0:03:12 > 0:03:15'at least 3,000 years before 12th-century monks
0:03:15 > 0:03:17'had arrived in the Black Mountains
0:03:17 > 0:03:20'to farm the land and build Llanthony Abbey.
0:03:21 > 0:03:27'It's one of around 250 historical gems that exist in the National Park.
0:03:30 > 0:03:32'The Beacons is and always has been
0:03:32 > 0:03:34'a landscape that's been worked by people.
0:03:37 > 0:03:40'Wildlife has had to adapt to the many artificial habitats
0:03:40 > 0:03:43'that have been created in the National Park.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49'And the Brecon Beacons does have some great wildlife.
0:03:55 > 0:03:57'Much of the Beacons is upland moorland,
0:03:57 > 0:04:02'but around 13% of the National Park is covered by trees.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05'I'm travelling to a wood below Sugar Loaf Mountain
0:04:05 > 0:04:06'just outside Abergavenny.
0:04:08 > 0:04:09'It's called St Mary's Vale
0:04:09 > 0:04:12'and it's one of the oldest woods in the Beacons.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16'But even this isn't a natural wild wood.
0:04:19 > 0:04:21'The fantastic shapes that you see on many of the trees
0:04:21 > 0:04:25'are the result of people managing woodland for timber and charcoal
0:04:25 > 0:04:29'to be used in the coal and steel industries of South Wales.'
0:04:32 > 0:04:35Look at this. The weather has changed again.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38That's winter in the Brecon Beacons for you. Driving rain now.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41But I wanted to come and have a closer look at this tree.
0:04:41 > 0:04:44Just look at the shape of that! And this, of course,
0:04:44 > 0:04:47is a tree that, over hundreds of years,
0:04:47 > 0:04:49has been coppiced several times
0:04:49 > 0:04:53and what that's done, it's left you with this unique shape.
0:04:53 > 0:04:57This base is going to be, what, 300 years old, maybe even more
0:04:57 > 0:05:01and relatively speaking, these shoots here are much younger,
0:05:01 > 0:05:02maybe 100 years old.
0:05:02 > 0:05:04If they were still working now,
0:05:04 > 0:05:06they would come back, they would coppice here again,
0:05:06 > 0:05:09it would grow again and it would be coppiced over and over.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16'A lot of the landscape in the southern parts of the National Park
0:05:16 > 0:05:19'has been shaped by old industries.
0:05:19 > 0:05:21'Spoil tips of old ironworks and coalmines
0:05:21 > 0:05:23'are still visible in many areas,
0:05:23 > 0:05:27'and these are gradually being reclaimed by nature.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30'One of the transport routes of the old industries
0:05:30 > 0:05:32'is the Monmouthshire Brecon Canal.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34'It is the only canal in the Brecon Beacons
0:05:34 > 0:05:38'and was built over 200 years ago to move coal, lime and wool
0:05:38 > 0:05:42'between rural mid Wales and the industrial south.
0:05:45 > 0:05:49'This path near Llangynidr, around ten miles south of Brecon,
0:05:49 > 0:05:52'has many locks to cope with the rising height of the canal
0:05:52 > 0:05:54'as it makes its way up the Usk Valley.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58'A section of the canal between two locks
0:05:58 > 0:06:01'is being drained for maintenance work.
0:06:11 > 0:06:15'Once drained, it's time for Mark Prosser and Chris Burroughs
0:06:15 > 0:06:18'of the Canal And River Trust to jump in and inspect.'
0:06:20 > 0:06:21Mind your step, Chris.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24- All right, lads?- Hello. How's things?- What's going on?
0:06:24 > 0:06:27Just doing some general maintenance to the lock gates, we are.
0:06:27 > 0:06:29- What, these gates behind me here? - Yes.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32So, would you do this fairly regularly,
0:06:32 > 0:06:34just look at the maintenance work and...?
0:06:34 > 0:06:37Yeah, go through in the winter and just do general maintenance
0:06:37 > 0:06:38because, in the summer,
0:06:38 > 0:06:41we don't want to spoil the boaters' holidays and drain sections.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44We're not out to stop people having their holidays, you know.
0:06:44 > 0:06:46It's an amazing operation, mind,
0:06:46 > 0:06:49the way you've drained this particular pool here.
0:06:49 > 0:06:51Yeah, well, fair play,
0:06:51 > 0:06:54over 200 years ago, they designed it very well.
0:06:54 > 0:06:58'The canal's heyday was during the early 1800s.
0:06:58 > 0:07:00'At its peak, 150,000 tonnes of coal
0:07:00 > 0:07:05'were transported on the canal each year on barges towed by horses.'
0:07:07 > 0:07:10- All clear up here.- Right-oh.
0:07:10 > 0:07:14- No fish, lads?- No. Only small ones.
0:07:14 > 0:07:16They'll survive in the water.
0:07:16 > 0:07:20Right, yeah. I'll leave you to get on, boys. Nice to see you both.
0:07:20 > 0:07:24- Take care.- Cheers, thanks very much. Thanks very much.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27- I think someone has lost a welly. - Yeah.
0:07:37 > 0:07:39There are hundreds of streams and rivers
0:07:39 > 0:07:42coming down off the high tops of the Brecon Beacons,
0:07:42 > 0:07:46but the biggest and the most famous is this one, the River Usk.
0:07:46 > 0:07:47This is the middle section here,
0:07:47 > 0:07:51it's not as narrow and not as wild as it is higher up,
0:07:51 > 0:07:55and it's not as deep and not as meandering as it is further east.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58And this lovely old bridge here, this is Llangynidr Bridge,
0:07:58 > 0:08:00a very narrow old bridge
0:08:00 > 0:08:04and this is a great spot for looking out for birds
0:08:04 > 0:08:06like dippers and grey wagtails.
0:08:06 > 0:08:07They love these rocks here.
0:08:12 > 0:08:16'January is far too early for grey wagtails and dippers to nest.
0:08:19 > 0:08:23'Goosanders, however, are already displaying and mating.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27'The male will soon be leaving Wales
0:08:27 > 0:08:30'to spend the spring and summer in Scandinavia,
0:08:30 > 0:08:34'leaving the female to build a nest and raise her chicks on her own.
0:08:38 > 0:08:40'I find that the winter
0:08:40 > 0:08:43'is an interesting time to explore the Beacons.
0:08:43 > 0:08:45'It's relatively quiet,
0:08:45 > 0:08:50'the weather conditions also vary a great deal from day to day,
0:08:50 > 0:08:51'and between the lowlands and the uplands,
0:08:51 > 0:08:55'making it challenging and rewarding.
0:08:55 > 0:08:57'And because most of the plants have died back,
0:08:57 > 0:09:01'the small amount of wildlife that is around is easier to see.
0:09:11 > 0:09:13'Much of the lowland in the Usk Valley is farmland,
0:09:13 > 0:09:15'and they say that there are
0:09:15 > 0:09:20'3,500 miles of hedgerows in the Brecon Beacons.
0:09:21 > 0:09:25'This one is being laid in a traditional way by Trefor Prothero
0:09:25 > 0:09:27'and his son Gwilym at a farm near Brecon.'
0:09:27 > 0:09:29- Trevor?- Ah, hello.- How are you?
0:09:29 > 0:09:32- Nice to meet you. - Good to see you, boy.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35- What a nice job!- Thank you.- Cracking!
0:09:35 > 0:09:38I tell you what, I've always wanted to hedge lay.
0:09:38 > 0:09:40Go on, you keep going
0:09:40 > 0:09:43because I know it's going to get dark before long, so you keep going.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46Now, I was always told that Breconshire people
0:09:46 > 0:09:49have got their own particular style of hedge laying.
0:09:49 > 0:09:51Yeah, well, every county has their own style
0:09:51 > 0:09:53and this is the traditional Breconshire style.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56So, Montgomeryshire would have a different style,
0:09:56 > 0:09:59Radnorshire would have a different style?
0:09:59 > 0:10:01Yeah, Radnorshires don't use these stakes
0:10:01 > 0:10:03or don't use these hetherings.
0:10:03 > 0:10:06- And that's what you call what you put on top, the hazel?- Mostly hazel.
0:10:06 > 0:10:08- And that is just to hold the hedge down?- Yes.
0:10:08 > 0:10:11We put one of these through every stake.
0:10:11 > 0:10:13Right, so that gets shoved in.
0:10:13 > 0:10:17- Push them in behind the stake a bit. - Oh, I see,
0:10:17 > 0:10:20- then you just bend it in and out the stakes then?- Yeah, weave them in.
0:10:20 > 0:10:24- Oh, that's nice. It's almost like basket weaving, isn't it?- Yeah.
0:10:24 > 0:10:29- And this is a job that you just do in the winter?- Yes.
0:10:29 > 0:10:31From sort of November until...
0:10:31 > 0:10:34- Well, the end of March is the cut-off date by law now.- Why?
0:10:34 > 0:10:37Is that cos of all the birds nesting and everything else, is it?
0:10:37 > 0:10:39Yes, yes, the birds nesting.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42If I lived here, I'd ask you to teach me how it's done,
0:10:42 > 0:10:43but I don't - I live in Montgomeryshire
0:10:43 > 0:10:46and I don't want to take Breconshire style back to Montgomeryshire.
0:10:46 > 0:10:47You'll have to come down!
0:10:47 > 0:10:51It would confuse the locals, I think, that would, Trefor.
0:10:51 > 0:10:55'Although much of the wood that Trefor puts into the hedge is dead,
0:10:55 > 0:10:59'at the base he has split and bent the original hedge bushes.
0:10:59 > 0:11:03'During the spring and summer, these will grow through the weave
0:11:03 > 0:11:05'and create a fantastic thick hedge
0:11:05 > 0:11:08'which will be a terrific place for wildlife,
0:11:08 > 0:11:12'and it looks a lot better than machine-cut hedge
0:11:12 > 0:11:13'or a barbed-wire fence.
0:11:16 > 0:11:18'Trefor's hedge at Llanfrynach
0:11:18 > 0:11:22'is on the edge of what some call the Brecon Beacons proper,
0:11:22 > 0:11:26'the Central Beacons, and the highest peak, Pen y Fan.
0:11:29 > 0:11:31'The north-facing slopes are steep,
0:11:31 > 0:11:35'having been carved out by glaciers during the Ice Age.
0:11:35 > 0:11:39'The lower slopes on the south side, however, are far gentler.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44'On a snowy winter's day, they are mostly hidden by low cloud.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52'Few venture up the peaks in this weather - not even a fox.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55'There is more to find lower down.'
0:12:12 > 0:12:16It's not every day you get into a staring match with a fox.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19I've been watching a fox walking along the edge of the stream here.
0:12:19 > 0:12:22I think it's a dog, it's quite a big fox in really good condition.
0:12:22 > 0:12:26It's got a winter coat and a big, big bushy tail.
0:12:26 > 0:12:28Obviously looking for food.
0:12:28 > 0:12:30And every now and again, it has stopped and it has looked at me,
0:12:30 > 0:12:32it has looked into my eyes.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35It obviously knows that I'm here and he is sat over there
0:12:35 > 0:12:39and then he has gone up a little bit now and this is actually a reservoir.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42You wouldn't believe it now, but it's the Upper Neuadd Reservoir
0:12:42 > 0:12:46and it has been drained for maintenance work along the dam here
0:12:46 > 0:12:48and usually the view from here -
0:12:48 > 0:12:52bear in mind we are 1,500 feet up - is quite spectacular,
0:12:52 > 0:12:57looking up towards Pen y Fan and the high tops, but the cloud is down.
0:12:57 > 0:12:59It's not the best of days for the view,
0:12:59 > 0:13:03but it's a brilliant day for watching a fox walking in the snow.
0:13:05 > 0:13:08'I've noticed that snowy, wintry weather often draws out
0:13:08 > 0:13:11'usually secretive animals into the open.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15'The fact is, he's hungry and has to find food
0:13:15 > 0:13:18'and he knows there is a lot of worms and grubs
0:13:18 > 0:13:21'in the soft mud of the old reservoir bottom.
0:13:24 > 0:13:27'The Brecon Beacons National Park has 18 reservoirs.
0:13:29 > 0:13:33'They were built around 100 years ago to supply drinking water
0:13:33 > 0:13:36'for the growing towns and cities of industrial South Wales.'
0:13:40 > 0:13:42I've come over to the Taf Valley now,
0:13:42 > 0:13:45or the Taff as it's often called,
0:13:45 > 0:13:48and here you've got a succession of three reservoirs,
0:13:48 > 0:13:51all of them providing water to Cardiff.
0:13:51 > 0:13:53This is Llwyn Onn Reservoir
0:13:53 > 0:13:57and on the far side over there you've got the main north-south route,
0:13:57 > 0:14:02the A470, that really bisects the park itself.
0:14:02 > 0:14:07'When it's full, Llwyn Onn holds 650 million gallons of water
0:14:07 > 0:14:09'and with the rain that falls in the Beacons,
0:14:09 > 0:14:12'I'd imagine it's full pretty much most of the time.'
0:14:14 > 0:14:17You can tell there's plenty of fish in this reservoir
0:14:17 > 0:14:21because there's lots of fish-eating birds here.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24Way out on the water over there is a male goosander,
0:14:24 > 0:14:27but far more interesting is this tree, this old larch here,
0:14:27 > 0:14:30right by the water's edge, because it is full of cormorants.
0:14:30 > 0:14:34I think there are seven or eight in there at the moment
0:14:34 > 0:14:36and it's the ideal spot for them
0:14:36 > 0:14:39because you've got three reservoirs here in all,
0:14:39 > 0:14:40all of them full of fish,
0:14:40 > 0:14:43so the cormorants can plop into the water,
0:14:43 > 0:14:45catch a fish and then they can perch
0:14:45 > 0:14:47up on this tree here, dry their feathers.
0:14:47 > 0:14:49Once they get hungry again,
0:14:49 > 0:14:52all they've got to do is pop back down into the water.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56'Many think of cormorants as sea birds,
0:14:56 > 0:14:58'but while you do see them along the coast,
0:14:58 > 0:15:02'they are just as happy inland, on lakes, reservoirs and rivers.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07'I've noticed that they've increased in number inland
0:15:07 > 0:15:10'during the past 30 years, but no-one really knows why.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13'I guess anywhere where there is plenty of fish.'
0:15:30 > 0:15:34There are lots of conifer plantations within the park
0:15:34 > 0:15:39and a lot of it, actually, is planted in association with these reservoirs.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43This is the Taf Valley here and below me are the Taf Reservoirs
0:15:43 > 0:15:44and you can see the conifers -
0:15:44 > 0:15:47just about make them out on the far hill there.
0:15:47 > 0:15:50And this was a mature plantation here, too.
0:15:50 > 0:15:52What they will do is they will plant them
0:15:52 > 0:15:55and then they will cut them down after about 40 years
0:15:55 > 0:15:58and that wood will be taken off to be used
0:15:58 > 0:16:01and then you are left with fairly bare, open areas
0:16:01 > 0:16:03with a few old trees standing
0:16:03 > 0:16:06and this is the perfect location then
0:16:06 > 0:16:08for a really, really rare bird -
0:16:08 > 0:16:11only maybe eight or ten birds come to Wales every year
0:16:11 > 0:16:13and they come in the winter.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18'And here it is. It's a great grey shrike.
0:16:19 > 0:16:22'Now, it may look like a small, timid bird,
0:16:22 > 0:16:25'but don't be fooled by its appearance.
0:16:25 > 0:16:27'This is a ruthless hunter.'
0:16:28 > 0:16:31This is the tree that the bird was on earlier
0:16:31 > 0:16:36and what it's doing is it's using that as a kind of a lookout post.
0:16:36 > 0:16:37It's got several of them here,
0:16:37 > 0:16:39but this one appears to be its favoured one
0:16:39 > 0:16:42and it's looking down for prey. And at this time of year,
0:16:42 > 0:16:46prey for it would be probably mice and voles,
0:16:46 > 0:16:48and at a time when there is plenty of food,
0:16:48 > 0:16:52what it will do is it will find a hawthorn bush or a barbed-wire fence
0:16:52 > 0:16:57and it will put mice and voles and large insects on the spines
0:16:57 > 0:17:01and keep them there for when he's hungry and he can't find food.
0:17:01 > 0:17:05And that is the reason why another name for this is the butcher bird.
0:17:07 > 0:17:10This one has caught a bird.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13It may well be a robin - it's the commonest bird here.
0:17:15 > 0:17:17After storing its catch in its secret larder,
0:17:17 > 0:17:19it returns to clean itself.
0:17:20 > 0:17:23You can just about see its hooked beak,
0:17:23 > 0:17:25which it uses to tear up its prey.
0:17:28 > 0:17:31And he's not the only bird that's using tree stumps.
0:17:32 > 0:17:37A great spotted woodpecker is looking for insects in the dead wood.
0:17:40 > 0:17:42As you head west from the Central Beacons,
0:17:42 > 0:17:44you enter the Fforest Fawr area.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50Fforest Fawr is Welsh for great forest
0:17:50 > 0:17:53and it was once a royal hunting ground.
0:17:53 > 0:17:57In the Middle Ages, a forest was a place set aside for hunting -
0:17:57 > 0:18:00it didn't necessarily describe a large woodland.
0:18:01 > 0:18:06Although the original deer stock died out more than two centuries ago,
0:18:06 > 0:18:09deer have returned to the park during the past 30 years.
0:18:17 > 0:18:21(I'm watching a group of red deer just up on the bank,
0:18:21 > 0:18:23(under the trees over there.)
0:18:23 > 0:18:26And these come from a local farmer
0:18:26 > 0:18:28who was keeping deer and they escaped -
0:18:28 > 0:18:30a handful of deer escaped in the 1980s,
0:18:30 > 0:18:34and some people say that other deer, including a stag,
0:18:34 > 0:18:37escaped from Margam Park near Port Talbot,
0:18:37 > 0:18:40worked their way up the Neath Valley, which is all the way...
0:18:40 > 0:18:45would be maybe the best part of 15-odd miles, 20 miles maybe,
0:18:45 > 0:18:46and joined this herd here.
0:18:48 > 0:18:50'No-one is quite sure of the number of red deer
0:18:50 > 0:18:52'in the Brecon Beacons National Park,
0:18:52 > 0:18:56'but experts reckon this is the only wild red-deer herd
0:18:56 > 0:18:58'in the whole of mainland Wales.
0:19:03 > 0:19:05'In the south part of Fforest Fawr,
0:19:05 > 0:19:09'the landscape changes from open moorland to deep gorges
0:19:09 > 0:19:14'cut by fast-flowing rivers and wonderful waterfalls.
0:19:16 > 0:19:20I've been to all of them and they are all stunning in full flow.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25'There is Sgwd Clun-Gwyn on the River Mellte.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28'Its Welsh name is said to mean "fall of the white meadow"...
0:19:29 > 0:19:33'..but I have a feeling it may well be a case of lost in translation,
0:19:33 > 0:19:37'as I suspect the word "gwyn" - Welsh for "white" -
0:19:37 > 0:19:39'refers to the white water.
0:19:40 > 0:19:42'Like many of the falls in the area,
0:19:42 > 0:19:44it's surrounded by fabulous ancient woodland.
0:19:46 > 0:19:50'Sgwd yr Eira on the River Hepste, a tributary of the Mellte,
0:19:50 > 0:19:53'also hints at white water.
0:19:53 > 0:19:56'The name "Eira" is the Welsh word for "snow",
0:19:56 > 0:19:58'so it's "the falls of snow".
0:19:58 > 0:20:00'It's one of the waterfalls in the Beacons
0:20:00 > 0:20:03'that you can actually walk behind.'
0:20:05 > 0:20:08This area is aptly named Waterfall Country
0:20:08 > 0:20:10because, within an hour of me here,
0:20:10 > 0:20:14there are more than 20 individual waterfalls
0:20:14 > 0:20:18and this one, Henrhyd Falls, is certainly the most impressive
0:20:18 > 0:20:20and the tallest, too,
0:20:20 > 0:20:24and at 90 feet - that's 27 metres tall -
0:20:24 > 0:20:28it's the highest waterfall in southern Britain.
0:20:28 > 0:20:32And on a day like this, following a night of heavy rain,
0:20:32 > 0:20:34it's at its most magnificent.
0:20:34 > 0:20:39At the top of the waterfall is a thin layer of very hard rock,
0:20:39 > 0:20:42and that's called the farewell rock,
0:20:42 > 0:20:45a name given to it by the local coal miners
0:20:45 > 0:20:48because when they were digging deep underground,
0:20:48 > 0:20:51if they hit this layer of sandstone rock,
0:20:51 > 0:20:55they knew that they could wave farewell to finding any coal.
0:20:59 > 0:21:03'I'm always fascinated by waterfalls. They form on rivers where there are
0:21:03 > 0:21:05'different rock types next to each other.
0:21:07 > 0:21:11'The farewell sandstone rock at the top of Henrhyd Falls
0:21:11 > 0:21:14'is much harder than mudstone at the bottom.
0:21:14 > 0:21:17'As the mudstone erodes, the falls get gradually taller.
0:21:19 > 0:21:22'And geology plays a big part in how the Beacons look.
0:21:26 > 0:21:28'Many of the high peaks of the Beacons
0:21:28 > 0:21:30'have an iconic flat-top appearance
0:21:30 > 0:21:33'and this is because they are made of very hard sandstone
0:21:33 > 0:21:35'which is resistant to weathering
0:21:35 > 0:21:39'compared to the softer stones on the surrounding slopes.
0:21:39 > 0:21:41'In the southern part of the Beacons,
0:21:41 > 0:21:43'the prevalent rock changes to limestone,
0:21:43 > 0:21:46'and because of the stone's solubility in water,
0:21:46 > 0:21:48'it forms caves underground.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59'These are some of the most impressive caves in Europe.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04'This one below the uplands of the Upper Swansea Valley
0:22:04 > 0:22:07'has around 50 miles of passages,
0:22:07 > 0:22:11'rising and falling to depths of 300 metres.
0:22:11 > 0:22:14'The cave is called Ogof Ffynnon Ddu.
0:22:17 > 0:22:21'With me is cave guide Anna Stickland.'
0:22:21 > 0:22:25- Anna, what an amazing place underground!- It is,
0:22:25 > 0:22:27it's really beautiful and so varied, as well,
0:22:27 > 0:22:29and often I'll take little kids caving
0:22:29 > 0:22:31and they'll be quite nervous about being underground,
0:22:31 > 0:22:32think it's going to be tight
0:22:32 > 0:22:35or just kind of a muddy hole is often the impression people have
0:22:35 > 0:22:38and they don't realise how varied it is and how beautiful it is.
0:22:38 > 0:22:42And Ogof Ffynnon Ddu here, this is a huge cave system.
0:22:42 > 0:22:44It is, yeah, we've only seen a tiny, tiny part of it,
0:22:44 > 0:22:46but, yeah, it's a big system. It's also a very deep system
0:22:46 > 0:22:48because at the moment we are quite low down,
0:22:48 > 0:22:50near where the water comes out into the river,
0:22:50 > 0:22:52but you can follow it all the way through
0:22:52 > 0:22:54and you can come out on top of the mountains,
0:22:54 > 0:22:57so as well as being lots of passage, it's also quite a height change.
0:22:57 > 0:22:59And I always think of caves as something...
0:22:59 > 0:23:02things that were formed millions of years ago,
0:23:02 > 0:23:05because it is still going on all the time now.
0:23:05 > 0:23:08Yeah, it is, it's a continual process and so, yeah,
0:23:08 > 0:23:10originally it was formed millions of years ago
0:23:10 > 0:23:12and just through tiny gaps and cracks in the rock,
0:23:12 > 0:23:14so where you've got the bedding planes
0:23:14 > 0:23:15and you've got the fault lines.
0:23:15 > 0:23:17And so water can get into the tiny cracks
0:23:17 > 0:23:19and gradually it will get bigger and bigger,
0:23:19 > 0:23:21initially through a sort of corrosive action
0:23:21 > 0:23:23and then once the water can start to flow,
0:23:23 > 0:23:25you'll get erosion going on
0:23:25 > 0:23:27and it gets bigger and bigger and bigger.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34'There are literally hundreds of caves in the Beacons
0:23:34 > 0:23:37'and while some of them are open to the public and easy to explore,
0:23:37 > 0:23:40'most are only accessible to hardened cavers.
0:23:42 > 0:23:47'And in these hidden chambers there are stunning sights deep underground.
0:23:56 > 0:24:00'West of Fforest Fawr lie the Carmarthen Fans.
0:24:01 > 0:24:05'Many of the mountains in the Brecon Beacons are called fans.
0:24:06 > 0:24:08'It's simply the Welsh word for a beacon
0:24:08 > 0:24:10'and the name Beacons dates back
0:24:10 > 0:24:13'to a time when people would light fires on visible peaks
0:24:13 > 0:24:15'to warn of attacks from intruders.
0:24:19 > 0:24:21'I'm with National Park warden Judith Harvey,
0:24:21 > 0:24:24who lives just below these magnificent peaks.
0:24:24 > 0:24:29'She's taking me to one of the finest views in the whole of the Beacons.'
0:24:29 > 0:24:32Judith, what a place! What a place!
0:24:32 > 0:24:35And we've got Llyn y Fan Fach below us, and Fan Foel.
0:24:35 > 0:24:37Now, that is the highest mountain in Carmarthenshire.
0:24:37 > 0:24:39Yes, that's right, yes.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42Yes, because we've come over the border now, into Carmarthenshire.
0:24:42 > 0:24:44Looking at it this way, as well, it is stunning.
0:24:44 > 0:24:47I love these rolling hills here.
0:24:47 > 0:24:49Yes, and then down in the valley,
0:24:49 > 0:24:52all the patchwork of farmland and hedges and trees.
0:24:52 > 0:24:54And all these houses and smallholdings, you know,
0:24:54 > 0:24:58- you can only see from up on high like this.- Absolutely, yeah.
0:24:58 > 0:25:02We often think about national parks worldwide as places empty of people,
0:25:02 > 0:25:05you know, places there for the landscape, for the wildlife,
0:25:05 > 0:25:09but, of course, Brecon Beacons is very different, isn't it?
0:25:09 > 0:25:11It is very different in that the park authority
0:25:11 > 0:25:15owns a lot of the land, we own the land that we are standing on here,
0:25:15 > 0:25:18which is very unusual for a British national park,
0:25:18 > 0:25:20but, obviously, people, farmers, have got interests up here.
0:25:20 > 0:25:25This is common land, so farmers have got the right to graze sheep
0:25:25 > 0:25:28and, in some cases, cattle and even geese up here,
0:25:28 > 0:25:30though we never see geese on the hill these days!
0:25:30 > 0:25:34And then there's the pressure from walkers and tourism.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37You know, we've walked a path that has been made by the National Park
0:25:37 > 0:25:42to try and limit the pressure of erosion, so it's a balancing act.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45We've got to try and accommodate all sorts of pressures
0:25:45 > 0:25:47within this very, very precious landscape.
0:25:47 > 0:25:52- Somebody once told me that this is the roof of South Wales.- Yes.
0:25:52 > 0:25:54And it is right because from here
0:25:54 > 0:25:56you can see virtually everywhere in South Wales.
0:25:59 > 0:26:02'It's one of my favourite sights in the Beacons.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05'It's a place where you can be totally alone.
0:26:09 > 0:26:12'As Judith said, the National Park's character
0:26:12 > 0:26:16'comes as much from the people who live and work in the Beacons
0:26:16 > 0:26:18'as the natural forces that shaped it,
0:26:18 > 0:26:22'and on the slopes of Mynydd Myddfai near Llandovery,
0:26:22 > 0:26:24'Kate Mobbs-Morgan is one of the many people
0:26:24 > 0:26:26'who make it such a special place.'
0:26:30 > 0:26:31Walk on a little bit.
0:26:31 > 0:26:33And again.
0:26:37 > 0:26:38Back, love.
0:26:38 > 0:26:40Good boy.
0:26:40 > 0:26:41Back, love.
0:26:44 > 0:26:46- Kate? Hiya.- Hi.
0:26:46 > 0:26:50I've got to tell you, you've made an old man very happy.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53Watching you at work here took me back to when I was a little lad,
0:26:53 > 0:26:56when they still used horses in woodlands in mid Wales,
0:26:56 > 0:27:01- but this must be unique in the park now, is it?- It is unusual.
0:27:01 > 0:27:05I would say maybe two people working horses in forestry
0:27:05 > 0:27:07in this locality, yes.
0:27:07 > 0:27:10But it's lovely to watch and I love the way that you work WITH the horse,
0:27:10 > 0:27:13talking all the time, the horse listening all the time, as well.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16He is listening. Sometimes he blurs out the white noise in between,
0:27:16 > 0:27:18but he is listening for his commands all the time.
0:27:18 > 0:27:22And it's the WAY that you talk, as well, it's as if it isn't a horse,
0:27:22 > 0:27:24it's a mate working with you in the woods.
0:27:24 > 0:27:25We work together all the time,
0:27:25 > 0:27:28so it is like having a friend working with me, so yeah.
0:27:28 > 0:27:30What is the horse? What breed is he?
0:27:30 > 0:27:32He's an Ardennes. They come from France and Belgium.
0:27:32 > 0:27:35He was homebred in the UK, but they are a French horse, really.
0:27:35 > 0:27:39- He's a lovely, lovely horse.- Thank you.- And incredibly strong.- Yes.
0:27:39 > 0:27:44What's the advantage, then? Why use a horse? Why not get tractors in?
0:27:44 > 0:27:47On sites like this, we can come into the steep sites,
0:27:47 > 0:27:49we don't need big tracks cut into the woodlands,
0:27:49 > 0:27:51we can just work between the trees.
0:27:51 > 0:27:54So something like this, where you are selective thinning,
0:27:54 > 0:27:56just taking out a few trees, we can just work
0:27:56 > 0:27:59within the environment without causing any damage.
0:27:59 > 0:28:01And again, working on the steep sites
0:28:01 > 0:28:04where it's difficult to get in with machinery,
0:28:04 > 0:28:05it is just as quick to use a horse.
0:28:19 > 0:28:23Next time, it will be spring in the Brecon Beacons,
0:28:23 > 0:28:27a season when both the landscape and wildlife wakes up.