Tor y Foel

Guarding the eastern flank of the Talybont Reservoir, this prominent, grassy dome offers an impressive perspective on the Central Beacons. Its position makes it a superb vantage point for watching weather systems roll over Pen y Fan, while the steep western slopes provide a sharp, breathless pull from the water's edge.

• •The name is derived from the Welsh 'Tor', meaning a hill or prominence, and 'Foel' (the mutated form of 'Moel'), meaning bare or bald. It translates literally as the 'hill of the bare summit', aptly describing its treeless, rounded profile.
• •The summit offers a clear line of sight across the Usk Valley to the Black Mountains' western scarp, including the distinctive profiles of Pen y Gadair Fawr and Waun Fach.
• •The hill's lower southern and western slopes are skirted by the Brinore Tramroad, a 19th-century horse-drawn industrial railway originally built to transport limestone and coal between Talgarth and the industrial valleys.
• •Despite its modest height, it is classified as a Marilyn because it is geographically isolated from the main Brecon Beacons range by the deep trough of the Caerfanell valley.
• •The direct ascent from the reservoir side is an efficient way to discover exactly how many of your internal organs you can hear thumping during a twenty-minute climb.