Wales
Tor y Foel
551M
1808FT
About 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.
Key Statistics
Rank
69th Highest in Wales
Parent Range
Brecon Beacons
Prominence
?
157m
Nearest Town
Wern
Geology
The ground beneath you is the Brownstones Formation, built from alternating layers of solid sandstone and fine-grained mudstone.
Nearby Fells
Bryn Melyn
Bryn Melyn
Wenallt
Wenallt
Buckland Hill
Find It
OS Grid Reference
SO114194
Latitude
51.8661°N
Longitude
3.2882°W
Did You Know?
- •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.