Tourists at Welsh beauty spots urged to ‘take the bus’ to Brecon Beacons

The national park is encouraging tourists to ditch their car to reach the peak of Pen y Fan

Additional bus services will shuttle tourists to Pen y Fan and Waterfall Country this summer (Getty Images)

The Bannau Brycheiniog National Park has urged tourists to “take the bus” to visit the Welsh beauty spot in a bid to cut harmful car emissions in the area.

Footfall in the national park has increased significantly, with around four million people visiting the Bannau Brycheiniog – also known as the Brecon Beacons – annually to hike Pen y Fan – south Wales’ highest peak – or walk the four waterfalls at Ystradfellte, Powys.

In January, Bannau Brycheiniog was named by the New York Times as one of the best places in the world to visit in 2024, and tourists have flocked there to recreate the scenic photos seen on social media.

Extra bus services will depart the towns of Brecon and Merthyr Tydfil for the 886m peak this summer to cut emissions and encourage hikers to visit independent local shops.

Park sustainable development officer Helen Roderick told the BBC: “It’s about balance, we want people to come and visit the national park but to think about when they come. And can they travel by bus? And can they make sure they benefit the local economy by using our shops, pubs and local restaurants?”

Ms Roderick advised prospective visitors to plan their travels in September and October or to visit the Welsh hotspot on weekday mornings in August to “spread the effect of the visitors”.

The authority said that reducing car emissions by encouraging tourists to take the bus to hike Pen y Fan will help the area’s flora and fauna and “reduce congestion” in Brecon town.

Plans to install new facilities and hire extra staff to help with visitor demand are in the works following a multimillion-pound investment from the UK government.

Last year, the national park adopted the Welsh name of Bannau Brycheiniog in a direct response to the climate and ecological crisis.

Bannau is the Welsh plural for peaks and Brycheiniog refers to the old kingdom of King Brychan, who lived in the fifth century.

The park’s managers said the previous name, Brecon Beacons, referencing wood-burning, carbon-emitting beacons no longer fit the ethos of the park.

Catherine Mealing-Jones, the park’s CEO, said: “We’d always had the name Bannau Brycheiniog as the Welsh translation and we just felt we needed to put that front and centre as an expression about the new way we wanted to be celebrating Welsh people, Welsh culture, Welsh food, Welsh farming – all of the things that need to come with us as we go through this change in the management plan.”

For more travel news and advice, listen to Simon Calder’s podcast