Sychryd Waterfall is gorgeous. In fact, it’s hard to believe a spot this good is so easy to reach. However, for those looking for a touch more adventure, there’s a second waterfall swimming hole, which is a little harder to get to, but even better than the main falls!
However it’s not all about wild swimming. The falls are a lovely place to sit and relax, and you can also explore the nearby mine, or simply wander through a very pretty stretch of gorge.
Here’s everything you need to know about visiting Sychryd Waterfall and gorge.
The Sychryd Trail
The stats
Distance: 1.5 miles (2.4km) return, which includes the upper and lower falls
Elevation gain: 100m
Difficulty: Easy
There are a couple of different parts of the gorge and waterfalls you can explore. The easiest way to see everything is to do two separate short walks, both of which start from the same car park.
This will allow you to visit the lower falls and gorge, and the main Sychryd Waterfall, as well as the second lesser known pool.
If you’re a confident scrambler, you can actually form a circuit by clambering from the lower falls up to the upper falls, but we didn’t know what the route would be like and decided to do the two separate trails just incase the scramble got hairy.
The lower falls at Sychryd gorge
Distance: 370m (0.25 miles) each way
The trail to the lower falls is just a quarter of a mile (370m) each way and takes you along a flat gravel path, which is fully accessible.
It might be short, but it’s very pretty. You’ll walk between the river on one side and the impressive rock faces - which are popular with climbers - on the other.
You’ll finish the trail at the lower falls, which has impressive overhangs and the remnants of some old mining equipment.
The falls themselves are pretty, but not as spectacular as the waterfalls to come.
At the end of the trail, you’ll be able to see where the scramble that forms the circuit begins, as it runs alongside the falls.
For us - with low flow in the waterfall - it didn’t look too bad. However, we could only see the beginning and not knowing what lay ahead, we decided to retrace our steps and take the trail to the upper falls that starts at the car park
The route to the main Sychryd Waterfall and Dinas silica mine
Distance: 775m (0.5 miles) each way
From the car park, the trail begins heading gently uphill and you’ll come to a signpost 50m later where you turn right. The first 150m of the trail are all on good terrain, before you reach a 100m stretch of rougher track.
This rocky section has been worn quite smooth and is pretty slippery, especially when wet. Luckily for almost it’s entire length there is a handrail in place.
You’ll soon (250m into the walk) reach a nice flat path again and it’s very easy going. After just over another 250m, you’ll reach a junction and head right, signposted as Penderyn.
Roughly 75m later, you’ll see a narrow trail on your right, it’s not signposted, but this is the route to the falls.
The next 120m head downhill until you reach a junction. You’ll see a path up to an abandoned mine on your left (the actual mine is blocked off with a fence), a trail straight ahead leading to a small bridge, and then a rocky track down to the Sychryd Waterfall on the right.
Heading to the Dinas silica mine
The mine is just 55m from the junction and well worth a look before heading to the falls.
You walk over the little wooden bridge, which has a nice view of the falls from above, and then you’ll see the huge mine opening on the left.
You definitely need a torch to explore because the light doesn’t penetrate very far.
We used our phones, but they weren’t great once you got deeper. I was surprised how far you could actually go, and we didn’t even go all the way!
The surface of the mine is quite damp and a little muddy in places, but it’s not too bad until you reach the split where you’ll see two different tunnels.
The start of both were ok, if a little uneven, but then quickly became water filled - nothing too deep, but enough to flood my boots, so I turned at this point.
I’m sure the gung ho could venture quite a bit further, but you’d have to be prepared to get wet and muddy. The temperature is also significantly colder in the tunnel (in summer anyway) so you might need an extra layer!
Swimming at Sychryd Waterfall
From the junction you’ll see the rough rocky steps heading down to the falls. The rock can be quite slippery, but thankfully there’s a handrail for some of it.
The last section doesn’t have a rail, but does have some tree roots to hold onto for stability. It only takes a couple of minutes to get down, but take it slowly, particularly if it’s damp - which is likely most of the time!
Once you’re down there’s plenty of room to sit on the rocks and enjoy the falls.
If you’re up for a dip, the pool is gorgeous with a beautiful emerald/blue water colour. It’s actually really easy to get in because once inside the water there aren’t too many slippery rocks to negotiate.
It doesn’t look like it would be deep, but you’ll be out of your depth once you get near to the falls, so you can actually have a proper swim rather than just a dip.
The water is cold, although not as cold as some of the pools along the nearby Four Waterfalls and Elidir trails. If you’re not used to wild swimming in the UK you will probably find it pretty icy though!
It’s a fantastic pool for a swim, but it’s not that secluded as the bridge heads over the top of it, so you’ll sometimes have spectators.
If that’s not your thing you might prefer the pool which is slightly hidden from the main track.
The second canyon pool
The second pool is just below the first, so you can see it from the rocky platform.
It looks like the only way down is to jump, but there’s actually a ‘trail’ a little further along. You need to head back up to the main path and turn left, following the stream (not heading back along the main track to the car park).
Almost immediately you’ll see an obvious path off to the left that heads down to a tree.
It looks like it fades away to nothing, but if you peer over you’ll notice there is a series of tree roots which can get you down in about four moves. I say moves because this little bit is a scramble.
The tree roots are both a blessing and a curse, because they help you down, but are also a little awkward over the last two steps.
You will come out onto a narrow path, so if you don’t feel confident, it’s better to just enjoy the upper pool.
Otherwise once you’re down from the tree roots section it takes just a minute to walk to the base of the falls. There’s a bit of loose soil, but if you take it slowly it’s not too bad.
You can then access the water easily. I’d already got completely changed before I saw the route to the second pool, so I didn’t swim here, but it’s on my list for next time!
I actually preferred this pool because it had canyon vibes and felt more secluded than the first (photos don’t do it justice!). Both are great though, so it really depends on your appetite for scrambling.
Where to park for the Sychryd Waterfall Trail
The trail begins at the Dinas Rock car park in Pontneddfechan. It can get very busy here as it’s such a popular rock climbing spot, so you’ll probably want to avoid the middle of the day on weekends and in the school holidays during the warmer months. There aren’t any facilities here either.
The car park is free of charge and there is no time limit.
The car park is 30 minutes from Merthyr Tydfil, 45 minutes from Brecon, 1 hour from Abergavenny and 1 hour 10 from Cardiff.
Keep them wild
Please remember to take all rubbish with you and keep these places wild and pristine - as with anywhere in the outdoors. It’s important to leave them exactly as you found them so they will remain beautiful for generations to come. We sadly saw a lot of litter around certain popular spots in the Brecons and thankfully this wasn’t one of them. Let’s keep it that way.
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