Maria & Dorian High Atlas Challenge: Llangorse Lake

Today we started at the historic Llangors Lake and explored the surrounding hills/mountains including Allt Y Esgair and Mynydd Llangorse.

The hike was 17.8km long with a total ascent 764m of which took us 4hrs 36mins.

The following provides the words for each placard found on Allt Y Esgair:

Black Mountains:

An Ancient Viewpoint

People have been looking at this view for thousands of years. The ditches and banks surrounding this hill top are the remains of Iron Age hill fort, constructed some 2,500 years ago.

The Iron Age Landscape

The view from here in the Iron Age would have been similar to that we see today. The climate was cool and damp and the uplands of the Black Mountains were covered in heathland and peat bogs. These were used for grazing sheep, cattle and goats. In the lowlands there were many scattered farmsteads, creating a patchwork of small fields. The area covered by woodland was much larger than today. It would have been managed to provide timber as well as charcoal for use in Iron smelting.

Llangorse Lake

The largest natural lake in South Wales, Llangorse has been a major feature of this landscape since the ice retreated, 11,000 years ago. At that time, the outflow north into the Wye valley may have been blocked by ice. the lake would have been much larger, spilling over into the Usk valley at Bwlch.

By the Iron Age, the lake was only slightly larger than that seen today. It would have been very important to the local people, for both food and ritual purposes.

Brecon Beacons:

Ancient Rocks

The rocks forming this hill, and the escarpment of the Brecon Beacons, were made from layers of silt, sand and grit deposited in the lakes and rivers about 400 million years ago. These rivers flowed through the foothills of a mountain range, much higher than the present Beacons.

The Ice Age

Much of today's landscape has been carved out by the action of glaciers. About 20,000 years ago the Brecons were covered by an ice cap. Streams of ice moved down from this ice cap into a large Usk glacier. the ice was studded with rock fragments and acted like giant sand paper, scouring out the impressive "U" shaped valleys we see today. the Allt Y Esgair ridge was sculpted by an ice sheet moving south-east from mid Wales and flowing either side of the ridge to join the Usk glacier.

Forests

About 8,000 years ago the climate was warmer and drier than today. Most of the Brecon Beacons were covered in natural forests containing trees like oak, ash, birch and hazel, and bot the coniferous forests prominent in today's landscape. many wild animals would have roamed these forests, including bears and wolves.