On the right track
We’re sent on a treasure hunt in the Brecon Beacons to see where the clues lead and test out the OS Maps app
Leaving the planning of a ride up to a mate can be good and bad, can’t it? On one hand, it makes things easy – you just roll up and go. But the crux of the matter is that you’ve got to trust them. You need to have faith that they’ve got a nose for good trails and aren’t going to commit you unawares to some 100-mile epic. Because of this we were both intrigued and apprehensive when MBUK’s production editor, Chris, called up to say he wanted to send us on what he called a ‘treasure hunt’ into the Brecon Beacons, to test out the route-planning capability of the OS Maps phone app, and in particular its handy snap-to-path function.
“I’ll give you some cryptic clues, you’ll work out the locations and then use the app to find a route between them,” he told us. “Think Treasure Hunt with Anneka Rice, only without the helicopter and ’80s jumpsuits.” “Hmm… OK,” we replied, too young to remember that televisual delight and not wholly convinced. But when Chris started throwing phrases such as “breathtaking views”, “flat-out rocky descents” and “pints of amber ale” into the mix, it was enough to turn our scepticism to excitement. Never liking to turn down a good challenge, it was on these assurances that a few days later I met up with snapper Andy Lloyd and ever-enthusiastic Bristol local Ben Cannell in Talybont-on-Usk, in the heart of the National Park, bikes and bags loaded, phone in hand and no idea quite what lay in store.
The name of the game
“Head towards a popular Swedish band. Continue beside the lake and look for the falling water in the trees,” Ben reads out, after opening the first clue. Poor Ben always seems to be the one we call when we’ve got a slightly leftfield challenge up our sleeve. Bikepacking through the Cambrian Mountains? Sure. A 24-hour marathon race on no sleep? Why not. This time we’ve got him along because, as well as being blessed with a perennially upbeat attitude and an inability to say no, he has a near-encyclopaedic knowledge of the Beacons. Chris never said we couldn’t enlist some help!
The pair of us study the clue for a few seconds, but the first part isn’t too hard. We’ve endured enough aunties’ weddings and bad discos to know our Dancing Queens and Gimme! Gimme! Gimmes!. It’s got to be ABBA. We look on the map and see Aber village, then up the valley Ben notices a waterfall symbol. “Falling water in the trees” – it suddenly clicks. Placing a pin at the water source, we tap the magnet icon, let the OS app do its thing and we’re off, without having to scour the map for ridable trails, set waypoints or any of the usual kerfuffle.
Fan notes
We negotiate the first part of the route on small winding backroads, before a left turn takes us across the dam of Talybont Reservoir and we’re treated to the full glory of the valley. The water shimmers under the sun of a bright blue sky, and behind this the hills we’re headed for rise up in folded undulations. A long fireroad with a mellow gradient leads us up the north-facing side of the hills, drawing us ever closer until it curves around. Then, right in the crook of the valley, we see the glistening of the “falling water.” Pedalling over to it, the dot on the OS app confirms we’re in the right spot. On track so far, time for clue number two…
“We’re big fans of the next climb. After that, mind the gap to find your heading,” reads the next, now slightly crumpled note, after we’ve extracted it from the depths of my pack. “Too easy,” Ben retorts in seconds, explaining that right around the next hill, between the peaks of Pen y Fan (the highest point in South Wales) and Fan y Big (the best name in South Wales!), is a saddle in the mountains known as ‘The Gap.’ It’s probably the most famous MTB route in the Beacons, so it’s a no-brainer that our ride should take it in. Descents in these parts have got to be earned the hard way, though, so before we can enjoy the continuous 3km of downhill that he promises us lies on the other side, it’s time to saddle up and grind our way up the continuously rocky doubletrack that guards the crest of the hill and the trail beyond.
To be continued…