I joined queues of people walking up a Welsh mountain – three things ruin it

Portia Jones had come for the sunrise, but says she discovered three things that can spoil even the most epic mountain moment

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Sunrise on Pen y Fan Portia Jones

IT WAS a little past 5am when I arrived bone-tired in Bannau Brycheiniog, ready to tackle a scenic sunrise hike at Pen y Fan.

Looking around, it appeared I wasn't the only one who had this marvellous idea, as despite the ungodly hour, the car park at Pont ar Daf was starting to fill up.

I could make out the faint glow of iPhones as early risers emerged from cars, clutching coffee and camera tripods. From here, the route from Pont ar Daf is one of the most straightforward ways to the summit and is often described by locals as “the motorway,” so it shouldn’t have been a huge surprise to find myself surrounded by other peachy keen walkers.

Pen y Fan, south Wales’ highest peak at 886 metres (2,907ft), rises above a landscape of rolling high hills including fellow flat-topped summits Corn Du, Cribyn and Fan y Big, which together form the popular Horseshoe Ridge Walk.

This dramatic peak was once a mountain for the committed. Avid hikers, the British Army on training exercises and reluctant schoolkids dragged up for the Duke of Edinburgh's Award. These days, it attracts anyone with a phone and a sunrise to record, with viral social media clips turning the picturesque summit into a must-visit backdrop for selfies.

Interest in Wales’ beauty spots has surged since Covid-19 restrictions began in 2020, when an hour's exercise was a brief escape from lockdown life. In recent years, reports of national parks, beaches and hiking trails being overrun with crowds, litter and queues have become almost routine as more people head for the hills, clutching their smartphones. I wondered if the same fate had befallen Pen y Fan since the sunrise hike boom and went to find out.