Afan - Day 5 - Four Waterfalls Walk

Four Waterfalls Walk is a must if you are anywhere near the Brecon Beacons. It's a more-or-less circular route that takes in four waterfalls. It's also the walk that nearly killed a few of us, mainly Lipa and BhabiJaan. It's around a 4 mile hike, which didn't sound too bad but there's a lot of climbing involved and the guide states that it is a strenuous walk and we would all agree. Plus, we were doing it in 30+C heat. Lipa was wearing her new shoes which, and I quote “made it like you’re walking on air”.

Did I mention that it was a strenuous walk in 30C heat? Lipa, not in a photo posing mood!

It all started off well and spirits were high as we walked from the car park to the first waterfall. It is this point that I want to remind everyone that I had wanted to park at a place that had a much shorter walk from car to the first fall but Eman uttered the famous phrase “we've come here to hike and see the views, surely it's better to take the longer route??”. This is the same Eman who would leave us after the first waterfall and head back to the car with Aafraz, who couldn't walk any further.

Aafraz at the first waterfall…. the last time we would see them!

At each fall, you have to leave the path and trek down a steep path to the bottom of the fall. The first fall was lovely but packed with sunbathers. So, we carried on to the second waterfall which was the one I was excited to visit. It's the largest and who can easily behind the water as our falls down.

When we arrived, BhabiJaan and Lipa read the board, which told them that there were 170 steps (also, each step is about 2 regular steps down) to the bottom. They both refused to go down but I told them that the view would be worth it and that once they were at the bottom, then that was it…. Which was technically true but only until you wanted to leave and you had to climb the 170 back UP! Let’s just say that there were a few swear words on the way back up and several rest stops!

The scene at the bottom was well worth the effort and the smiles returned!

The walk back to our car was an ordeal for everyone. Next time, we know to pack some glucose tablets but some people managed to grab a lift…

The walk back nearly resulted in our first accident. We found a piece of rope tied to a branch on a tree and so we did what any reasonable people would do….. pretend we were Tarzan!! Now, most people would leave it at that, but Bhai really wanted revenge on Romi for beating him at carrom the night before and so grabbed onto his legs with a running jump to swing him hard. Now, when you’re on a hill and you land on a steep downhill slope, gravity tends to take over. We laugh about it now but Bhai was inches to letting BhabiJaan cash in his life insurance policy! Thank Allah for grippy trainers!

We then decided to continue with the long, so long walk back to the car. I have to say, that the kids did so well. Aarshia complained right near the end but after a drink of ice cold water, she was back to 100% and running again. Lipa on the other hand…

Who knew that ‘walking on air’ was so hard?!

When we got back to the car to see a waiting Aafraz, Lisa and Eman, they could see how drained we all were and rushed out the jelly, sugar sweets for all of us, which quickly raised our spirits. Bhai then gave Umar a quick driving lesson in the field and then got the car stuck!

Due us all being near ‘starvation’, we decided that a McDonald’s stop was needed. A large filet meal, milkshake, ice cream and apple pie meant that all those calories burnt were very quickly replaced…. with interest! DOH!

It took some people longer to recover than others.

Today’s photos can be downloaded from HERE.