Brecon is a small market town at the meeting of the Usk and the Honddu, in the shadow of the highest mountains in southern Britain. To the south rise the Brecon Beacons, now officially known by their Welsh name, Bannau Brycheiniog: a range of grassy, flat-topped sandstone summits with steep north-facing scarps, culminating in Pen y Fan, 886 metres high. On a clear day, the view of the mountains from the town is magnificent; on a wet day, which is often, they disappear into the clouds.
The town has a cathedral, a small, solid building on a hill above the river, and a long military tradition: the army has used the Beacons for training for generations, and you may see soldiers marching up the hills with heavy packs. The Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal ends here, and its towpath is good for a quiet half hour on foot. In August, Brecon hosts a well-known jazz festival.
For riders, Brecon is a gateway to some of the best roads in Britain. The A470 south through the Beacons, past the Storey Arms and down towards Merthyr Tydfil, is a fast, flowing road with long views over the mountains and reservoirs. To the west, the A4069 over the Black Mountain, between Llangadog and Brynamman, is a spectacular mountain road with hairpins and wide-open moorland that has featured on television as one of the best driving roads in Britain. To the north-east, the Gospel Pass, a single-track road from Hay-on-Wye over the Black Mountains, is the highest road in Wales.
The roads here demand respect. Sheep wander freely, cattle grids are common, and the weather can change in minutes, with rain, wind and fog sweeping in from the west. Mountain roads can be greasy and narrow, with sharp bends and steep drops. Brecon has fuel, supermarkets, cafés and pubs, and nobody will hurry you out of a café before or after the mountains. Welsh cakes and a cup of tea are a traditional and very welcome snack.