Sugar Loaf coach access

Depends on your coach size, driver and who you meet.

And which car park?

Physically you probably can, I've taken the tractor and timber trailer up most lanes there and taken up film crews with long 7.5t lorries, but you meet some right characters on the lanes.

Try Skirrid instead. Easier car park to access and space to turn and back a coach out the way.

Thanks Timber, i've had a look on google maps and am a bit worried that the bus wont be able to turn around in the car park- esp. if there are any amount cars parked there. (I mean the National Trust car park near the top!)

I am trying to persuade the head to go up Skirrid instead.

Just stick to Pen y Fan there are massive coach parks at the foot of it now and it's on a main road. Better circular routes too.

You need a mountain guide to take kids above 600m apparently.

You don't necessarily need a Guide. However it is recommended that you have a Mountain Leader or at least Hill and Moorland ticket for Pen y Fan. And First Aid cert.

The 'ticket' required depends upon terrain, exposure, height, weather etc.

The Llanwenarth one can be tight with scattered vehicles and a coach won't have the clearance to turn on the common parking area before the tarmac car park. It would cause most coach drivers a heart failure heading up there to be honest, feed wagons less so.

There's no shortage of guides in the area as still quite a few OEC in the area and independent guides. Cardiff Council own the one at Storey Arms, most of the national park wardens seem to have ML too.

I prefer Skirrid to be honest, better view as it stands alone. Can see Central Beacons, Black Mountains, Forest of Dean, Bristol Channel, Quantocks and more on a clear day. Should see stump up for trees hill side quite well if they have finished the letters in bracken.

Also quite pointy and mountain like. Walk up the long ridge, take feed or coal sacks to slide down the north side and walk back on the west side to see some nice old ash trees (that I still need to survey, so no accidents) and long house remains. Some other history stuff on the ridge, peregrines, fastest rc glider speeds in UK (soaring) and some other forgotten stuff.

Or take mini buses, you can get within 200m of Sugar Loaf summit in a transit you don't own 😆

Plenty of parking at KH, walk up from there.

Not a chance in hell you would get a modern coach to the Llanwenarth car park. Even if you knew the road was absolutely clear of other traffic and the bus was empty with the worlds top coach driver, I doubt it would actually get there. Forget that one. Forget taking a minibus up there realistically too unless you want to put a new clutch in it next week. Either minibus to the small car park at Forest Coal Pit or get kids dropped off at the top end of town and walk from there. Not ideal though.

Rees The Bus would do it.

Thanks all, we ended up walking from town and up through the woods, got past the tree line and turned back due to time. Beautiful walk though. Looks like a lot of good mtbing around aswell.

"Rees The Bus would do it." They used to bring us to school for a while. Wonder hat happened to them...

Which way did you walk up ctk? St Marys Vale or up the Deri. There is a great DH track cut on the Deri if you know where to look. But all the riding on the Sugar Loaf is top notch really.

We went up past the Porth-y-Parc car park. In the trees quite a lot.

Rees still have a yard on Llanellyhill.