Llanthony Priory Circular Walk

Route Description for Llanthony Priory Circular Walk

Overall, the Llanthony Priory Circular Walk is a fairly laidback adventure, although there is a steep climb at the beginning of the route that will be sure to get your heartrate up. Take your time through this area and wear proper footwear to better traverse the terrain. Additionally, the car park will likely be busy with visitors to the priory, so try to arrive early to secure parking.

Even when you take into consideration the tough uphill climb to start this walk, it is a fantastic adventure in Wales that is absolutely worth undertaking. Sweeping views across the picturesque English and Welsh countryside, as well as the chance to visit an historic priory dating back to the 1100s await on this amazing adventure in Brecon Beacons National Park.

Setting out from the car park, you will immediately be met by the intriguing ruins of the Llanthony Priory that has its origins in the early 1100s, when the Norman nobleman Walter de Lacy discovered a ruined chapel on the site and dedicated his life to prayer and study from thereon out. You can either take some time to explore what is left of the Gothic/Norman style priory now or at the end of your adventure.

From the priory, follow the road to the southwest for 46 m and turn right, where you will find a track dead ahead in another 15 m, just to the left of the car park. Keeping right along the track for the next 0.3 km, you will cross over a small bridge and follow the path branching off to the left across the open terrain, eventually making your way over a stile and Cwm Siarpal.

After crossing over the stream, you will make your way uphill across the open fields for the next 0.4 km to arrive at a series of junctions. Heading left at the first and right at the second, you will begin the steepest portion of the walk that will bring you up to the border of England and Wales, offering some beautifully scenic views across the landscape of each country. Once you have arrived at a junction, you will turn right and follow the path to the southeast for the next 3.5 km, straddling the border as you admire the stunning sightlines into Brecon Beacons National Park to the west.

Turning right along the trail, you will begin making your way downhill for the next 1.6 km, keeping left as you traverse several small stream crossings before arriving at a junction with a path branching off to the left. Head left and pass through the gate, continuing downhill as you traverse a stile and pass through a kissing gate on the edge of the Wirral Wood. Here, you will make your way through the tranquil forest atmosphere for 148 m, eventually passing through another gate to exit the tree cover on the final leg into the trailhead. After arriving at a stream crossing, head left along the trail and follow it back towards the car park where you began the Llanthony Priory Circular Walk.

Trail Highlights

Llanthony Priory

With origins dating back to around the year 1100 CE, Llanthony Priory is a former Augustinian priory set in the Vale of Ewyas, in Brecon Beacons National Park, Wales. Constructed in a mixture of Gothic and Norman styles, this partially ruined church became one of the great buildings of the Medieval period in Wales, until it eventually fell into disuse following the 1538 Dissolution of the Monasteries.