Llyn y Fan Fach

Llyn y Fan Fach is the moody glacial lake beneath the great scarp of Picws Du in the western Bannau Brycheiniog, steeped in the Lady of the Lake legend and far quieter than the Pen y Fan circus an hour east. For a drone pilot it is a dream composition: the 300m escarpment wall curls around the water like an amphitheatre, and a slow rise from lake level to reveal the ridgeline delivers real drama. The walk in from the little car park above Llanddeusant is about 2km up a stony reservoir track — enough to filter out casual crowds. Legals need thought. The lake is a working Welsh Water reservoir and Welsh Water does not permit drone operations from its landholdings, so do not launch from the dam, filter-house area or track edges; instead TOAL from the surrounding open access mountainside a sensible distance from the waterworks and fly from there. The National Trust boundary lies further east on the main Beacons massif, so it is not an issue here. Weather turns fast on this scarp — cloud pours over Bannau Sir Gaer with little warning and the bowl generates brutal rotor in southerlies. Red kites work this valley; if one takes interest in your drone, descend and land. Winter dawn with snow rims the cliffs beautifully.