Aberyscir

A small church with a long memory

The Church of Saint Mary and Saint Cynidr stands on a flat-topped spur where the Ysgir comes down off Mynydd Epynt to meet the Usk. It is a small building, simple almost to the point of being chapel-like, with a tall bellcote at the west end. Charles Buckeridge rebuilt most of it in 1860, keeping the fifteenth-century north doorway; a north vestry followed in 1884. A medieval stoup and two older memorial slabs survive, including one attributed to Richard ap Jenkyn and Cecilia. The congregation meets once a month.

The building was not always admired. Around 1800 the historian Theophilus Jones described its predecessor as "a miserable little building with a shed at one end."

A hamlet at two rivers

Aberyscir is a hamlet at the meeting of the Ysgir and Usk; its name means "mouth of the Yscir." The church and castle mound occupy the historic core, while Roman remains lie across the tributary. Brecon, about four kilometres east, supplies the nearby concentration of shops and food.

Motte and Roman fort

The castle mound is a scheduled medieval motte a little way from the church, its teardrop summit roughly twenty metres by thirty, ringed on two sides by a broad ditch. Across the Ysgir, Y Gaer is an auxiliary Roman fort founded around AD 75 and once garrisoned by some five hundred cavalry of the Vettonian Spanish Cavalry Regiment. Initially built in turf and timber, the fort was later rebuilt in stone; three consolidated gateways survive, with some walls still reaching 2.4 metres. Visitors reach the fort on foot across a working farm. A tombstone belonging to a young cavalryman named Candidus was found about a mile north and now sits in Brecon's museum, along with a sandstone "Maiden Stone" dug up near the fort in the sixteenth century.

Food beyond the old core

For food, head beyond the hamlet. The Three Horseshoes at Groesffordd serves changing seasonal dishes alongside pub classics, with a beer garden and bookable heated beach huts; well-behaved dogs are welcome in the bar, garden and huts. At the Felin Fach Griffin, Welsh produce and a kitchen garden close to the kitchen shape the menu. Brecon, about four kilometres east, adds Paddy Sweeney's butcher and Brecon Market Hall, with its independent food shops and Farmers & Makers Market.

Common, hillfort and open sky

The climb on Aberyscir Common rewards walkers with broad views. An 18.1km circuit starts at Brecon Bus Interchange, follows the Usk past the Roman fort, crosses Battle Hill and Pen-y-crug, then returns by the cathedral and castle remains. From the higher ground you can see Pen y Fan, the skies are dark enough for stars, and red kites are regularly seen overhead.