BRECON BEACONS NATIONAL PARK AUTHORITY AND PARTNERS A DRAFT VISITOR EXPERIENCE PLAN FOR PENWYLLT The Tourism Company 15 The Southend Ledbury Herefordshire HR8 2EY TellTale The Steps 2 Lightwood Road Buxton SK17 7BP 10th September 2015 CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................ 1 2 UNDERSTANDING THE AREA ...................................................................... 3 3 CURRENT AND FUTURE AUDIENCES ......................................................... 6 4 ASSESSMENT OF THE CURRENT VISITOR EXPERIENCE ...................... 10 5 REVIEW OF THE HERITAGE ASSETS ....................................................... 16 6 ISSUES INFLUENCING THE APPROACH TO A PLAN ............................... 24 7 APPROACH TO INTERPRETATION ............................................................ 29 8 VISITOR MOVEMENT AND INFRASTRUCTURE ........................................ 35 9 ACTION PLAN .............................................................................................. 45 1 INTRODUCTION Brecon Beacons National Park Authority (BBNPA) commissioned The Tourism Company with TellTale to prepare a Visitor Experience Plan for Penwyllt in April 2015. The Penwyllt area, based around a former industrial settlement on the eastern flanks of the Upper Swansea Valley (Cwm Tawe Uchaf), extends from the main A4067 across to rocky moorland to the east. The area is largely in some form of protective ownership and includes the following tracts of land: Craig y Rhiwarth and Allt Rhongyr nature reserves, managed by Brecknock Wildlife Trust (BWT) South Wales Caving Club (SWCC) HQ and surrounding open access land Ogof Ffynnon Ddu National Nature Reserve (NNR), managed by Natural Resources Wales (NRW) Penwyllt Quarry (disused) subject to a restoration plan agreed between Lafarge Tarmac and Brecon Beacons National Park Authority (BBNPA) Craig-y-nos Country Park adjoins the assemblage of sites, and is managed by BBNPA. The brief described these conservation and access interests as having formed a partnership to oversee development of the Penwyllt area, outlining a shared vision for the area as “a resource for visitors to access and learn about the identified heritage assets, including the wildlife, geology, industrial archaeology and cultural heritage”. Preparation of a Visitor Experience Plan presents an opportunity for the various parties to work together to elaborate that vision and agree a plan for investment in visitor infrastructure that will underpin development of the area in a coherent and coordinated manner. The Penwyllt area is considered to be relatively less visited and to have suffered from the economic changes of the past 30 years. Encouraging more use of the area for quiet recreation and to gain experience of the wildlife and cultural heritage can in turn lead to greater economic value accruing to the area and more public engagement in conservation. Initial promotion may provide a platform for local people and local businesses to further their involvement, bringing increased community benefit. In addition to encouraging a strong link to Craig-y-nos Country Park, the brief identified specific opportunities for links to a proposed cycleway using the old railway route, and to the privately operated Dan yr Ogof Showcaves. The Visitor Experience Development Plan has been prepared as a collaboration between The Tourism Company and TellTale, based upon: Eight site visits, accompanied and unaccompanied, to the Penwyllt area. TellTale also made two site visits. One to one consultations, face to face and by phone, with interested parties, including representatives of the main parties, officers of the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority, and others with an interest in the area. Draft Visitor Experience Plan for Penwyllt 1 The Tourism Company with TellTale An engagement event held at Pen-y-Cae Inn on 20th May 2015; over 60 invitations were issued, resulting in 29 participants. A list of attendees is included as Appendix One. Keeping interested parties informed, including distribution of a note outlining the ground covered by the engagement event to participants, non-participants and local residents, and informal contact with local residents and neighbouring landowners. Web research and enquiries to clarify understanding of the composition of the area and its heritage assets. We are grateful to everyone who contributed their knowledge, thoughts and enthusiasm to the process of developing this Plan. Draft Visitor Experience Plan for Penwyllt 2 The Tourism Company with TellTale 2 UNDERSTANDING THE AREA This Chapter considers what is known about significant interests in the Penwyllt area, especially through land ownership, and any designations and rights of access that pertain. Four main parties have expressed an interest in preparing a Visitor Experience Plan for Penwyllt: Brecon Beacons National Park Authority has led the initiative to bring together the various parties implicated by a visitor experience plan for Penwyllt. BBNPA own no land in Penwyllt itself, but do have ownership of the significant neighbouring asset of Craig-y-nos Country Park. The Country Park is well connected to Penwyllt through a circular loop of bridleways leading from the far side of the Park. BBNPA are also responsible for ongoing negotiations with Lafarge Tarmac, whose licence to quarry at Penwyllt is currently being surrendered, subject to a package of restoration measures which are the subject of a Section 106 agreement. BBNPA have an additional interest in Penwyllt through their association with the Fforest Fawr Geopark. Natural Resources Wales have responsibility for the Ogof Ffynnon Ddu National Nature Reserve (NNR) and, with the exception of a small area around the car park, are in ownership of the reserve. The reserve is within two separate SSSIs (Ogof Ffynnon Ddu is notified for its underground geological (karst/cave) interest; the larger adjacent Ogof Ffynnon Ddu-Pant Mawr SSSI is notified for both geological and biological features). The principal reason for the declaration of the reserve was to protect the underlying nationally important Ogof Ffynnon Ddu cave system, which is the deepest, 3rd longest and one of the best studied cave systems in Britain. An OFD Management Committee (OFDMC) brings together NRW, South Wales Caving Club (see below) and other caving representatives under the chairmanship of NRW. The whole of the NNR is recorded as Open Access Land, and the Beacons Way passes through the reserve. Car parking is provided for the NNR through a small area of land under lease from a private landowner. Grazing is let over parts of the reserve to a neighbouring farmer. Brecknock Wildlife Trust have recently purchased two adjacent wildlife reserves, Craig y Rhiwarth and Allt Rhongyr, also within the SSSI. Access to the two reserves is permissive: access to Allt Rhongyr is actively encouraged and promoted by BWT, while a rather more cautious approach is taken to access to the steep scree slopes of Craig y Rhiwarth. The Beacons Way skirts Allt Rhongyr as it climbs up to Penwyllt, providing two of the three access points to the reserves. BWT indicate places where visitors to the reserve might park on the road. Grazing is let over parts of the reserve to a nearby riding stables and livery yard. A hillfort/enclosure at the top of Allt Rhongyr is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. South Wales Caving Club has been based in Penwyllt for the past 50 years. The club owns a row of terraced cottages, Powell Street, which form its HQ, provide accommodation and are actively used by its membership and by visiting caving clubs. SWCC also own the former Penwyllt Inn, leased in turn to two other caving clubs. Over the years, the club has acquired a considerable amount of land in the area, in various parcels, aimed at protecting its interests and, in one case, securing access to a particular cave entrance. SWCC is keen to restore the right of vehicular access which it holds to Powell Street; this runs over part of the quarry floor and access has been restricted during recent quarry operations. Access to the cave Draft Visitor Experience Plan for Penwyllt 3 The Tourism Company with TellTale system is strictly controlled. All visiting cavers must be authorised to access the cave system by means of an NRW permit. Permits are available to members of a club which is in membership of one of the Regional Councils of the British Caving Association. Three cave entrances are in regular use; all are gated, and keys can be collected from SWCC HQ on production of a permit. Some of the land owned by SWCC is subject to an agricultural tenancy. Two other major landowners may be implicated by a Visitor Experience Plan for Penwyllt: Hobbs Properties Ltd are the ultimate owners of the recently disused quarry and, once Lafarge Tarmac have completed restoration works to the satisfaction of BBNPA, the quarry area will revert to them. Hobbs Properties Ltd also own a number of other buildings and parcels of land in Penwyllt, including the railway station and the NNR car park. The exact and full extent of their land ownership is not currently available. The Cnewr Estate has extensive holdings to the north and west of the National Nature Reserve. Much of this land is registered as Open Access Land, and parts are within one of the SSSIs. Its 12,500 acres are run along traditional lines. The farm is renowned for its Cheviot sheep and Galloway cattle, which were introduced by the family in the 1850s. In addition,