Mal Morrison – författare

Bannau Brycheiniog National Park, formerly known as the Brecon Beacons, founded in 1957, is a hugely popular area of South Wales. Not only does it cover mountainside and moorland, forestry and farmland, but it also includes a number of historical settlements in and around its border, including Brecon, Hay-on-Wye and Abergavenny. Visitors come for its landscape, flora and fauna, outdoor activities and attractive towns and villages. Alongside the well-known areas are many tucked-away and little-known places in the park, and the history of the area also has its own special folk tales.50 Gems of Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) explores the many places and their history that make this unique area so special, including natural features, towns and villages, buildings and places of historical interest. Alongside justly famous attractions some will be relatively unknown, but all have an interesting story to tell.

The ancient town of Brecon was originally enclosed within the walls of a Norman castle. Today it has evolved into a pleasant market town in a unique setting in the heart of National Parkland. Here you can visit the promenade, take to the waters of the beautiful River Usk or stroll along narrow streets with the most wonderful of names, see relics from Brecon's once thriving Flannel Industry, and wonder at the magnificent Cathedral and the peace of the Priory Groves.With an abundance of rare and some quite ancient photographs together with modern interpretations in beautiful colour Brecon Through Time has so much to offer visitors and residents. This town, with its history and military background, is unique in the whole of Wales. Connect with its warmth and charm, its inhabitants and its hidden gems. You never know, you may even meet a real time traveller!

Don’t be fooled by Brecon’s quiet, serene exterior for lurking just beneath the surface are little-known and long-forgotten secrets. Here on the fair banks of the Usk, famous for its salmon and trout fishing, we recount tales of tragedy and remarkable valour in the lengthy and varied history of this town. We read of gruesome public executions on the riverbank, of poachers’ adventures with water bailiffs, of the almost forgotten grave of a hero of the Crimea who was awarded the Victoria Cross for his outstanding bravery, and read with sadness of his ignominious death here in Brecon. We meet a nobleman, seemingly born to greatness, who instead died a traitor’s death at the hands of Henry VIII, and hear of French officers captured in the Napoleonic Wars who left their mark here. We seek out people and places that no longer exist, including Longfellow, a once famous Breconian, and his garden. We meet a Brecon-born actor with an extensive and wide-ranging career, including a Bond film, who never forgot his roots. Fully illustrated in colour throughout, Secret Brecon delves beneath the surface of this ancient town, veers away from the main streets and sights, and invites the reader to discover and enjoy Brecon’s hidden history.