CONTENTS
- Date & Time Undertaken
- Map of Route
- Weather
- Description of the kayak
- Logistics
- Pubs & Restaurants
- Dangers/Issues
- Kayak Used
- Summary
1. DATE, TIME TAKEN & DISTANCE
15 October 2023
Launched at 11.30
Landed at 14:00
2 hours paddling. 30 minutes lunch stop.
4 miles paddle
2. MAP OF THE ROUTE
3. weather
It was a sunny and quite calm day with a high of about 10 Celsius with light winds of about 6mph from the East.
4. DESCRIPTION OF THE KAYAK
We launched from the jetty near to the boat hire centre at about 11:30am.
It was a bright, if rather chilly Autumn morning. Dai was in the captain’s seat in the rear for this 4 miles circumnavigation of Llangorse Lake.
Paddling anticlockwise around the lake, we soon passed the traditionally built roundhouse housing the Welsh Crannog Centre, which provides an insight into the history, myths and legends of the Welsh Crannog.
We paddled up the inlet towards the sailing club. The clubhouse looked really nice, and I had to persuade Dai from stopping and dropping in for a beer.
We turned around and headed back out onto the lake after I pacified Dai with the promise of a beer at the end of the paddle
Surrounded by a patchwork of green hills, fields, meadows and hedgerows, Llangorse is a truly beautiful spot and a lovely place to sail or paddle.
We swung around and started to cross the long southern side of the lake most of which is fringed with rushes.
Llangorse Lake is the largest natural lake in Mid and South Wales, and is situated in the Brecon Beacons National Park near the town of Brecon and the village of Llangors.
It had felt bitterly cold when we had been inflating our kayak in the day before launching, but it was now starting to gradually warm up.
Sailing boats milled up and down aroid the middle of the lake.
Much of the shoreline is private property and there are also sensitive bird breeding and feeding areas prohibiting boats landing on the shore.
Llangorse is also a popular spot for fishing, with pike, perch, roach, bream tench and eels all found here. Fishing is only allowed from boats, not from the banks, and must be catch-and-release.
The dramatic outline of Pen-Y-Fan provided a stunning backdrop as we paddled around the lake. Pen-Y-Fan is the tallest mountain in the Brecon Beacons and is very popular with hikers.
As we need the end of the route we approached the Crannog which is an ancient man made island which sits offshore quite close to the launch spot at the boat hire centre on the north shore of the lake.
Well over 1000 years old, the Crannog now has trees growing on it, but it was probably once the site of a royal palace.
Its careful construction and spectacular finds suggest that this was a high status site, and one interpretation of this evidence is that the Crannog may have been home to the early medieval Kings of Brycheiniog.
Art about 14:30 we landed back at the jetty by the boat hire centre. Was a great kayak on an awesome lake.
5. LOGISTICS
In order to take your own kayak or canoe on Llangorse Lake, you need to buy a permit from the Lakeside, Caravan Park.
As of late 2023, the cost was £13.80 per day for Canoes, Kayaks, SUPs & Windsurfers.
This is the cost per canoe, kayak, or SUP.
We used a Sandbanks Style optimal tandem kayak, so we had to pay £13.80 for the one kayak between us.
It was free to park and the parking is very close to where the launch spots are.
You can launch either from the slipway and pontoons next to the boat hire at Centre, or you can launch from the slipway at the sailing club which is about 150 m away. There is a discounted permit price if you are staying with Lakeside Caravan Park.
6. PUBS & RESTAURANTS
The Castle Inn. Llangorse
The Castle Inn is a family owned traditional pub situated in the nearby village of Llangors in the heart of the Brecon Beacons National Park.
The Red Lion, Llangorse
The Red Lion Inn boast a spacious bar area with a welcoming fireplace. The bar is well stocked with beers, wines, ciders and spirits and the restaurant serves delicious food 7 days a week.
The Lakeside Bar and Cafe, Llangorse Lake
The Lakeside Bar has recently been refurbished and provides evening meals and entertainment. It is open weekends and during school holidays throughout the season.
The Lake Café is situated next to the reception and approximately a two minute walk from the lake. The Lake Café is open from the beginning of March to the end of October.
7. DANGERS & ISSUES
Llangrose Lake is a relatively safe paddle. While the lake is large, it’s not subject to tides and currents like estuaries, the sea and some rivers are. However, as with any paddling, you need to use common sense since there is always some degree of potential danger with any type of Watersport.
The lake is a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
To conserve the banks and the wildlife, there are restrictions on how many people can take to the water and where boaters can go, with buoys marking the no-go zones.
This map of the lake shows the no paddle zones which encompass much of the perimeter of the lake.
8. KAYAK USED
We used a tandem Sandbanks Style Optimal Kayak for This Paddle around Llangorse lake
This is a full drop stitch inflatable kayak.
Due to the drop stitch construction, it inflates to a very high air pressure of 10 psi to 12 psi, which means that the hull and decks become very firm and rigid, almost like a hard shell kayak.
It is a two panel drop stitch kayak, sometimes known as a clam shell shaped kayak
We found the Sandbanks Style Optimal Kayak to be very stable and easy to get into and out due to the firm drop stitch floor and the quite low sides to the cockpit.
There is a slight V to the hull, which helps the kayak to track well as you paddle along.
It is a roomy and comfortable kayak with padded seats that you attached to the D-rings in cockpit of the kayak.
We found it to be quite fast through the water, especially when Dai was also paddling rather than having a rest
Since it is inflatable, it packs away into a large carry bag, which you can either carry on your back as a backpack or wheel along on the building wheels.
This portability cannot be understated and avoid the need for roof racks or trailers. If I runt like me, can comfortably carry it on my back then it’s clearly quite portable for a tandem drop stitch kayak
The Sandbanks Style Optimal kayak comes in a shorter solo only model.
We have uploaded our full review of this kayak to our product reviews playlist on our channel.
We have also uploaded our video review to our Youtube channel.
9. SUMMARY
This 4 miles kayak around Llangorse lake is an easy paddle in some stunning scenery and is well worth the permit fee.
The Crannog provides an unusual and interesting historical aspect to this location.
If you are in this area for a while then as well as paddling Llangorse Lake, you could also enjoy paddling the nearby Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal which offers about 35 miles of canal paddling through some stunning scenery.
Llangorse Lake offers a few hours safe paddling on the largest lake in South and Mid Wales packed with interesting birdlife and surrounded by the majestic mountain scenery of the Brecon Beacons.
Below is the link to our Youtube video of this kayak on Llangorse Lake.