This is a town where you'll enjoy losing yourself...not only in the narrow streets and passageways lined with Georgian and Jacobean shopfronts, but in the sense of timelessness about the place.

Ever since the Iron Age, this magical spot at the confluence of the Usk and Honddu rivers and sheltered by the mountains has been prized and protected. Now the commercial centre of the southern part of Powys, Brecon remains first and foremost a traditional Mid Wales market town - as you will see on any Tuesday or Friday!

Half Church - Half Castle...

The origins of the Cathedral, a Brecon landmark, reach back to a fortification built by the half brother of William the Conqueror after he captured the town in 1094. 300 years later, the priory he established within them was developed into the fortified Priory Church of St John the Evangelist 'half Church of God and half castle against the Welsh' as it was then described. Inside the embattled walls survives the most unique group of monastic buildings in Wales. The Brecon Cathedral Heritage Centre tells its fascinating history. Click here for the Brecon Cathedral Site

Brecon Militaria...
During the Napoleonic wars, French prisioners were incarcerated in the town. Some of the town's medieval walls survive and an area called Captian's Walk marks the place where the prisoners exercised.

The military link continues... One of the most heroic battles of all time, the battle of Rourke's Drift [1879] is commemorated in the South Wales Borderers Museum at Brecon Barracks. At Rourke's Drift 140 soldiers of the regiment faced more than 4,000 Zulu warriors.

Cruise the canal... In 1797 work began on the Monmouth and Brecon Canal to link Brecon with Newport. A magnificent stone aqueduct carries the canal across the River Usk just outside town. Currently 37 miles of canal has been restored to award winning standards. See Below for our link to www.dragonfly-cruises.co.uk

Christ College Brecon... Christ College is a leading secondary school set in the heart of the Brecon Beacons in Brecon, South Wales. Christ College has been at its present site since 1541 when Henry VIII dissolved the existing monastery and founded the school. Click here to visit the school http://www.schools-christ-wales.com

Brecon