Brecon Beacons....Can we find the B-52 Bomber crash site?

Brecon Beacons in the heart of South Wales is an absolute delight! The rolling mountains offer more than just a good hike. The landscape and views are stunning regardless of the weather conditions. Rain and cloud are frequent but have patience, as our recent visit proves.

Each morning we awoke to dull cloudy skies and rain! To most, these are not the best conditions, but when you only have a few days to enjoy the countryside and mountains having patience proved to be valuable.

We stayed at CwmDu campsite in Crickhowell. We booked a log pod for three nights but quickly decided to book an extra night. It was perfect for what we wanted, somewhere to cook and sleep after a day exploring the mountains. They provided a BBQ and camp chairs for us to use outside, the small balcony was a welcome delight for the cold and rainy evenings. Inside the pod we had a fridge, kettle, heater and table and bench seat which easily converted into a surprisingly comfortable bed. Yes, it was basic but perfectly comfortable and cosy.

There were showers, toilets, a dish washing area, laundry facilities and a small shop in reception stocking all the essentials you would need and a good selection of local produce.

Day one....a mission to find the B-52 bomber crash site! For this mission we decided to give What 3 Words a go......we were hoping to have a direct route to the crash site, how wrong we were!

We set off from a small woodland car park up a road, this is not what we were expecting. The road soon gave way to woodland and streams. The woodland was stunning, flowers and mushrooms grew in abundance on the woodland floor bringing colours and fabulous scents as we meandered through the woods.

The woodland eventually gave way to a large field, at this point, according to What 3 Words, we had reached our destination. This did not look like our destination, what do you think? Does this look like the crash site to you?

We had two options, give up or follow our instincts. How hard could it be to find? We used several different apps to try to find the location....what 3 words, GPS, co-ordinate locator, the list goes on and on! We knew roughly where the crash site was, our best option was to head 'Straight to the Summit'! Do you like what I did there?

So this is what we did. The ground was wet, boggy and scattered with cow manure....that fresh air smell! The hike was enjoyable and peaceful, the only sounds were the gentle 'moo's' of the cows. And then, the rain started! This was not going to stop us, we were determined to keep going and not give up until we found it.

We searched for approximately two hours after the pictures above were taken. During these two hours I had an idea, it wasn't a great idea but it was the best one we had. In simple terms, we followed a dot, a dot on one of the apps we had already tried, we realised the more we searched the more the dot moved. With each small summit we reached, we would say 'it has to be here', we lost count of how many times we said these five words. We started to think we would never find it. And, then we said it once more.....and there it was, nestled below a small ridge. It was an inspiring and solemn site, as we got closer to the site the whole atmosphere changed.

So, there you have it! We found the B52 Bomber crash site by following a dot!

The crash site was more widespread than we initially realised, we took our time observing the remains of the B-52 Bomber. It was eerie, yet rewarding. There were several areas where you could observe the wreckage, surprisingly the wreckage was still in relatively good condition, we mean you could easily identify what the parts were.

We want you all to know, we did not want to find the crash site for that 'social media' shot. We personally wanted to find the crash site to try to understand what those soldiers and airman went through during the war. This is something we should all appreciate and be grateful for, many of us are lucky enough not to have to experience first hand the events of war.

Thank you to all servicemen and servicewomen past and present for their sacrifice in battles and war so we don't have to.