Afon Hepste

Afon Hepste is a river in the Brecon Beacons National Park, partly marking the border between Powys and Rhondda Cynon Taf. It begins where three smaller streams—the Afon y Waun, Nant y Cwrier and Nant Hepste Fechan—rise on the Old Red Sandstone slopes of Fforest Fawr. Near the farmstead of Hepste Fechan the streams join to form the Afon Hepste, which soon flows onto Carboniferous Limestone. Sections of the riverbed downstream often lie dry because water vanishes underground, only reappearing after heavy rain. The river drops over a band of hard gritstone to create Sgwd yr Eira, a waterfall whose name means ‘fall of snow’. A public footpath runs behind the cascade, making it one of the most visited spots in an area now called Waterfall Country. About one mile below the fall, the Hepste meets the Afon Mellte close to the village of Ystradfellte. Visitors follow paths beside the river through wooded valleys and open moorland. The gritstone ledges above the waterfall give wide views across the Brecon Beacons. After rain the underground flow returns, turning normally dry stretches into lively cascades. The landscape around the Hepste shows layers of sandstone, limestone and gritstone laid down over millions of years.