Responsibilities: To manage all aspects of the Car Park Watch Scheme, this includes the recruitment of volunteers, maximising manning of the vehicle aiming for 365 days per year, finances associated with the scheme, liason between the partners,  encourage partners to fully use the scheme, to maintain health and safety for the volunteers and to organise appropriate updates for the volunteers.

Phone: (01874) 620466 (Brecon office)

 E-mail: Ian Penn

I was born in 1964 and I am a Midlands chap, specifically from “The Black Country”, and very proud of that. The family and I moved to Brecon in June 2002 to start a new life.

 I’m married with two children and I live here in Brecon at The Grange Guest House, which is my other work. I work 20 hours per week for the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority and run the Car Park Watch scheme on behalf of BBNPA, the Forestry commission and Dyffed Powys Police. I’m lucky to have a team of over 30 volunteers on CPW, all of which, are classic volunteers, keen and enthusiastic, only too willing to help, I couldn’t want for a better team!

Prior to working for the BBNPA I worked as an Intensive Care nurse in the NHS for 18 years. And prior to this I completed a formal engineering apprenticeship with the George Salter group. A mixed career!

My great loves in life, other than my family of course, are the “great outdoors” generally, but specifically cycling, canoeing and walking.

Favourite cycle route

From home (The Watton in Brecon), pick up the canal and head out to Talybont on Usk, you have to use a bit of the road from Brynich lock to T-O-U to stay legal. Pick up the old tram road from the back of the White Hart pub and start to climb!

In about six miles you will get a bit of respite, in the mean time enjoy the scenery, as you climb it gets more and more spectacular, views of the main beacons are ever changing and you will experience a fantastic mix of sensations travelling over a man made tram track, having birds of prey over head and the reservoir below. A short and enjoyable sprint now over Torpantau and in to the next valley, leaving the tram road behind you can now join the roman road in a march back to Brecon, a steady and rough climb up to the pinnacle of this ride, which is the saddle between Cribyn and Fan y Big. Here we go, this is it, it’s all downhill from this point, I guarantee you, that all the hard work of getting to this point is about to be repaid, feel the adrenaline surge, Brecon is now about half an hour away. The is one gate to slow you down, and I always need to stop here, just to get the blood back in to my fingers!

This is the “The Gap” route and is well written in many pamphlets and guides, my favourite guide is “Mountain Biking in the Brecon Beacons”, not because I work for them, I hasten to add but because it’s a good concise guide which is easy to carry and follow.

Don’t forget this is mountainous terrain and should be treated with respect

Link for “Mountain Biking in the Brecon Beacons” can be found at www.mtbbreconbeacons.co.uk