Brecon beacons tips?

I'm taking advantage of cheap rail fares and the jubilee weekend to head to the glamorous location of Merthyr Tydfil. My plan is to take junior stove (just turned 5) for a couple of nights wild camping around pen y fan.
My initial view of route was to get the bus out to storey arms and head over to cwm llywyycchh (delete extraneous letters as required) for first night then up pen y fan, not sure where for second night.
Max mileage is 4 miles/day and max ascent 500m.

So the questions:
1 any alternative/ additional recommendations for camping spots?
2 if we finish at Neuadd reservoirs is there an info centre or similar round there from which we could call a taxi back to Merthyr?
3 anything else worth bearing in mind? I haven't walked in the Brecons since School trips many years ago.
4 is the terrain reasonably amenable to wild camping (ie undulating enough to mask the tent, not too boggy etc) in case I need to make an unplanned camp with a tired

Thanks in anticipation...

If no one else is going to reply then I will try....

The vicinity of Pen y Fan is not ideal for wild camping, as it gets rather busy, especially on summer bank holiday weekends. There are few hollows for hiding your tent and pitching late is going to be after most 5 year old bedtimes.

If you are able to arrange transport the Mynydd Du would be more suitable. There is lots of empty space and there are lots of places to tuck a tent out of sight.

Otherwise, you might find it easier to start with a taxi and finish at the Storey Arms. Assuming you climb Pen y Fan on your last day the previous camp site ought to be within 2 miles of the summit and at least 336m high. You could probably find campable ground on Bryn Teg, or in the valleys either side if you don't mind a steep drop to get there, or on the ridge south east of Cribyn.

Last week I walked up Craig y Fan Ddu and noticed in the valley below to the right (SO059186) there seemed to be relatively flat spots near the stream. At the bottom of the valleys there are woodland tracks, waterfalls, streams. These might be more interesting to a youngster than the bleak hillside higher up.

There are flat spots on the ridge south and east of Fan y Big, with one or two sheltered hollows.

Along the main ridges there are no streams, so you might have to carry a day's worth of water. There are trickles of water on the bypass to the south of Cribyn and on the 'Roman' road that crosses Bwlch ar y Fan.

It's quite a tough proposition for taking a 5 year old and you might be better off choosing a more amenable venue. Maybe Dartmoor, where wild camping is officially allowed, so you can stop anywhere.

Being busy, Pen y Fan is relatively safe, in that there are sure to be people around if you need help. However if the weather turns nasty you don't want to up on the high ground with one so young. Tough military men have died up there in bad weather. I presume you have a dependable tent so you can bundle him inside in emergency.

lots of easily accessible camp spots around Usk reservoir, and surrounding area. Going slightly further afield the Carmarthen Fan is also quiet and quite easy to get to Llyn y Fan Fach from the car park (15 minute walk in)

or at storey arms just cross the road and camp near fan fawr tucked out of the way

of course the easy camps are to be had in the east in the black mountains area in and around abergavenny and of course llanthony priory "campsite" (a field) which is the gem of the beacons

There is an informal campsite at Cwm Llwch (no facilities to speak of), which will probably be fairly busy over the BH weekend; Llyn Cwm Llwch is a lovely wildcamping spot, but popular, esp. with DoE groups.

You should be aware that a Jubilee Beacon is being lit on Pen y Fan on the Monday, organised jointly by ATC, National Trust and Central Beacons Mountain Rescue Team, so it'll be busy there on Monday night. If you and the mini-stove wish to come along to see this, it should be fun - and come and say hello to me! Good wildcamping on Cefn Crew, S.W of Corn Du.

TheAdrian wrote (see)

Being busy, Pen y Fan is relatively safe, in that there are sure to be people around if you need help.

It'll be teeming with MRT members on the Monday!!

Cheers for that everyone.  Just to put people's minds at rest, its not his first backpacking trip; he's overnight backpacked in California, the Alps and Snowdon (entirely under his own steam up & down, at age 4). The great thing with a 5-yr old is that if he's had enough it would be pretty easy to hoist him onto my back and carry him (fortuantely I've never had to).

Thanks for the heads up on the beacon - sadly we're heading home on the Monday otherwise that would be a lot of fun. If I'd known I'd definitely have planned to be there.

Useful to know about Fan Fawr from Storey Arms as if we're ahead of schedule on Pen Y Fan then descending to camp would be a good option.

Kate - if you're on the hills on Sun/Mon and see a small high-speed blur pursued by a sweating dad with backpack, say hello.