QUESTION: My husband is thinking of tackling the walk in the Brecon Beacons mountain range that he tells me is used by the SAS in their gruelling selection process. I want to surprise him with a weekend away so he can really test his much-vaunted physical fitness and stop endlessly ruminating on his plan. Where should we be heading? Maria, by email.
ANSWER: The SAS challenge is known as the "Fan Dance" or "barn dance". It requires soldiers to ascend Pen-y-Fan, at 2,900 feet the highest peak in South Wales, by running up while carrying a 40 pound backpack, a rifle, and a bottle of water, before going down the other side. This isn't something I imagine you or your husband would be keen to emulate.
Instead, why not try one of the 73 walks organized by the Crickhowell Walking Festival? The programme runs until March 6th and features routes over the Brecon Beacons. You may not manage to replicate the Fan Dance, but at least you can say you walked in the footsteps of one of the world's toughest military units.
Frank Barrett.
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