Welcome to / Croeso i

BEautiful brecon

Brecon is situated in Bannau Brycheiniog
(The Brecon Beacons!) National Park.

We put beautiful spaces at the heart of the experience: from historic Brecon Cathedral, to ancient Friaries and iconic Welsh chapels.

We also want to make sure you enjoy the incredible nature on doorstep. The annual Festival Hike will take you out to the hills above the town to appreciate the views surrounding our small Welsh town on the morning of Festival Saturday.

You can book a Guided Walking Tour of Brecon on the Friday morning of this years festival. Cost £10. Please email Visit Brecon to book a place: office@visitbrecon.org.uk

Take a look at some of our Festival venues below:

Stone church with arched windows next to a tall tree on a sunny day with blue sky and clouds.
Orange half-circle on a black background

Brecon Cathedral

The magnificent Cathedral Church of St John the Evangelist is hosting five of our concerts in 2026.

Brecon Cathedral started life in 1093 as the Benedictine Priory of St John the Evangelist, built by the Normans on the site of an earlier Celtic church. At the dissolution of the monasteries in 1537 it became Brecon's Parish Church. It became a Cathedral only in 1923, on the establishment of the Diocese of Swansea and Brecon.

The cathedral has a charming Close and there will be a new cafe on site for 2026. There is a small pay and display car park. If you require disabled access to the venue please let us know as we can arrange parking for you within the Close.

Interior of an empty traditional church with wooden pews and pulpit
A simple dark green semicircle on a white background.

The Plough

The Plough, tucked away in Lion Street is the venue for a lunchtime concert on Festival Saturday and for our Choir Trail Finale that afternoon. It is also the venue for our Cymanfa Ganu on the final evening of the 2026 Festival.

The first chapel on the current site was a meeting room in a building also used as a pub called The Plough, which stood there in the 17th century.

The existing chapel was built in 1841 in classical style, on the former chapel garden. Major rebuilding work was undertaken in 1892 by Benjamin Jenkins, local builder. A balcony round all four sides of chapel is supported on fluted iron columns.

Please note there is no parking at The Plough but you can pull up outside if necessary and we can arrange a ramp up the couple of steps into the building.

The nearest car park is at y Gaer (LD3 7DP), just around the corner.

Historic brick building by a canal with narrowboat, outdoor sculpture, and clear sky.
Half of an orange circle on a black background.

Theatr Brycheiniog

Idyllically set alongside Brecon's canal basin, the theatre hosts a varied programme of theatre, music, dance and community events.

The venue will be host to our Friday night concert in 2026. Outside the theatre, on the canal basin, will be the start of our Choir Trail on Festival Saturday

There is a cafe on site for pre-concert snacks as well as a good sized carpark.

Aerial view of a small town surrounded by green countryside with stone buildings, trees, and fields.
Green semi-circle on a white background

Christ College  

Situated beside the River Usk Christ College was founded by royal charter in 1541 by Henry VIII, having been a Dominican Friary for three hundred years before this.

Christ College is now the oldest independent school in Wales. The medieval Chapel, which we will use for Saturday lunchtime concert in 2026, is one of two buildings on site that remain of the Dominican friary and they represent the largest group of Dominican buildings surviving in Britain.

The school’s performing arts theatre - Y Neaudd (built in 2013) will be where we host our Come & Sing Day for A German Requiem by Brahms on July 11th and where the panel discussion with Dr Rowan Williams will be held on the Saturday morning of the main festival.

Green semi-circle on a white background

The Guildhall 

The Guildhall has occupied the same site for 700 years and has undergone many changes since. In the early 19th century the building housed an armoury, a market hall and court. Another renovation was completed in 1888 giving the form which we see today, which includes a Council Chamber on the ground floor and theatre on the first floor.

The theatre is known as the Adelina Patti Theatre and we use it for our Saturday morning concert. The Council Chamber is used as part of our Festival Choir Trail on Saturday afternoon.

There is no parking at The Guildhall but the COOP car park (LD3 7AB) and the one at y Gaer (LD3 7DP) is very close by. The accessible entrance into The Guildhall is off Lion Street at the back of the building and there is a lift to the theatre on the first floor.

  • Aerial view of a small town with slate-roofed buildings and a church, surrounded by green fields and hills.

    Places to Stay

    Brecon has a range of B & Bs and small hotels. See this list for some suggestions.

    See the list
  • Cozy restaurant interior with rustic wooden furniture, a wooden table set with plates, glasses and cutlery, a potted plant, and a framed floral painting on a red wall. Open shelving with bottles and kitchen items is visible in the background.

    Places To Eat

    Brecon has a mix of cafes, restaurants and pubs. We are awaiting an update on the cafe at the Cathedral re pre-concert suppers.

    See the full list
  • Our Venues

    Our Venues

    Our venues range from cathedral to chapel, with our Friday night concert at Theatr Brycheiniog.

    Find out more

Getting to Brecon

Brecon is on the south side of the Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) and is not the easiest to get to by public transport but we admire those of you who try!

By train

The closest station to Brecon Beacons is Abergavenny, in the south east of the Brecon Beacons from where there is bus service up to Brecon. If coming from the south-east Abergavenny is reached via a 20-minute train journey up from Newport in South Wales, which has connections (operated by Transport for Wales, previously Arriva Trains) from much of the rest of the country, including Swansea, Cardiff, the West Midlands and Manchester.

By Bus

A combination of buses -the T4 (operated by Celtic Travel) to Merthyr and then the X4 (operated by Stagecoach) will get you to Cardiff and back.

Using your bike around town

If you are using a bicycle to come into Brecon from your accommodation there is bike parking at Theatr Brycheiniog and the car park at y Gaer.

Using your car

Please do consider sharing cars if driving to the festival in Brecon. Once you are parked up for the day all of our venues are within 10 minutes walking distance of each other. All of Brecon’s 12 carparks are listed here.

Walking around Brecon

There is a river path off the Usk Bridge on the east / town side of the river which will take you to the theatre if you are walking from the Llanfaes end of town where Christ College is situated. When you get to the end of the river path you can follow ‘the red path’ to the theatre. If you want to access the town centre from the river path you can walk up the slope to the left towards y Gaer.

We will offer free assistance to any festival attendees who would like a companion to walk them back to nearby accommodation after dark, or need help to book a taxi.