Talgarth Campus
The Brecon Beacons National Park is our campus. We are also in the process of renovating and converting an upland hill farm, Troed-yr-Harn. Learning at BMC you will be part of building facilities for future generations.
Further Education
Our NVQ courses are taught in community settings as well as on-site at our Farm campus. The Regenerative Horticulture NVQ is also taught partly at Ty Mawr Farm, and Coppicing takes place within local woodlands as well as our own.
Higher Education
Our Degree is also taught across the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park, however most seminars and indoor sessions will take place at Hay Castle, in the famous book town of Hay-on-Wye, approximately 15-minutes from Talgarth. Hay Castle has just been renovated with a major heritage lottery grant and BMC is proud to be partnering with them and their state-of-the-art Clore Learning Space that looks onto the Black Mountains.
Outdoor lessons will take place at our 120-acre farm, Troed yr Harn.
Troed-yr-Harn Farm
In 2023 Troed yr Harn produced 80 bales of hay which is feeding local livestock this winter and enough vegetables during the summer months to feed residents and catering for graduation and residential courses. We undertook major infrastructure works on the yards and buildings to create a campus, installed a propagation tunnel, planted approx. 2500 trees with community volunteers.
A grant funded orchard will be planted by paid ex-students who are now working in the industry in the local area. We have weekly volunteering opportunities from a diverse mix of students providing further learning of practical skills and the sense of community is growing.
Troed yr Harn now has established working relationships with local businesses, organizations, charities, contractors, and farmers. We aim to continue to build resilience into the farm system and demonstrate what can be achieved when farms work together with nature, not against it.
Facilities
Located in the beautiful landscape of Wales, our farm campus is also a nature recovery project, transforming former upland grazing into regenerated woodland, organic orchards, horticulture, and agro-ecological nature-friendly farming.
We have two classrooms or meeting rooms which fit up to 20 people in each building. Our sheep barn is setup as a workshop for indoor activities including woodworking.
For horticultural activities, we have two horticulture plots across our fields as well as a polytunnel.
We have a small amount of student accommodation in the farmhouse on site.
We also have toilets and showers, a large stretch tent in summer, and a camping field. There is a fire pit and plans for an outdoor kitchen. In 2023, our Coppicing NVQ students help to build a roundhouse for gathering.
Troed-yr-Harn is a car free campus (except if you have accessibility requirements) and we do expect most visitors to walk from Talgarth; a 1.2 mile uphill walk through beautiful ancient woodland. We operate a minibus for students during term times.
Helping nature recover
We are implementing a plan to increase biodiversity and experiment with regenerative practices on the 120 acres of the land. Our volunteers, short course participants and FE students all help with ecological monitoring, nature restoration and management of the land. Join us to explore, preserve, conserve and learn.
Book our campus
We welcome all visitors from any organisation. If you are seeking a place to bring a group from your community or company, a place to re-connect with nature and pursue outdoor activities on the land then please get in touch. We are committed to making Troed-yr-Harn available for free to less advantaged groups that would benefit from access to nature.
How to reach us
We are located near Talgarth, in between Brecon and Hay-on-Wye.
The Troed yr Harn campus is a walk of 1 mile uphill through the Pwll y Wrach nature reserve. There are daily buses along the foothills of the black mountains between Hereford, Hay, Talgarth and Brecon, with good connections to Abergavenny and Hereford train stations if you are visiting from further afield!
Our countryside location can make it difficult for those who do not drive to reach us, so we have included public transport information to help.
From Abergavenny:
If you arrive via train in Abergavenny, you will need to take a short walk to the bus station and jump on the 43 or X43 bus to Brecon. Next, you will need to change at Brecon Bus Station to the T14 bus which then runs directly to Talgarth and to Hay on Wye. Alternatively, if you are travelling to us on a Tuesday or Thursday only you can use the X12 bus to Builth Wells which stops in Talgarth (but NOT Hay-on-Wye).
From Hereford:
If you arrive via train in Hereford, you can jump on a bus from Hereford Train Station and reach Hay-on-Wye and Talgarth through a more direct route without having to change busses. You also use the T14 bus from Hereford – Brecon.
From Builth Wells:
You can use the X12 Bus Builth Wells – Abergavenny to reach us directly, but please note this service only runs on a Tuesday and Thursday.
From Cardiff:
If you’re visiting from Cardiff, you can get the T4 bus directly to Brecon, and then swap to the T14 at Brecon Bus Station towards Hereford which travels through both Talgarth and Hay-on-Wye.
Please contact us at info@blackmountainscollege.uk if you are struggling to find us!
