Fan y Big the edge of its precipitous western face. The view of this face from Cribyn is regarded as very striking. Fan y Bîg has since lost its mountain status. The peak is prominent on the north facing escarpment of the central part of the Brecon Beacons and several footpaths cross the summit. All the surrounding land is open access and so walkers can go where they wish. In poor weather however, the paths are the safest route for access. The peak is often crossed by hikers aiming for Cribyn, Pen y Fan and Corn Du, and also forms part of the
Pen y Fan held the ashes or other remnants of a dead person or persons since multiple burials together are common in the British Bronze Age. It also held grave goods left with the human remains, such as flint tools, cinerary urns, or flower tributes. The similar round barrow on Fan Foel was excavated in 2002-4 and revealed such items in the central cist, the flowers being those of meadowsweet. The name "Pen y Fan" consists of the Welsh words "pen" ('top, head, peak, summit', etc.), "y" ('the') and "fan", a mutated form of "ban" ('summit, crest, peak, beacon, hill, mountain', etc.). The