Llangattock is a village in the Brecon Beacons National Park in the south of Powys

Powys

Powys is a local-government county and preserved county in Wales.-Geography:Powys covers the historic counties of Montgomeryshire and Radnorshire, most of Brecknockshire , and a small part of Denbighshire — an area of 5,179 km², making it the largest county in Wales by land area.It is...

 in south Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

. It lies in the Usk

Usk

Usk is a small town in Monmouthshire, Wales, situated 10 miles northeast of Newport.The River Usk flows through the town and is spanned by an ancient, arched stone bridge at the western entrance to the town. A castle above the town overlooks the ancient Anglo-Welsh border crossing - the river can...

 Valley just across the river from the town of Crickhowell

Crickhowell

Crickhowell is a small town in Powys, Mid Wales.-Location:The name Crickhowell is taken from that of the nearby Iron Age hill fort of Crug Hywel above the town, the Welsh language name being anglicised by map-makers and local English-speaking people...

. The Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal passes through the village en route between Brecon

Brecon

Brecon is a long-established market town and community in southern Powys, Mid Wales, with a population of 7,901. It was the county town of the historic county of Brecknockshire; although its role as such was eclipsed with the formation of Powys, it remains an important local centre...

 and Pontypool

Pontypool

Pontypool is a town of approximately 36,000 people in the county borough of Torfaen, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire in South Wales....

.

To the south of the village is the imposing Llangattock Escarpment whose great limestone cliffs were scarred by extensive quarrying in the nineteenth century. Above these is the great gritstone plateau of Mynydd Llangatwg

Mynydd Llangatwg

Mynydd Llangatwg or Llangattock Mountain is a hill in the Brecon Beacons National Park in the county of Powys, south Wales. It is named from the village of Llangatwg which sits in the valley of the River Usk to the north of it...

 or Llangattock Mountain. Some of Britain's longest cave systems lie concealed beneath this hill, including Ogof y Daren Cilau

Ogof y Daren Cilau

Ogof y Daren Cilau is one of several cave systems in the Llangattock escarpment near Crickhowell in south Powys, Wales.Its awkward 517m entrance crawl is a natural barrier to any casual visitor and precludes the need for a locked gate to protect it from vandals.Highlights of Daren Cilau include the...

 and Ogof Agen Allwedd

Ogof Agen Allwedd

Ogof Agen Allwedd or Agen Allwed, also known as Aggy, is, at 32½ km long, one of the longest cave systems in Wales, and the longest cave system on the Llangattock escarpment, where Ogof y Daren Cilau is also found....

 together with the shorter though more accessible cave of Eglwys Faen (or 'stone church').

The great natural amphitheatre formed by the cliffs of Craig y Cilau

Craig y Cilau

Craig y Cilau is a limestone escarpment in the Brecon Beacons National Park in Powys, Wales.It was declared a National Nature Reserve in 1959 because of its importance for wildlife, particularly plants...

 and the quarried Daren Cilau was designated a national nature reserve

National Nature Reserve

For details of National nature reserves in the United Kingdom see:*National Nature Reserves in England*National Nature Reserves in Northern Ireland*National Nature Reserves in Scotland*National Nature Reserves in Wales...

 on account of a variety of rare plants, notably species of whitebeam

Whitebeam

The whitebeams are members of the Rosaceae family, comprising subgenus Aria of genus Sorbus, and hybrids involving species of this subgenus and members of subgenera Sorbus, Torminaria and Chamaemespilus. They are deciduous trees with simple or lobed leaves, arranged alternately...

 endemic to the area. The hollow itself is thought to be a product of both glacial action and a massive rotational landslip during the ice ages.

Residents

• Admiral John Gell
  John Gell (Royal Navy officer)
  Admiral John Gell was from the Gell and Eyre families of Hopton Hall in Derbyshire. He served with the Royal Navy, fighting in India and taking part in the occupation of Toulon.Gell was a commander in the Royal Navy for over...
  
   retired here at Glanusk House
• 17th-century metaphysical poet Henry Vaughan
  Henry Vaughan
  Henry Vaughan was a Welsh physician and metaphysical poet.Vaughan and his twin brother the hermetic philosopher and alchemist Thomas Vaughan, were the sons of Thomas Vaughan and his wife Denise of 'Trenewydd', Newton, in Brecknockshire, Wales...
  
   and his brother Thomas Vaughan
  Thomas Vaughan
  Thomas Vaughan may refer to:*Thomas Vaughan , Welsh soldier, diplomat, and chamberlain to the eldest son of King Edward IV*Thomas Vaughan , Welsh-See also:*Tom Vaughan...
  
  were schooled here as boys by the local rector.