Meet the man who climbs the same mountain three times a day

Climbing south Wales' highest peak is an achievement many might only manage once or twice.

But for 62-year-old Chris Daniel, hiking 886m (2,906 ft) up to the peak of Pen y Fan and back down again is something he does three times a day, five days a week.

Now known to his social media followers as Pen y Fan Dan, Chris took on the challenge in April in memory of his wife Rita, who died from bowel cancer in 2016.

"I set off at 15 climbs a week, I didn't think I'd be able to keep that going, but obviously we had a pretty good summer and my body's held up a lot better than I thought it would," he said.

Chris has hiked up to the peak of Pen y Fan and back down again 366 times in just five-and-a-half months

When he set off for his first climb on 5 April, Chris, from Merthyr Tydfil, was aiming to beat the previous record of 365 climbs in one calendar year, set by Des Lally in 2019.

But he has already smashed that, with 366 climbs in just 171 days.

"Weather-wise through the summer it's been very warm," he added.

"When it's 30C it's challenging shall we say - and for the last two or three weeks its been very, very wet. So yeah, it's been interesting, I suppose is the word, but enjoyable.

"Usually I'm on my own, [but] I've had some amazing people who've come along and walked with me.

"You're never alone on this mountain, people stop and they chat to me all the time, they follow me on Instagram. They help me raise bowel cancer awareness and that just makes my day."

Chris' wife, Rita, was diagnosed with a rare form of bowel cancer in 2012 when she was 48. She died in 2016.

Chris said his wife Rita was the wings beneath his feet

"Rita's diagnosis was a shock for us all. She had a very rare form of cancer. It had spread to her liver, her lungs and her lymph nodes, and she was told it was treatable not curable," said Chris.

"She spent so much of the last few years of her life campaigning to stop other people going through this terrible disease. I'm just trying to keep her, and so many other people I've met who are doing similar, their amazing legacy alive."

So, in Rita's memory, he walks the same route from the Pont Ar Daf car park to the peak at 886m, 15 times a week.

He also keeps his thousands of followers updated on social media.

Chris plans to continue until next April, and has set himself a new target of getting to 730 climbs

Each climb takes Chris about an hour and 45 minutes. So what keeps him motivated?

"Any pain or discomfort I'm going through is absolutely nothing to what Rita, and so many other people I've known who've had this disease, have had to face and I just think of that and I just keep on climbing... she is without a shadow of a doubt, the wings beneath my feet," he said.

"I hope she'd be proud of me."

Chris has already broken a record and smashed his fundraising target, but he's not done yet.

He plans to continue until next April, and has set himself a new target.

Chris added: "If it was a decent winter, and the legs held out, wouldn't it be lovely to get 730 [walks in a year]?

"That would be fantastic! And after that, have a really good rest."