The low-key reopening will be a welcome sign for the

Visitors can gaze from Mynydd Illtud common to the central beacons

country's tourism industry which, along with the drop in travel caused by the September 11 atrocities, is expected to have lost around �280m in bookings by the end of the year.

The parks authority was not legally obliged to close the centre in the initial stages of the foot-and-mouth outbreak but did so under pressure from the farming community not to attract large numbers of visitors to the area.

It reopened the centre for four days over Easter but had to close it again due to new outbreaks of foot-and-mouth close to the town of Brecon.

The authority had planned to reopen the centre in June, and did so on 23 June, but was forced to close it again the same day when a fresh outbreak of foot-and-mouth close to Libanus village put the centre within a 3km restriction zone.

Brian Blessed promotes the Brecon Beacons

This third reopening has been welcomed by centre manager Peter Williams who said he was delighted to be able to welcome people with confidence for the first time in eight months.

He said: "We had a lot of feedback that people were keen to get back using the centre.

"I'm pleasantly surprised at how busy we have been for a Saturday in November."

He estimated that the eight-month closure had lost the centre around �170,000 in takings. The parks have an annual budget of just over �4m.

Mr Williams said the key to the centre returning to business as usual lay in how quickly it could pick up bookings from schools and colleges.

He said: "We hope those that came regularly will come back but were not sure."

Three peaks

Mynydd Illtud common adjacent to the centre, along with large areas of mountain and moorland, has been reopened.

But the three main peaks of the central beacons, Pen y Fan, Corn Du, and Cribyn, remain closed.

Last month the actor Brian Blessed visited an indoor climbing centre in the Beacons in his capacity as president of the Council for National Parks.

He said: "These are beautiful mountains, they are not frightening, and they are accessible from London.

"You can reach here so quickly from the M4," he added.