All walks › Rhondda and the Western Valleys
Rhondda and the Western ValleysThe Afan Riverside Trail
Level route along the Afan river through the forest park, past the mining museum and the old railway, without the climbing.
- Distance
- 3.1 mi / 5 km
- Time
- 1 hr 40
- Ascent
- 70 m
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Shape
- Circular
Where it is
The circle shows the general area, not the exact start. Use the directions link below to get to the car park itself. Contours and paths shown are OpenTopoMap, drawn from OpenStreetMap data.
The route
The riverside trail follows the Afan from the visitor centre in both directions. Flat and mostly surfaced.
Worth knowing
- The South Wales Miners’ Museum at the centre is small and genuinely good.
- The trail is the old railway formation, so gradients are gentle throughout.
- Shared with cyclists on parts of the route.
What you’ll see
The Afan river, regenerating woodland, and the museum and memorial at the centre.
Background
The valley was known as Little Chicago in the 1920s for its lawlessness during the coal boom, and had emptied by 1970.