ONE OF THE BEST WALKS IN SWANSEA VALLEY
GOING FOR A STROLL: JANUARY
January’s walk saw us starting off from Craig yr nos Country Park. We are so fortunate to have this gem on our doorsteps. We started by circumnavigating the park.
I never tire of gazing at the impressive range of mature trees that adorn the park. With the Tawe weaving its way through it really does make for a majestic setting and it’s easy to see why Adelina was happy to make it her home. After leaving the park we followed a bridle path. Although we were blessed with the weather the previous week’s rain meant that the path was fairly muddy in places.
The downside of walking on bridle paths is that horses tend to cut up the surface leaving a water logged, muddy mire. The path is bordered by large pasture fields on one side and the trees of the park on the other. After a while it leads to a tranquil quiet lane. To the right lush fields run down to the banks of the Tawe, it really is an idyllic setting and I’ve been envious in the past of people camping there.
The lane bends and twists and gently climbs until it meets the Penwylt road. We took the road up towards the quarries. The views of the valley are incredibly impressive and are more than worthy of a landscape painting or two. I’m always taken with the colours on show, they change dramatically with the seasons and the weather, but they are always remarkably vivid.
At the crown of the hill we took a footpath on the right which took us through a few fields before joining a track. This continued, parallel to the old railway line back down to the road and the car park by the quarry.
We then retraced our steps down the road until we picked up a bridle path on the right. This path is a fairly steep, rocky route and we needed to watch our footing as it would be easy to either slip or turn an ankle. Although close to the road it still proves to be a quiet setting and we were rewarded with a red kite hovering close to our heads. After a while the track leads us back to the quiet lane and the bridle path back to the park.
We stopped at the river to encourage the dogs to have a little swim to remove some of the mud that they had accumulated before their rides back in the cars. The walk had taken, more or less, two hours and we had been blessed with good weather throughout.
JOIN US FOR OUR NEXT WALK.
Next months walk will be on Sunday February 2nd and we will be starting at the car park at Penwylt at 10 am. Again the walk will be around two hours in length. It’s a nice route that takes high into the Brecons with stunning views, will we find snow?
Although we’ll be high up most of the climbing will have been done by your car! You can meet us at Penwylt or at the lower car park in Herbert Street, Pontardawe at 9.20. Everyone’s welcome to come but you must be responsible for yourselves. For further details ring Vince 07970968120 or email [email protected]
