WALK 4: PONTRYHYDYFEN - CYMMER IN AFAN FOREST PARK
 | Walking in Afan Forest Park is a delight with easy, well marked trails and stunning forest and river views. Look out for the famous Kanji Wood en route and try and work out where all the railways went from Cymmer. Photo: J. Davies |
Map: OS Explorer 165 & 166, or Landranger 170
Distance: Approximately 4½ miles; 7.5 kilometres
Terrain: Easy – to moderate, mainly level walking; allow 3 hours.
Start: Oakwood Bus Interchange, Pontrhydyfen; Grid Reference SS796940
Bus there: Mondays to Saturdays: First Cymru Service 23 (X3 connection from Swansea) and Cwmafan; frequency, every hour daytime. Service 159 from Neath; frequency, every hour daytime
Sundays: First Cymru Service 159 from Neath (158 connection from Swansea); frequency, every hour daytime
Walk: From the bus interchange, walk back down the hill towards Pontrhydyfen, cross the River and turn immediately right following a track until you get to the Rhyslyn Picnic Site. From here you take the left hand route which starts as a footpath but later links up to the track bed of the former South Wales Mineral Railway which you follow through to the north side of the river at Abercregan, crossing a bridge to Cymmer. The right hand route is currently closed beyond Kanji Wood due to a landslip.
Finish: Cymmer Leisure Centre; Grid Reference SS861961
Facilities: Cymmer Refreshment Rooms; a pub with bar meals available (except Tuesdays) and is the original building on Cymmer’s former train station. The bus stop is a short walk (2 minutes) from here.
Bus back: Mondays to Saturdays: First Cymru Service 23 to Oakwood, Cwmafan and Port Talbot (X1 connection to Swansea); at Oakwood, change to Service 159 for Neath (connection to Pontardawe) and Swansea; frequency: every hour daytime.
Sundays: First Cymru Service 159 to Neath; change to Service 158 for Swansea; frequency: every hour daytime.
Tickets: First Day Swansea Bay tickets are valid from Swansea, Neath and Port Talbot, from Cwmafan normal day return tickets are cheaper; holders of Welsh concessionary bus passes can travel free!