AFAN ARGOED Forest - South Wales |
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| HOT NEWS Whites level/Skyline ride, are now served by a brand new visitor centre - check out The Drop Off CafeTo get there drive past Afan Argoed forrest park to Cymmer, and follow signs to Glyncorrwg. Looks like a superb place to base your days riding. |
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Afan has developed into the place to go in South Wales, it now has 4 seperate waymarked trails that make for a great wekends riding. 1. The original testing 20km loop of the Penhydd trail (was the original 9 feet.com trail) 2. The Rocky Mountain sponsored Wall trail is a swooping 24km mainly singletrack loop 3. Latest offering for 2004 is the The Skyline trail this comprises the previous White’s Level Trail with brand new sections. It's the most challenging of them all, at 46 Km its a beauty. A short cut know locally as the July trail is also available. The extensive trail network in the forest also includes the 24-mile Celtic High Level scenic trail. Maps of all 3 trails can be printed from MTB Wales but the waymarking is all you really need on the day. There's a Cafe on site, although its used by all the non-biking tourists too, they still welcome muddy bikers openly. A new centre is currently being built nearer to the Skyline start point at Glyncorrwg. Be very carefull of bike and car security here, don't leave your bikes outside the cafe either. |
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| All The original hard work
was done by a group of volunteers from this group, who are still very active in
trail maintenance even if their site seems stagnant. Check out
singletrack-mind They do
provide some mapping of the area
Try
here. Location The main car park entrance is 8 miles north of Port Talbot on the A4107. The easiest way to get to Afan Argoed is from the M4 which crosses South Wales. Tip-- don't cross the Severn bridge from the UK direction it will cost you, use the M50 from the M5, but is free on the return leg. Leave the M4 at junction 40 and turn north (away from the sea) Doh! onto the A4107. At the first mini-roundabout turn left and follow the road ignoring all side-turnings. Eventually you will see conifer trees lining the right hand side of the road. Pass a turning to Pontrhydyfen and continue up the valley. Ignore the FIRST Forestry Commission car park and turn right into the Afan Argoed Visitor Centre about 3/4 mile beyond further up the valley. More Info can be got from the MTB Wales site too. If you want to go straight to the Whites level/Skyline ride, drive past Afan Argoed to Cymmer, and follow signs to Glyncorrwg. Just before Glyncorrwg there's a sign for Glyncorrwg Ponds caravan park, take this left turn and park in the car park. This only cuts out the 5 mile ride along canal towpath to Whites from the Afan car park , but this is a nice warm up and as its all signposted, and virtually flat, it's only worth missing if you are in a hurry. Don't forget you pass the old railway station pub on this section, a nice spot for a drink outside, again don't even think of leaving your bike un-attended here. |
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| Acommodation for Groups They can get 8 in at £19 a night each for B&B at Bryn Teg House which is right in the middle of it all. Bike friendly too. For a bit of luxury Try this LA Holiday & Riding Centre. Log cabins, pool etc - Not as cheap as it use to be though. £220 for 10 berths for a weekend is still not bad. Its Only a short ride to the trail, and a walk from the pub - Fantastic. Or try Hobo Backpackers. Located in south Wales on the Edge of the Brecon Beacons. Hobo offers comfortable shared, self catering accommodation. Beds are made for your first night with sheets and duvet. There's secure storage and work space for MTB's. Locally within the town of Tredegar there are a choice of take-a-ways and Cafe's. There are also some very good pubs close by. While your there the riding terrain around Tredegar is great there are trails that start from the door, or a within a short drive there two forest centres to ride, Afon Argoed and Cwm Carn. Hobo sleeps upto 30 in 5 family sized rooms. There is a well equipped kitchen and dinning/party room. Check the site at HOBO-BACKPACKERS.CO.UK |
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Nightlife Hmm, there's not much in Goytre. There's a few pubs south in Port Talbot. The Twelve Nights is on the main drag and there a cinema not too far away. If you just want beer you could try the Colliers in Pontrhydyfen or the Rolling Mill in Cwmavon. . To be honest you're best bet might be to head to Swansea - it's only about 25 minutes drive and there's loads of pubs/clubs/dives etc to keep you enterntained. |
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| Afan can also hire bikes if required. About £45 a day makes it a touch steep though. | |
| This help page contains
stuff we've found out on our visits, or from other sites web pages. This information and the links will probably become outdated, time moves on. We haven't got the spare time to keep up. - Numplumz.com |