South Wales

[eileithyia]

Any advice on sustrans type routes, old railway routes... fairly flattish / old railways for someone recuperating from a break, in the South Wales area..... around the Tredegar area (I know of the one that passes the town) but any others, will have transport so can travel further afield.

[Vorpal]

There are several routes that go south-ish through the valleys in that area. They are all on the Sustrans map, sequentially numbered 465 to 469. They vary in quality from mediocre shared side path to decent surface & entirely motor traffic free. I'm afraid that I don't remember which is what, but if no one else comes along with better information, you can probably figure out which ones you want to try using a combination of Sustrans' NCN map, and Google Earth.

[eileithyia]

There are several routes that go south-ish through the valleys in that area. They are all on the Sustrans map, sequentially numbered 465 to 469. They vary in quality from mediocre shared side path to decent surface & entirely motor traffic free. I'm afraid that I don't remember which is what, but if no one else comes along with better information, you can probably figure out which ones you want to try using a combination of Sustrans' NCN map, and Google Earth.

Thanks Vorpal

[TrevA]

There are one or two old railway lines that go up the old mining valleys. These aren’t flat but only gently sloping.

[richardfm]

The Sirhowy Valley Country Park has cycle route along a former railway track.
https://greenspacescaerphilly.co.uk/sir ... untry-park
You can join it at Crosskeys

[Richard Fairhurst]

The Heads of the Valleys route (NCN 46) is very much worth doing, and just a short way from Tredegar:

https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2021 ... on-beacons
https://cycle.travel/route/heads_of_the_valleys

(I wouldn't count the Neath Canal section as recuperation though - bit too rough for that!)

[jimlews]

Tredegar is at the head (North) of "The Valleys" which run due South to the Severn Estuary.

It is an old coal mining area and as such well blessed with railway tracks with many now converted to cycle ways.
The surface of these is pretty good tarmac. The one that runs South from Tredegar into the Sirhowey Valley is not entirely joined up and ends at Pochin then starts again at Holybush and runs for a further five or six miles.
To the West, there is a reasonably quiet road that leads to Merthyr, still a fairly unprepossessing town. It parallels the heads of the valleys road, the A465 so that takes most of the traffic But North of Merthyr are the Pontsticyll Reservoirs and a nice narrow gauge railway that runs along the Eastern shores to the foot of the Brecon Beacons.
Further afield, there are also a number of canals. eg that from Newport to Brecon is a great ride through quite beautiful scenery; especially North of Cwmbran.
The section from Abergavenny to Brecon is particularly lovely and has some nice (if a bit posh) pubs along side.

[AndyK]

Tredegar is at the head (North) of "The Valleys" which run due South to the Severn Estuary.

It is an old coal mining area and as such well blessed with railway tracks with many now converted to cycle ways.
The surface of these is pretty good tarmac. The one that runs South from Tredegar into the Sirhowey Valley is not entirely joined up and ends at Pochin then starts again at Holybush and runs for a further five or six miles.
To the West, there is a reasonably quiet road that leads to Merthyr, still a fairly unprepossessing town. It parallels the heads of the valleys road, the A465 so that takes most of the traffic But North of Merthyr are the Pontsticyll Reservoirs and a nice narrow gauge railway that runs along the Eastern shores to the foot of the Brecon Beacons.
Further afield, there are also a number of canals. eg that from Newport to Brecon is a great ride through quite beautiful scenery; especially North of Cwmbran.
The section from Abergavenny to Brecon is particularly lovely and has some nice (if a bit posh) pubs along side.

I second the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal endorsement - very pretty - though it can get a little bumpy and mucky in parts towards the Brecon end. Not bad, but more like a muddy towpath than a gravel cycle path. But the B4558 runs parallel to it and is fairly quiet so that's a good standby option in wet weather. And of course you get to visit the wonderful Talybont-on-Usk with its pubs, accommodation, shop/cafe, bike shop and bike hub (a facility by the village hall with coin-operated showers, bike-washing facilities and basic tools). Everything you need, packed into one village.

From Talybont you can also pick up the Taff Trail south over the hills towards Merthyr to take in the reservoirs that jimlews mentions. There's the makings of a circular route in there somewhere.

"Merthyr, still a fairly unprepossessing town" - isn't that the Visit Merthyr tourist office slogan?

[eileithyia]

Thanks all for suggestions, plenty to go at.

[jimlews]

Under the heading of further afield...
I've just remembered, there is a nice circular route around Llangorse Lake. This is a natural lake, not a reservoir and the remains of an artificial island village or crannog have been found therein.

https://archaeology.co.uk/articles/revi ... einiog.htm

The route is mostly set back a couple of fields from the lake shore, but when the hedgerows part, the views over the lake are quite evocative.

[eileithyia]

Thanks for that.

[AndyK]

Just to be clear, the circuit round Llangorse Lake is entirely on public roads - it's not a Sustrans-type traffic-free route. They're very quiet roads, though there will be a little bit of traffic on the 'B' road between Llangorse and Cathedine. It's worth taking two detours down to the lakeside: one just west of Llangorse village, past the campsite and common to the jetties, where you get a good view of the crannog; and one on the south side down to Llangasty-Talyllyn where there's a pretty church and a good view of the wildfowl reserve.

[eileithyia]

Just to be clear, the circuit round Llangorse Lake is entirely on public roads - it's not a Sustrans-type traffic-free route. They're very quiet roads, though there will be a little bit of traffic on the 'B' road between Llangorse and Cathedine. It's worth taking two detours down to the lakeside: one just west of Llangorse village, past the campsite and common to the jetties, where you get a good view of the crannog; and one on the south side down to Llangasty-Talyllyn where there's a pretty church and a good view of the wildfowl reserve.

Thanks again, not looking for specifically for off road routes but not too hilly while recuperating, while hoping I will have regained some leg strength and fitness when we are travelling to Wales.