Advice and Information

The going can be steep and may be wet and slippery

in places with some stiles to climb. Remember to

wear suitable clothes and good shoes/boots and take

food and drink with you and be prepared to get fit!

Always follow the Countryside Code. When you are

walking on minor roads keep to the right and make

use of verges whenever you can.

It should be easy to follow the route using the map

and instructions inside this leaflet. When walking the

route try and look out for the Walk logo that will be

situated on stiles, gates and posts along the route.

Directional way marks with arrows will assist you as

to which direction to walk in once you are on a public

right of way. We also recommend you refer to the OS

Explorer Map 166 Rhondda and Merthyr Tydfil.

For further information about this walk, to pass on

your comments and suggestions or to report any

practical problems on any of the paths please

contact the Rights of Way Section, Communities

Directorate, Morien House, Bennett Street,

Bridgend Industrial Estate, Bridgend, CF31 3SH

(Telephone 01656 642553or 01656 642593)

or by e-mail at rightsofway@bridgend.gov.uk

Public TransportFor further information on bus times and

service numbers telephone Bridgend County

Borough Council’s, Public Transport Section

on01656 642559or the Traveline

on 0871 200 22 33 www.traveline.info

Car ParkingThere is parking provision at the following:

lOn-street parking in Blaengarw

lFree Parking Provision at Parc Calon Lan

Countryside Code

RESPECT PROTECT ENJOY

lBe safe - plan ahead and follow any signs

lLeave gates and property as you find them

lProtect plants and animals, and take your litter home

lKeep dogs under close control

lConsider other people

Follow the Countryside Code wherever you go.

You will get the best out of the countryside and help

to maintain it now and for the future.

AccommodationTo make a reservation or to obtain information

on accommodation contact one of the Tourist

Information Centres. These are at McArthur Glen

Designer Outlet off Junction 36 the M4

(telephone 01656 654906) and at John Street,

Porthcawl (telephone 01656 786639).

For further general information about the

Bridgend area you can contact us via e-mail

at tourism@bridgend.gov.uk.Alternatively,

you can visit our website - which is at

www.bridgend.gov.uk

AcknowledgementsThanks to the following for helping to either

prepare the walk and text or for sponsoring the

leaflet

lKarl Luxford, Dan Fitton, Garw Valley Rangers

lValley and Vale Community Arts

Views towards Glyncorrwg

Common Buzzard

Up to 9 km (5 miles) 3 to 31/2Hours

Garw ValleyWalk 2

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Drovers Route

Once on top of the ridge bear left and connect witha well defined footpath that climbs steeply up agrassy hill making sure to keep close to the fence lineon your left.

7 Llyndwr Fawr Tumuli. In this area are a seriesof 7 tumuli or cairns which are believed to date backto the Bronze Age and would have been used for Religious, Ritual and Funerary purposes. The cairnsare placed in a rough northeast south west alignmentparallel to the main Llyndawr fawr cairn.

Keeping the fence line to your left continue ahead.Once at the sheepfold you will go through a series ofthree field gates. After you have passed through thethird gate the path becomes less obvious although

to join the Community Route in front of you and headfor the wooden bridge that you crossed at the start.You will now see Parc Calon Lan and have reachedyour starting point.

The Tumuli at Llyndwr Fawr

Views looking down the Garw

Moraine Fall

there is a slight indication on the ground. Keep walking ahead towards the pylons. Go underneaththe pylon wires and through a field gate in the fenceline ahead of you.

VIEWPOINT! Spectacular views of South Walesfrom here. On a good clear day you can see Gowerto the west and the South Wales coastline stretchingfrom Carmarthen bay to Cardiff. Sometimes it is possible to see Lundy Island which sits far out intothe Bristol Channel beyond Gower.

Continue across the open fields and head in a southwesterly direction to the bottom left corner of thefield where you will see a stile next to a field gatewhich exits onto a forestry road.

Turn left onto the forestry road and follow the roaduntil you reach a collection of junctions and a hairpinbend. Ignoring all junctions to the right and continuestraight ahead.

Continue along the forestry road for approximatelyone kilometre until you reach a decorated mine shafton your left.

8 Decorated mine shaft. A group of local children and young people spent two weeks in thesummer of 2005 making a mural at the entrance of

Decorated Mine Shaft

this old drift mine, creating stone art and a slatebench. This was a project by Valley and Vale Community Arts (supported by groundwork, Bridgend County Borough Council and ForestryCommission Wales) as part of their green arts program to promote awareness of the natural environment through community arts.

VIEWPOINT! Ridge of the other side of Garw Valley, views of Blaengarw, Pontycymmer.

Just after the mine shaft you will notice a rough trackon your right hand side down a steep slope. Take thistrack until you reach a way marking post and bridleway on the left hand side which enters theforestry. Continue along the bridleway.

VIEWPOINT! Looking down on the Garw Valley

The bridleway then begins to drop steeply towardsthe rough forestry road and on reaching the road, continue forwards and connect back onto the bridleway, looking for a waymarker on your right.Continue ahead passing a large house on your left.At the end of the bridleway turn left and continue ona rough track, passing through a field gate. Turn right

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Garw Valley Walk 2

This map is reproduced from Ordnance Survey material with

permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of the Controller of Her

Majesty’s Stationary Office© Crown copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown copyright and may lead to prosecution

or civil proceedings. (Bridgend County Borough Council Licence

Number 100023405, 2010).

Key

Main Route

Sites of Interest N

Up to 9 km (5 miles)

3 to 3 1/2 Hours

Pwll-y-Garn Forest

1

2

3

45

6

7

8

This leaflet describes a circular walk starting and ending at Parc Calon Lan, Blaengarw. The walk leadsyou to the upper regions of the Valley, along the olddrovers route leading to Bwlchgarw, up to the highest point on the western side of the valley andthen on through the forestry. The whole route is approximately 9kms long taking about 3 hours tocomplete, allow a bit more time if you wish to restand take in the wonderful views on offer. The routeuses a combination of public footpaths, bridleways,the community route and maintainable highway.

For convenience the directions below are writtenwith Parc Calon Lan as the starting point. You could,however, equally start from any point along theroute, and if travelling in the opposite direction, simply reverse all directions.

The Garw Valley is a former coal-mining communitynestled in between the hillsides of the Ogmore &Llynfi Valleys. The valley comprises the highland areaof Bridgend County Borough and stretches approximately 6 miles north to south rising steeplyuntil it reaches Carn & Werfa mountains which dominate the northern region of the valley, historically referred to as the Rhyl valley but nowmore commonly known as Garw Fechan.

1 Parc Calon Lan. The park was developed in2008 with financial assistance from the Garw ValleyRegeneration Fund and opened that year by Huw Edwards of the BBC.The name Calon Lan is takenfrom the famous welsh hymn of the same name thatwas written in Blaengarw in 1890 by Daniel James.The park now benefits from a ranger service, basedat the Visitors Centre at Parc Calon Lan

Leave Parc Calon Lan and head towards the woodenbridge at the top end of the lake.

2 The Dipper. Looking down the river from thebridge you may see the distinctive Dipper (Cincluscinclus) which is a specialist bird of fast flowing riversand streams. Look for them on the rocks and alongthe banks, as they have a distinct white throat andbreast and dark body. They bob up and down, hencethe name Dipper, and have the ability to wade, swimand dive in running water feeding on aquatic invertebrates and small fish. They are present all yearround and a few pairs breed along the Afon Garw.

Cross the bridge and turn right onto the communityroute. Continue along this tarmac path alongside theriver until it reaches the road. Continue ahead ontoPwllcarn Terrace heading uphill towards the Garwforestry gate. Go through the forestry gate and turnleft onto a well defined track in between the trees.Continue on this path up a slight incline until youreach the rough forestry road. Turn left at this pointand continue on the forestry road for 50 metres looking for a Bridleway way marker on your right. Atthe marker turn right onto the bridleway which isfairly steep at the beginning.

Continue along the well defined Bridleway until youmeet a way marker post with a footpath sign on it.Turn right at this marker and follow the well definedpermissive footpath in between the forestry plantation, passing through a dry stone wall, until thepath once again meets up with a rough forestry road.

On reaching the forestry road turn left and head upa slight inline towards the bend in the road and lookfor the way marking post on the right with a bridleway sign on it. Take the Bridle path and continue in between the trees for 200m. You are nowon the old drover’s route.

3 Drovers route. Sections of this bridleway werepart of what was known as The Drover’s Route. Approximately 4000 years old, dating back to theBronze Age, the Drover’s were people who wouldescort their livestock on foot from one place to another, such as a market or between summer andwinter pasture.

Eventually you will meet a stile and small cattle gridon the edge of the forestry plantation. Continue forward towards the open plateau ahead.

4 Graveyard Canyon Drovers Rest. Thisplateau area is where the drovers used to restovernight before making their way into the surrounding Valleys. Locally known as GraveyardCanyon due to the tumulus in the area.

5 Moraine Fall. As you leave the forestry andhead towards Graveyard Canyon, look over the leftat the Cliff on the western side of cwm you will noticea Moraine which is geographical feature of the area.

A Moriane is a glacially formed accumulation of glacial debris (soil and rock) which occurs inglaciated regions from a past ice age. The debris has

fallen off the valley walls as a result of a processknown as frost wedging.

From the plateau head towards the top of the ridgeusing the well worn path ahead, this in places is verysteep.

VIEWPOINT! Excellent views of Cwmgarw andviews of the garw valley

6 Cwm Garw. Another geological feature of theGarw Valley is the distinct three conjoined cirque glacier. The head of the cwm is shaped in the form ofthree bowl-shaped depressions which were carvedout by a valley glacier through a process of ice thawing and re-freezing.

Dipper

Cwm Garw Cirque Glacier

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