Garw Valley Walk 2 - Garw Valley Community Council

Up to 9 km (5 miles) 3 to 3 1/2 Hours
Free Parking Provision at Parc Calon Lan
There is parking provision at the following:
On-street parking in Blaengarw
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Car Parking
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For further information on bus times and
service numbers telephone Bridgend County
Borough Council’s, Public Transport Section
on 01656 642559 or the Traveline
on 0871 200 22 33 www.traveline.info
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Views towards Glyncorrwg
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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 642553 or 01656 642593)
or by e-mail at [email protected]
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Public Transport
Common Buzzard
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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.
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Be safe - plan ahead and follow any signs
Leave gates and property as you find them
Protect plants and animals, and take your litter home
Keep dogs under close control
Consider other people
RESPECT PROTECT ENJOY
Countryside Code
For further general information about the
Bridgend area you can contact us via e-mail
at [email protected]. Alternatively,
you can visit our website - which is at
www.bridgend.gov.uk
To 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).
Accommodation
Walk 2
Garw Valley
VIEWPOINT! Spectacular views of South Wales
from here. On a good clear day you can see Gower
to the west and the South Wales coastline stretching
from Carmarthen bay to Cardiff. Sometimes it is
possible to see Lundy Island which sits far out into
the Bristol Channel beyond Gower.
Advice and Information
Acknowledgements
7 Llyndwr Fawr Tumuli. In this area are a series
of 7 tumuli or cairns which are believed to date back
to the Bronze Age and would have been used for
Religious, Ritual and Funerary purposes. The cairns
are placed in a rough northeast south west alignment
parallel to the main Llyndawr fawr cairn.
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.
Thanks to the following for helping to either
prepare the walk and text or for sponsoring the
leaflet
there is a slight indication on the ground. Keep
walking ahead towards the pylons. Go underneath
the pylon wires and through a field gate in the fence
line ahead of you.
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.
Karl Luxford, Dan Fitton, Garw Valley Rangers
Valley and Vale Community Arts
Once on top of the ridge bear left and connect with
a well defined footpath that climbs steeply up a
grassy hill making sure to keep close to the fence line
on your left.
to join the Community Route in front of you and head
for the wooden bridge that you crossed at the start.
You will now see Parc Calon Lan and have reached
your starting point.
Keeping the fence line to your left continue ahead.
Once at the sheepfold you will go through a series of
three field gates. After you have passed through the
third gate the path becomes less obvious although
Decorated Mine Shaft
this old drift mine, creating stone art and a slate
bench. This was a project by Valley and Vale
Community Arts (supported by groundwork,
Bridgend County Borough Council and Forestry
Commission Wales) as part of their green arts
program to promote awareness of the natural
environment through community arts.
Drovers Route
8 Decorated mine shaft. A group of local
children and young people spent two weeks in the
summer of 2005 making a mural at the entrance of
VIEWPOINT! Looking down on the Garw Valley
The bridleway then begins to drop steeply towards
the 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 on
a rough track, passing through a field gate. Turn right
Moraine Fall
Page 1
Continue along the forestry road for approximately
one kilometre until you reach a decorated mine shaft
on your left.
Just after the mine shaft you will notice a rough track
on your right hand side down a steep slope. Take this
track until you reach a way marking post and
bridleway on the left hand side which enters the
forestry. Continue along the bridleway.
15:45
Turn left onto the forestry road and follow the road
until you reach a collection of junctions and a hairpin
bend. Ignoring all junctions to the right and continue
straight ahead.
VIEWPOINT! Ridge of the other side of Garw
Valley, views of Blaengarw, Pontycymmer.
27/9/10
Continue across the open fields and head in a south
westerly direction to the bottom left corner of the
field where you will see a stile next to a field gate
which exits onto a forestry road.
Garw Valley Walk 2:Layout 1
The Tumuli at Llyndwr Fawr
Views looking down the Garw
Garw Valley Walk 2:Layout 1
27/9/10
15:48
Page 2
Garw Valley Walk 2
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Up to 9 km (5 miles)
3 to 3 1/2 Hours
This leaflet describes a circular walk starting and
ending at Parc Calon Lan, Blaengarw. The walk leads
you to the upper regions of the Valley, along the old
drovers route leading to Bwlchgarw, up to the
highest point on the western side of the valley and
then on through the forestry. The whole route is
approximately 9kms long taking about 3 hours to
complete, allow a bit more time if you wish to rest
and take in the wonderful views on offer. The route
uses a combination of public footpaths, bridleways,
the community route and maintainable highway.
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Key
Main Route
Sites of Interest
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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).
Cwm Garw Cirque Glacier
For convenience the directions below are written
with Parc Calon Lan as the starting point. You could,
however, equally start from any point along the
route, and if travelling in the opposite direction,
simply reverse all directions.
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The Garw Valley is a former coal-mining community
nestled in between the hillsides of the Ogmore &
Llynfi Valleys. The valley comprises the highland area
of Bridgend County Borough and stretches
approximately 6 miles north to south rising steeply
until it reaches Carn & Werfa mountains which
dominate the northern region of the valley,
historically referred to as the Rhyl valley but now
more commonly known as Garw Fechan.
1 Parc Calon Lan. The park was developed in
2008 with financial assistance from the Garw Valley
Regeneration Fund and opened that year by Huw
Edwards of the BBC.The name Calon Lan is taken
from the famous welsh hymn of the same name that
was written in Blaengarw in 1890 by Daniel James.
The park now benefits from a ranger service, based
at the Visitors Centre at Parc Calon Lan
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Leave Parc Calon Lan and head towards the wooden
bridge at the top end of the lake.
2 The Dipper. Looking down the river from the
bridge you may see the distinctive Dipper (Cinclus
cinclus) which is a specialist bird of fast flowing rivers
and streams. Look for them on the rocks and along
the banks, as they have a distinct white throat and
breast and dark body. They bob up and down, hence
the name Dipper, and have the ability to wade, swim
and dive in running water feeding on aquatic
invertebrates and small fish. They are present all year
round and a few pairs breed along the Afon Garw.
Cross the bridge and turn right onto the community
route. Continue along this tarmac path alongside the
river until it reaches the road. Continue ahead onto
Pwllcarn Terrace heading uphill towards the Garw
forestry gate. Go through the forestry gate and turn
left onto a well defined track in between the trees.
Continue on this path up a slight incline until you
reach the rough forestry road. Turn left at this point
and continue on the forestry road for 50 metres
looking for a Bridleway way marker on your right. At
the marker turn right onto the bridleway which is
fairly steep at the beginning.
Continue along the well defined Bridleway until you
meet a way marker post with a footpath sign on it.
Turn right at this marker and follow the well defined
permissive footpath in between the forestry
plantation, passing through a dry stone wall, until the
path once again meets up with a rough forestry road.
Pwll-y-Garn Forest
On reaching the forestry road turn left and head up
a slight inline towards the bend in the road and look
for 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 now
on the old drover’s route.
3 Drovers route. Sections of this bridleway were
part of what was known as The Drover’s Route.
Approximately 4000 years old, dating back to the
Bronze Age, the Drover’s were people who would
escort their livestock on foot from one place to
another, such as a market or between summer and
winter pasture.
fallen off the valley walls as a result of a process
known as frost wedging.
From the plateau head towards the top of the ridge
using the well worn path ahead, this in places is very
steep.
VIEWPOINT! Excellent views of Cwmgarw and
views of the garw valley
Eventually you will meet a stile and small cattle grid
on the edge of the forestry plantation. Continue
forward towards the open plateau ahead.
4 Graveyard Canyon Drovers Rest. This
plateau area is where the drovers used to rest
overnight before making their way into the
surrounding Valleys. Locally known as Graveyard
Canyon due to the tumulus in the area.
5 Moraine Fall. As you leave the forestry and
head towards Graveyard Canyon, look over the left
at the Cliff on the western side of cwm you will notice
a Moraine which is geographical feature of the area.
A Moriane is a glacially formed accumulation of
glacial debris (soil and rock) which occurs in
glaciated regions from a past ice age. The debris has
Dipper
6 Cwm Garw. Another geological feature of the
Garw Valley is the distinct three conjoined cirque
glacier. The head of the cwm is shaped in the form of
three bowl-shaped depressions which were carved
out by a valley glacier through a process of ice
thawing and re-freezing.