Taff Trail from Cardiff Bay to Pontypridd

The Taff Trail is 88 km (55 miles) long from Cardiff Bay to Brecon, a route you can walk or cycle. Hikers can add an extra 32 km by walking back from Brecon to Methyr Tydfil along a different route, giving a total of 120 km. The trail is attractive because it is so varied. It starts in Cardiff, capital city of Wales, full of people going somewhere, whether work, shops or cafes. Then there is Taff valley north of Cardiff, full of history from the industrial revolutions. The path takes you along riverside paths, along old railway lines and older canals. Finally there are the forests and mountains of the Brecon Beacons. This post describes the first day of my walk from Cardiff Bay Railway Station to Pontypool Railway Station.

I started early arriving at Cardiff Bay while it was still dark. Green lights on the Millenium Centre, red lights on restaurants and white lights elsewhere, gave the square by the Bay a serene beauty, only disturbed by a lorry unloading supplies for the day. Cardiff Bay is full of cafes and restaurants, but I delayed my morning coffee to head west to the River Taff. On joining the river, the first brown Taff Trail signs appear, taking you along paths and roads beside the Taff, past rows of houses, Victorian and more modern. On the opposite bank the Brains brewery comes into view and then the Millenium Stadium. On other trips I have crossed the bridge here to walk beside the stadium (possible when there are no events on) reading the names of the Rugby -  playing nations in mosaics in the pathway. Today I stayed on the west side of the river passing backpacker hostels before crossing beneath one more bridge and entering Sophia Gardens (and Bute park on the other side of the river). Cardiff Castle is in Bute Park, an ancient Roman and Norman fortress, "restored" by the 3rd Marquess of Bute in a Victorian Gothic style. The Marquess of Bute's family made lots of money developing Cardiff docks for the coal trade in the 19th century and there is further evidence of their contribution later on the walk.

I walked past the Glamorgan cricket ground and Pontcanna playing fields, along the riverside path. There was a steady stream of people heading to work, some walking, some cycling, multiple lights and bells highlighting their presence in the overcast dawn. Cycling by the river must be safer for the cyclists, avoiding Cardiff''s heavy traffic, by maybe not so much for pedestrians. When I moved sideways to avoid a large puddle I heard someone say "beep beep" and then they narrowly missed hitting me with their bike.

At Blackweir I crossed over the Taff on a pedestrian suspension bridge and continued up the path on the east side of the river. At this time of day people were still heading into town, but later I knew there would be students heading the other way to Cardiff's Metropolitan University. Where the river crossed under Western Avenue, I turned off for quick coffee at the 24 hour Tescos. On resuming my walk it had started raining.

Fortunately the rain was not too heavy as I continued up the river. Although  have walked this route often it is constantly changing and not only with the seasons. I had been thinking of all the renewable energy being wasted at weirs in the river, then what do I see, but a brand new hydroelectric plant, a sign of changing times for three reasons. Firstly, it is an example of river power being used again after falling out of favour in the later parts of the industrial revolution, Secondly, it was opened by Councillor Ramesh Patel, a sign of a more multicultural Wales. Thirdly rather than a conventional high speed turbine to generate power, it appeared to use a large screw, possibly to avoid damage to fish and a sign of recent environmental awareness.

New hydroelectric scheme

I continued along the river into Hayley park. After the park there is a short section of road from which you can see a restored beam pump that supplied water for the Glamorganshire canal. The canal closed in 1944 (after briefly being owned by the ubiquitous Marquess of Bute) and only a few sections still remain. Continuing along the riverside I went under the M4 motorway before turning inland to the village of Tongwynlais. From here there are two routes: one by road along the narrow gap created by the Taff through the ridge that forms the southern edge of the South Wales Coal field, the other going over the hill beside the valley. I preferred the latter as it takes you passed Castle Coch and through some pleasant woodland away from road pollution. Castle Coch is also a "restoration" by the Marquess of Bute in a Gothic revival style that puts you in mind of King Arthur and the knights of the round table. It was, however, closed for maintenance when I passed  by today.

Castle Coch

I climbed up the steep path and then down forest tracks on the other side of the ridge, the trees bare of leaves at this time of year, and like me getting increasingly wet. At the base of the hill I joined one of the old railway lines.  Now no longer needed with the end of coal mining in South Wales, many have been converted to walking and cycle paths. There were few bikes on this section but several people walking their dogs. Dogs as well as owners were wrapped up against the rain in their coats.

Walking along an old railway line

The rain was now becoming heavy. Fortunately the going was easy along the gentle gradients with tarmac or gravel underfoot, and I made good time past the urban ribbon development along the river valley, barely visible through the waves of rain. After crossing a few roads I eventually reached the turn off for Pontypridd and was glad to reach the shelter of the station.

The days walk was 26 km long. You can shorten it by starting or stopping at one of a number of railway stations close to the route. There is only one steep slope, just behind Castle Coch. A gpx file of the route I took can be found on wikiloc.com. The route can also be found on Viewranger under short code johnpon0016.