Afan Valley

The narrow, winding, steep-sided Afan Valley is one of the most beautiful in South Wales.

Unlike many of the other valleys, it has no large centres of population but instead a string of villages set amongst thickly-wooded glorious countryside. Afan Forest enveloping the valley is part of Europe’s largest urban forest, an internationally renowned location for mountain biking and a variety of  outdoor pursuits, including walking, horse riding, kayaking and fishing.

At the top end of the Afan Valley are Abergwynfi and Blaengwynfi, the last of the coal-mining villages to develop in the valley. These are popularly referred to as "The Cape" by residents and those of neighbouring communities, possibly in reference to the "Cape of Good Hope", because like that it was where workers arrived seeking a new life and fortune, or perhaps more likely due to The Cape Engineering Company that sunk the mine. A 2-mile long disused railway tunnel connects the valley with the Rhondda Fawr to the east. 

Afan Forest Park has been named in the top ten places in the world to "ride before you die" by What Mountain Bike magazine. The Afan Forest Park Visitor Centre is close to Cynonville, pre-World War I village built for miners as part of a never-completed plan to build a garden village similar to those at Bournville and Port Sunlight. The centre at Afan Forest Park is definitely worth a visit. Not only is it the starting point for two of the world-class mountain bike trails and wonderful forest walks, but it also hosts the South Wales Miners Museum.

Pontrhydyfen and Cymmer further down the valley is set in a densely forested area where the steep sided river valleys of the Corrwg and Afan meet (hence its name; cymer is a meeting of rivers). It grew as an important railway junction aided by the construction of a tunnel between it and the Llynfi valley. It hosts the annual Cymer Afan Off-Road Triathlon in summer similarly developed because of the railway with the opening of the South Wales Mineral Railway in 1863 which linked it to the coast at Briton Ferry. The old railway line is now a cycle path that runs the length of the Valley. Following the closure of the mines, a local workers’ co-operative has developed the ponds at Glyncorrwg for fishing and water recreation together with a world-class mountain biking centre and mountain bike trails, which opened in 2003. The highly-popular Glyncorrwg Ponds Mountain Bike centre has camping facilities, a bike shop and a cafe that serves tasty food for hungry bikers and other visitors.

Pontrhydyfen is situated at the confluence of the Afan and the smaller Afon Pelenna, dominated by two magnificent large 19th-century bridges that span the valley: a railway viaduct (the red bridge) and a former aqueduct, known in Welsh as Y Bont Fawr ("The Big Bridge"). Pontrhydyfen was the birthplace of musical theatre star, Ivor Emmanuel, who also starred in the film Zulu, international opera singer Rebecca Evans, Welsh language singer/songwriter Geraint Griffiths, and of course perhaps Wales most famous actor ever, Richard Burton, whose appreciation society is based in the village.