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Home , Aberavon, Aberavon Beach, Crymlyn Bog, Margam Castle, Port Tennant, River Neath

Weatherman Walking

Port Talbot to Marina TO SWANSEA MARINA

CRYMLYN

BRUNEL FLOATING DOCK

6 TENNANT CANAL 3

5 BRUNEL TOWER COAST PATH 4 7

NORWEIGIAN CHURCH

BAGLAN 8 BURROWS

PILOT HOUSE WHARF 2

ABERAVON BEACH 9 COASTPATH 1

1 Points of interest

Start

Finish

Route

The Weatherman Walking maps are intended as a guide The BBC takes no responsibility for any accident or injury Reproduced by permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf to help you walk the route. We recommend using an that may occur while following the route. Always wear of HMSO. © Crown copyright and database right 2009. OS map of the area in conjunction with this guide. appropriate clothing and footwear and check weather All rights reserved. Ordnance Survey Licence number APPROXIMATE DISTANCE: Routes and conditions may have changed since this conditions before heading out. 100019855. guide was written. 10 MILES PILOT HOUSE WHARF

For this walk we’ve included OS grid references should you wish to use them.

WEATHERMAN WALKING PAGE 2 PORT TALBOT TO SWANSEA MARINA

This walk will run from the beach in , Port Talbot, heading West along the coast path to the stunning Swansea Marina – and along sections along the River and Tennant Canal. It’s about a 10-mile walk depending on where you choose to finish. Aberavon Sands

Start: Distance: Parking: Travel information: Further information: Aberavon Sands Approx. 10 miles There is public parking at Aberavon Sands runs the X1 service Visit Wales Coast Path website for more (free) and a number of car parks around between The Elms, Aberavon (2.6 miles information and path diversions Starting Ref: Grade: Swansea Marina (charge). from ) and St Thomas’ / www.walescoastpath.gov.uk/plan-your-visit SS 73322 90794 Easy Sainsbury’s (approx. 0.6 miles from the Marina). See local bus timetables Walk time: for details. 3.5 - 4 hours

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Directions There is a large car park next to the beach at Aberavon Waymark in the Sand Sands. The official coast path uses a stone path, leading on to a section of scrubland and dunes, which passes the Naval Social Club and then heads down through the dunes onto the beach.

Alternatively, just go onto the beach and turn right. The industrial landscape of Port The beach at Aberavon Talbot will be to your left.

ABERAVON BEACH Aberavon Beach Coast Path (SS 73297 90768) COASTPATH Aberavon Beach, also known as Aberavon Sands, is a three-mile (5 km) stretch of sandy beach on the north-eastern edge of Swansea 1 Bay. It was a traditional “bucket and spade” resort for the valleys during the 1940s, 50s, and 60s, but changing economic and social conditions led to its decline. However it is popular with surfers, and new cafes have opened in recent years along the east end of the seafront.

The landscape is dominated by the steelworks, once one of the biggest in the world. But before the 18th century, there was nothing more here than a group of small communities making a modest living.

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Emily Talbot Derek says, “When I was in the area, I learnt all about Emily Talbot who was responsible for much of the development of Port Talbot. She inherited her father’s vast wealth and ploughed a considerable amount into developing the port and railway system in the town. She also founded hospitals, schools, and churches, and when a local coal mine was struggling, she used her own money to pay the workers’ wages for a number of years so that the families would not suffer. Miss Emily Talbot Emily died in 1918 and was buried in the vault at Church, next to the family home of courtesy of Port Talbot Historical Society . She really was quite a woman.”

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Directions The coast path heads down through dunes to the beach Sea Holly further along and continues along the sand for half a mile before turning right at Baglan Burrows Burrows. To the right of this site is the Baglan Energy Park.

BAGLAN Baglan Burrows (SS 72450 91701) BURROWS The dunes at Baglan Burrows on were once famous for their sea holly. 2 This pretty, prickly plant grew far more abundantly along the Welsh coastline than it does now. Sand dunes Locals say there was a time, probably in the 17th or 18th century – when it would have been transported to London to be used as an aphrodisiac!

Chemists would boil the roots and sweeten, them and they would be served as candied delicacies for wooing. The Viagra of the day, if you like!

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Directions The path goes under a pipeline and along a cement Brunel Floating Dock track before it hits the banks of the . You turn right to follow it inland for about 600 yards to where, on a map, it says simply ‘landing stage’.

Old Landing Stage

BRUNEL Brunel Floating Dock (SS 73289 93385) FLOATING DOCK River Neath The Briton Ferry Floating Dock was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and renamed 3 the Brunel Dock as a tribute to the architect and designer. Today little remains of the feat of engineering.

There was an inner dock with an outer basin. Between the two was a single, floating lock gate. (designed by Brunel’s father, Marc Brunel). Work began in 1853 and was officially opened in 1861, nearly two years after Brunel’s death. It was used mainly to carry coal from south Wales all over Britain and made the River Neath more navigable. The Dock closed in 1959.

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Directions From the former floating dock, there is a short walk of about 100 yards to the Brunel Tower, just off the coast path.

Landmark near Brunel Tower

BRUNEL (SS 73688 93584) TOWER Brunel Tower The lock gate was operated by a ground-breaking steam-powered hydraulic system located Brunel Tower 4 in this accumulator tower. The system was designed by Marc Brunel and the machinery to operate it by William Armstrong. It was called an Armstrong Accumulator. This was experimental work on buoyant lock gates.

Armstrong designed most of the hydraulic equipment used in the docks in south Wales. He also designed dockside cranes and swing bridges.

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Directions The coast path goes under the M4, across the railway line, and joins the side of the A48 to use the road bridge to cross the River Neath.

At the roundabout, follow the signs left along the side of the main A483 for 1.2 miles, crossing as directed to walk next to the side of the Tennant Canal waymark Earlswood Golf Club. Tennant Canal

At the large roundabout opposite the Amazon depot,

follow the signs to take the TENNANT Coast Path Waymark, Tennant Canal (SS 71186 93862) CANAL B4290 to . Walk The Tennant Canal, which links to the Neath canal further up, was once a major transport through the village, passing 5 route, carrying coal, iron ore, sand, slag, and copper ore. It opened in 1824 and was closed for The Towers Hotel, and there navigation around 1930. will be a white stone waymark on the left. This is the access The canal is 8 miles in length from to its junction with the Neath Canal at point to the Tennant Canal. . Just before reaching Aberdulais Basin, the canal had to cross the River Neath, which it did via the still spectacular Aberdulais Aqueduct.

Today the Tennant Canal is a haven for wildlife, including the rare, and very large, Raft Spider. It’s the UK’s largest spider and can catch and eat stickleback fish.

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Directions Walk along the picturesque tow-path for just under two miles. For the final third of the path, you will not see the canal as the path becomes more wooded.

At this point, you will be walking alongside Crymlyn.

Crymlyn Bog

(SS 68817 93249) Crymlyn Bog The bog is one of the most important wetland sites in Europe. 6 are fed solely from rainwater, while are also fed by streams and groundwater. A number of streams feed into the bog here, producing a rich habitat much more typical of East Anglia’s fenland than south Wales. Strictly speaking, it should be called Crymlyn Fen.

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Directions The path emerges next to the Ashlands Playing Fields and a residential setting.

Walk along Wern Fawr Road and follow the waymark leading off to the left, passing along part of the Fabian Way Park and Ride site.

The coast path crosses over a footbridge and joins Fabian Way for about a hundred yards Waymark towards before turning left towards The Footbridge Prince of Wales Dock, part of Prince of Wales Dock .

COAST PATH Coast path next to Prince of Wales Dock (SS 66778 92978) In the mid-19th century, Swansea was exporting 60 percent of the world’s copper from 7 factories situated in south Wales, and the docks were bursting with activity. Today the Prince of Wales Dock is undergoing major redevelopment.

The Swansea Harbour Trust began constructing the Prince of Wales Dock in 1879. It was opened on 18 October 1881 by Edward, Prince of Wales, and extended in 1898 to its present size.

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Directions The coast path continues around the Prince of Wales Dock and passes a small Norwegian church built in Newport in the 1890s and moved to Swansea Docks in 1909.

Norwegian Church

NORWEIGIAN Norwegian Church (SS 66428 93022) CHURCH Swansea’s longstanding maritime connection with Norway arose from the importation of 8 timber pitprops from Scandinavia for use in the coal mines of south Wales, and the shipment of Welsh coal as a return cargo to Norway.

Norwegian Church Seafaring was dangerous and seamen needed all the help they could muster, so they built a church. There’s a similar one in Cardiff Bay. The church was dismantled and rebuilt on this site in 2004 as part of the redevelopment of the district.

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Directions The coast path waymark leads in front of a number of smart restaurants and cafes and across Trafalgar Bridge and the barrage to Pilot House Wharf, where this walk is finishing at Swansea Marina.

Swansea Marina

PILOT HOUSE Pilot House Wharf, Swansea Marina (SS 66370 92606) WHARF The marina makes up part of Swansea’s redeveloped . After many years of 9 industrial decline in the Lower Swansea Valley, the south dock of the Swansea Docks complex finally closed in 1969, leaving the area as an industrial wasteland. It was sold to Swansea Council for a nominal sum. New sea defence works were installed, the dock basin was cleared of debris, and new moorings were installed for the new marina. More efficient modern lock Waterfront cafes gates were fitted, along with a new swing bridge, and the quaysides were paved to create a new public walkway around the dockside.

The yacht marina was opened in 1982, providing berths for 385 boats, and in 1992, the Swansea barrage was completed, transforming the into a long lake. The area now includes restaurants, hotels, and accommodation.

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On board

Steering a Boat Derek says, “While I was at the marina I was offered the opportunity of taking a ride around the area in a small powerboat. It was lovely just breezing around – and the sun even shone for us.

When I was invited to take the helm, I must say I went a bit fast and nearly crashed into one of the harbour walls but luckily just managed to stop in time. I did then get the hang of it and had the chance to open her up and we put on a bit of speed. It was fantastic!”

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Derek at the Marina

End of the Walk Derek says, “This walk has everything! It was a real route of contrasts, including a beach, a canal, and a bustling marina. I have to say it was a really pleasant surprise. You do have to walk a few miles along some busy main roads, but there is plenty to compensate, which makes it all worthwhile. I will definitely be doing this walk again.”

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