Garw Valley Walk 2:Layout 1 27/9/10 15:45 Page 1

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children and young people spent two weeks in the in weeks two spent people young and children non continue and left turn bridleway the of end the At

eoae mn shaft mine Decorated gop f local of group A . 8 Continue ahead passing a large house on your left. your on house large a passing ahead Continue

bridleway, looking for a waymarker on your right. your on waymarker a for looking bridleway,

on your left. your on cniu frad ad onc bc ot the onto back connect and forwards continue

t shaf mine decorated a reach you until kilometre one the rough forestry road and on reaching the road, the reaching on and road forestry rough the

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straight ahead. ahead. straight VIEWPOINT! Looking down on the Valley Garw the on down Looking

neinue cont and right the to junctions all Ignoring bend.

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westerly direction to the bottom left corner of the of corner left bottom the to direction westerly

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VIEWPOINT! ig o te te sd o Garw of side other the of Ridge

The Tumuli at Llyndwr Fawr Llyndwr at Tumuli The

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Decorated Mine Shaft Mine Decorated

third gate the path becomes less obvious although obvious less becomes path the gate third

e th through passed have you After gates. field three

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Keeping the fence line to your left continue ahead. continue left your to line fence the Keeping

parallel to the main Llyndawr fawr cairn. fawr Llyndawr main the to parallel the Bristol Channel beyond Gower. beyond Channel Bristol the

t alignmen west south northeast rough a in placed are to in out far sits which Island Lundy see to possible

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to the Bronze Age and would have been used for used been have would and Age Bronze the to g stretchin coastline Wales South the and west the to

kck ba date to believed are which cairns or tumuli 7 of from here. On a good clear day you can see Gower see can you day clear good a On here. from

Llyndwr Fawr Tumuli Fawr Llyndwr In this area are a series a are area this In . 7 VIEWPOINT! Spectacular views of South of views Spectacular

line ahead of you. you. of ahead line on your left. your on your starting point. starting your

ece fen the in gate field a through and wires pylon the ieline fence the to close keep to sure making hill grassy You will now see Parc Calon Lan and have reached have and Lan Calon Parc see now will You

walking ahead towards the pylons. Go underneath Go pylons. the towards ahead walking wl dfnd otah ht lms tel u a up steeply climbs that footpath defined well a . start the at crossed you that bridge wooden the for

hr i a lgt niain n h gon. Keep ground. the on indication slight a is there Once on top of the ridge bear left and connect with connect and left bear ridge the of top on Once d hea and you of front in Route Community the join to

Advice and Information Countryside Code Accommodation To make a reservation or to obtain information RESPECT PROTECT ENJOY The going can be steep and may be wet and slippery on accommodation contact one of the Tourist Garw Valley in places with some stiles to climb. Remember to Information Centres. These are at McArthur Glen G Be safe - plan ahead and follow any signs wear suitable clothes and good shoes/boots and take Designer Outlet off Junction 36 the M4 G Leave gates and property as you find them food and drink with you and be prepared to get fit! (telephone 01656 654906 ) and at John Street, G Protect plants and animals, and take your litter home Walk 2 Always follow the Countryside Code. When you are (telephone 01656 786639 ). walking on minor roads keep to the right and make G Keep dogs under close control use of verges whenever you can. G Consider other people For further general information about the Bridgend area you can contact us via e-mail It should be easy to follow the route using the map Follow the Countryside Code wherever you go. at [email protected]. Alternatively, and instructions inside this leaflet. When walking the You will get the best out of the countryside and help you can visit our website - which is at route try and look out for the Walk logo that will be to maintain it now and for the future. www.bridgend.gov.uk 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 Acknowledgements right of way. We also recommend you refer to the OS Thanks to the following for helping to either Explorer Map 166 Rhondda and Merthyr Tydfil. prepare the walk and text or for sponsoring the leaflet

G Karl Luxford, Dan Fitton, Garw Valley Rangers G Valley and Vale Community Arts

Common Buzzard Public Transport For further information on bus times and service numbers telephone Bridgend County Views towards Glyncorrwg Borough Council’s, Public Transport Section on 01656 642559 or the Traveline ALLEY W For further information about this walk, to pass on V A W L R K on 0871 200 22 33 www.traveline.info A S your comments and suggestions or to report any G

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I practical problems on any of the paths please W T R H A I A G U contact the Rights of Way Section, Communities Car Parking M C E CW Directorate, Morien House, Bennett Street, RDDED There is parking provision at the following: Bridgend Industrial Estate, Bridgend, CF31 3SH (Telephone 01656 642553 or 01656 642593 ) G On-street parking in Blaengarw or by e-mail at [email protected] G Free Parking Provision at Parc Calon Lan Up to 9 km (5 miles) 3 to 3 1/2 Hours Garw Valley Walk 2:Layout 1 27/9/10 15:48 Page 2 Garw Valley Walk 2

6 Up to 9 km (5 miles) 5 4 3 to 3 1/2 Hours

This leaflet describes a circular walk starting and ending at Parc Calon Lan, Blaengarw. The walk leads 7 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 3 uses a combination of public footpaths, bridleways, the community route and maintainable highway. 8 Key Main Route Sites of Interest N

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. ( 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. 2

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 1 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 Leave Parc Calon Lan and head towards the wooden On reaching the forestry road turn left and head up fallen off the valley walls as a result of a process 2008 with financial assistance from the Garw Valley bridge at the top end of the lake. a slight inline towards the bend in the road and look known as frost wedging. Regeneration Fund and opened that year by Huw for the way marking post on the right with a Edwards of the BBC.The name Calon Lan is taken 2 The Dipper . Looking down the river from the bridleway sign on it. Take the Bridle path and From the plateau head towards the top of the ridge from the famous welsh hymn of the same name that bridge you may see the distinctive Dipper (Cinclus continue in between the trees for 200m. You are now using the well worn path ahead, this in places is very was written in Blaengarw in 1890 by Daniel James. cinclus) which is a specialist bird of fast flowing rivers on the old drover’s route. steep. The park now benefits from a ranger service, based and streams. Look for them on the rocks and along at the Visitors Centre at Parc Calon Lan the banks, as they have a distinct white throat and 3 Drovers route . Sections of this bridleway were VIEWPOINT! Excellent views of Cwmgarw and breast and dark body. They bob up and down, hence part of what was known as The Drover’s Route. views of the garw valley the name Dipper, and have the ability to wade, swim Approximately 4000 years old, dating back to the and dive in running water feeding on aquatic Bronze Age, the Drover’s were people who would invertebrates and small fish. They are present all year escort their livestock on foot from one place to round and a few pairs breed along the Afon Garw. another, such as a market or between summer and winter pasture. Cross the bridge and turn right onto the community route. Continue along this tarmac path alongside the Eventually you will meet a stile and small cattle grid river until it reaches the road. Continue ahead onto on the edge of the forestry plantation. Continue Pwllcarn Terrace heading uphill towards the Garw forward towards the open plateau ahead. forestry gate. Go through the forestry gate and turn left onto a well defined track in between the trees. 4 Graveyard Canyon Drovers Rest . This Continue on this path up a slight incline until you plateau area is where the drovers used to rest Dipper reach the rough forestry road. Turn left at this point overnight before making their way into the and continue on the forestry road for 50 metres surrounding Valleys. Locally known as Graveyard looking for a Bridleway way marker on your right. At Canyon due to the tumulus in the area. the marker turn right onto the bridleway which is fairly steep at the beginning. 5 Moraine Fall . As you leave the forestry and head towards Graveyard Canyon, look over the left Continue along the well defined Bridleway until you at the Cliff on the western side of cwm you will notice 6 Cwm Garw . Another geological feature of the meet a way marker post with a footpath sign on it. a Moraine which is geographical feature of the area. Garw Valley is the distinct three conjoined cirque Turn right at this marker and follow the well defined glacier. The head of the cwm is shaped in the form of permissive footpath in between the forestry A Moriane is a glacially formed accumulation of three bowl-shaped depressions which were carved plantation, passing through a dry stone wall, until the glacial debris (soil and rock) which occurs in out by a valley glacier through a process of ice path once again meets up with a rough forestry road. glaciated regions from a past ice age. The debris has thawing and re-freezing. Pwll-y-Garn Forest