Treherbert Slog

I went back to Treherbert with high hopes, but they were rapidly dashed on a combination of ludicrously rocky and sodden trails, dreary forest timber trails, dull weather and (my own) poor navigation. Unlike my other posts I'm not going to write this one up with a map and full description. Suffice to say, I've yet to find the hidden Welsh gems I was hoping, although the pervasive rain we've been having as of late probably didn't help the trail situation, which was almost comically moist for lengthy sections of the path.

Heading Northwest out of Treherbert and into Tynewydd, then Blaencwm, I started riding the singletrack bridleway leading up Cwm Selsig. It was nearly perfect terrain. For about five seconds, until I encountered this;

Many of the paths leading up the valley were rocky as all hell, and appeared to funnel small streams along them such as the one below. Occasionally the streams would pool into path-dominating puddles.

The views from the top of the valley escarpment are pretty good though;

Eventually, I came off the main path and intersected with the Skyline Trail at Afan forest park. At this stage, the trail was running along timber tracks going through Dunraven forest . I entered Dunraven forest and was forbidden by forestry commision signs to enter various parts of it. Dunraven forest is about as dreary and featureless as it's possible to be.

One section of track had brush piled on it, which was slightly more ridable than it looks;

I'm bitching because I picked the most rain sodden April to explore this area which made the paths far more challenging than they'd otherwise be, and then I got lost in a dreary forest. There is, however, interesting stuff to see;

My shoes were sodden through, and I forgot my dry socks, so I improvised with plastic bags on the train back.

Bridgend to Treherbert - February 2012

I crashed at a friends house in a northern suburb of Bridgend and then rode up to Treherbert, expecting the relatively short distance off-road to be a gentle and enjoyable day. It certainly had some good point, but the hills, as ever, were boggy in parts which can reduce even the most composed of us to flipping our 'rigs' over in frustration and cursing the wretched choice of hobby. The locals seem to favour quad-bikes, horses and scramblers. With no engine, I slogged across seemingly endless muddy hills, fighting the gradients most of the way. Although, despite the slog, the panoramic view were fairly excellent and Cwm Saebren was very impressive, fun to ride down and a great way to end the day. Here's the map.

Ogmore Valley cycle path

Pen y Foel Trig Point.

The descent from Pen y Foel, looking southwards. Slippery and fun.

Trig point on a pseudo-summit of Werfa

Cwm Saebren

So, this was pretty goddamn difficult. It might be more fun in summer, when the ground dries out, but this being Wales, that seems unlikely and the traffic from quad bikes and whatever else might just increase and churn the ground up further. If the ground were dry, this would have been a nice morning ride, which could be conquered in a couple of hours or less. In it's current state, I'd avoid this particular ridge-ride and instead get the train straight to Treherbert, and just aim uphill. The village could be circled from the surrounding valley, and that all looks pretty sweet. I'll definitely be heading back to this part of the valleys for some exploration, maybe a overnighter. -C.H.