Afan Forest Mountain Bike Trails — Attraction in Cymer and Glyncorrwg

I visited in the week after Easter 2023 and found it to be excellent physically (great hilly woodland with may paths) but abysmal in regards to information regarding trail closures. BEWARE: main circular walking routes are not circular at the moment but there are no warnings of this online or on the ground when you get there! It was my first visit so I went to their website. It is quite good but a bit clunky. It gives a recommendation to download information regarding current trail diversions/closures -- which I did. The pdf document was dated 2021 and stated that a bridge closure meant that most of the longer trails could only be accessed from a smaller free car park on the other side of the river from the main centre (which includes the South Wales Mining Museum). I decided to park at the main centre and ask at the visitors centre if this was still applicable (and re-park if so). Note: it transpired that there are no "Information" staff at the centre! We asked the café staff (very nice cafe, by the way with indoor toilets in addition to the block outside where there are also showers) but they didn't know anything about trails/closures etc. The fixed boards outside gave the same information as online (general trail maps plus diversion due to bridge closure). I had a quick look around and discovered the bridge was fully open (with much clean new wood) so set out to walk some of the longer routes. After crossing the bridge and turning north I soon found my way barred by fencing: "No public access due to tree felling"). I turned South and followed the river noticing other closures at various points on trails leading up to the west. I did most of the Green loop at the southern end but found the very last section leading back to the bridge and my car was also blocked near the privately owned camp site. The only legal route back was the way I'd walked (over 3 hours) or phone a taxi. Staff at the site said cyclists (who at least had diversion signs on their routes) were complaining that the diversions kept taking them around in small circles. In short: nice scenic place made accessible to walkers and cyclists by humans in the past and now turned into a waking nightmare by the current humans running it. The website information needs updating and all trails need to indicate if they are no longer circular and how far you can get along then before being blocked. I still recommend visiting as it's a very nice spot, and if the closures are removed then you'll find the trails well marked and correctly graded for difficulty (information online and on site on boards). The highlight of my visit ended up as the bacon sandwich and cup of tea I got...

This was my first time back here in over 30yrs & boy oh boy has it been improved. I was born & brought up in these here hills, just over the mountain is my village, Caerau. I left the area aged 21(I'm now 52) We rode & hunted these woods & forsets on our Grifters & cycles that we'd adapted ourselves to use off road, waay before mtb's had even been invented 😎 Later progressing onto motorcycles(Honda TL125S & CR250 Elsinore) by 1979. In essence, we created the tracks you ride today 😉 The railway tunnel on the Afan Valley side goes directly through the mountain ~ a gang of us walked through it once in the 70's from the Caerau side(as boy's do) It frightened the hell out of the lot of us! But it was exciting & it's even more exciting to think of it being reopened & used to connect the two valleys together(the Afan & the Llynfi) once again 😁 If you were to stand & gaze at the woods & forestry, in certain places, you'd have a hard time telling yourself you are in Wales ~ for, in places, it resembled Canada & the Italian Alps. Especially on a hot summers day like today! I was half expecting a black bear or caribou to wander out of the woods at any moment 😏 If you're into cycling outdoors & off road riding you'll be hard pressed to find anywhere better or more exciting than the Afan Argoed MTB centre. The staff were all polite & well informed & every other guest we met there was just the same. We stayed the night in the campsite on the hill but didn't get much kip due to the angle of the pitches(this was our only complaint) but we had a fire going. There were bbq's in place to cook on but most hadn't been used or cleaned in yonks! A little more attention to detail would have made our stay even better - but I guess they don't get many campers...Maybe if they created a few flat areas this could be improved easily. But if you're in a camper van you're laughing as all of the facilities/amenities are in the car park area at the bottom of the hillside. We came on motorcycles. A few of the people I was with were actually too scared to ride their motorbikes up the road/very steep hill to the camping area so I had to ride them up for them...I've riden up many a steep hill on my tours abroad but the abruptness of this one that goes literally straight up was off putting for many especially so with fully laden motorcycles. We had no problems with flies or mozzies during our stay & the scenery & views are breathtaking & the unhindered by street lights starry skies made it extra special 😍😁 I'd give it a 5* rating if it wasn't for the angle if the campsite pitches ~ but all in all it was ace. See you...

We absolutely love the trails here, and visit as much as we can. Perfect for all levels of rider and all ages. . . . The only reason, I haven't given 5 stars is the cafe - it is pretty awful! Our recent visit was a quiet Tuesday, first we get told to move our bikes off the balcony, which we did no problem. It wasn't busy, nor where any table or customers on the balcony area (the weather wasn't the best), but ok, we moved along. In the cafe, very little is displayed, my little boy (3yrs old) gets excited about a cafe treat after riding, but no ice creams or cakes available. Very little on offer for a young one, a choice of either orange or apple juice or crisps - we were prepared though and brought our own snacks. We sit and drink our drinks, to find the regulars parking there bikes on the balcony!. Ummm this is difficult to explain to a toddler, why one group of people can and we cannot. Next, our boy is getting told off for playing harmlessly near the counter. A real negative experience for him and we won't be using the cafe again. The cafe at ponds, is fantastic, they are really friendly and cater for families, oh and the showers are free! The showers here are £1.50 for 5 mins, but you can only buy tokens from the cafe, which closes at 4pm!!!!

We really love the trails, but the cafe needs to change . . And it would be great of the shower tokens could be purchased outside of the cafe times or if they were...