Out and About around the Afan Forest
What's on, recreational facilities, ideas, places to visit and things to do

Eating out

The Refresh - Cymmer
Meals and drinks are available at our local public house and restaurant called the "Refresh" and it's only a five minute walk from Bryn Teg House. "The Refresh" was once the main Cymmer Afan railway station building and is still extant today as a pub and restaurant. It may sound a little strange today but Cymmer was once a major railway junction and boasted three railway stations.
Cymmer Afan locomotive
Afan valley railway bridge
Cymmer Afan station sign
The line was builkt by the Rhondda & Swansea Bay Railway in 1885 and at the beginning of the last century it was taken over by the Great Western Railway. It originally ran from Swansea Docks and Port Talbot to Cymmer Afan, then to Abergwynfi and through the two mile long Blaenrhondda tunnel to Treorchy and Treherbert in the Rhondda Valley. Nowadays you can have an enjoyable meal and a relaxing drink at Cymmer Afan "station", but no more shall the shrill of the whistle from a small Great Western steam engine announce its fervent arrival, nor will you catch the next train through the tunnel to the Rhondda, sadly on the 15th July 1970 it closed to passengers forever.

Waterfall Country

Cwmdu Falls
Nowhere else in Wales is there such a richness and diversity of waterfalls within such a small area as can be found in the Vale of Neath, one of five scenic valleys within Neath Port Talbot. This abundance has led to the region becoming known as 'Waterfall Country'.

The deep gorges of the rivers Mellte, Hepste and Nedd Fechan between the villages of Pontneddfechan and Ystradfellte provide opportunities for the casual walker as well as the more experienced. Many of the falls are spectacular and worth visiting more than once through the changing seasons particularly after a downpour.

An information pack containing an informative guide to ten walking trails through 'Waterfall Country' is available from Bryn Teg House.

Margam Castle

Margam Castle
Margam Castle is a large mock castle built for the Talbot family in the 19th century during the Gothic Revival. It was commissioned by Christopher Rice Mansel Talbot (1803-1890) and was designed in the Tudor Gothic style by architect Thomas Hopper (1776-1856) and constructed over a ten-year period from 1830 to 1840.
Today, Margam Castle is a Grade I listed building and is in the care of Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council and can be visited all year round but it has one notorious claim to fame - it is reported to be the most HAUNTED location in Wales.
There are many reports of a spirit, believed to be Robert Scott, employed as the gamekeeper at the house for many years. It is said that Scott was murdered by a poacher and his angry spirit still wanders the grounds today. His ghostly apparition is often seen walking down the Gothic staircase, his spirit consumed with rage over his untimely and unjust demise.
The dominating figure of what is believed to be the blacksmith is a familiar sighting to many of the gamekeepers and gardening staff who maintain the vast castle grounds. Even the night security guards often report sounds of running footsteps and chattering voices but can give no explanation due to there being no living resident. Reports of cold spots and orbs are a very common phenomena in the castle. For those seeking an 'out of this world' experience regular Ghost Hunts are carried out and you can take part - although if you are of a nervous disposition perhaps you'd better not!

Afan Forest Country Park

Afan Forest Park
The Afan Forest Park is ideal for relaxational walking, more strenuous hill-walking, cycling and mountain-biking and boasts that visitors are to be welcomed by the "drumming of woodpeckers". Explore the forest tracks and old disused railway lines on foot or bicycle, or choose the way-marked walking or cycling trails that enable you to reach the best viewpoints and most interesting features in the Afan Forest Countryside.
Afan Forest Park

South Wales Miners' Museum

Welsh miners museum
The South Wales Miners' Museum is just a couple of miles away and is situated in the Afan Forest Country Park. It portrays with candid realism, mining through the eyes of the miners themselves, their stories of hardship and struggle, dangerous and dirty work but also the shared warmth of their valley communities in a bygone industry. A fascinating, educative and enjoyable day out for all the family.

Brecon Beacons National Park

Brecon Beacons
Brecon Beacons National Park covers 519 square miles of beautiful south and mid-Wales countryside. The area is home to Pen y Fan, the highest mountain in south Wales and the highest Old Red Sandstone summit in Britain.
As well as some of the finest walking, cycling, riding and caving in Wales there are bronze age burial cairns, iron age hill forts, Roman ruins and mediaeval castles.
With traditional market towns, stunning landscape, canal paths, castles and plenty of family attractions and the scenery here is both beautiful and diverse - rolling countryside and valleys, wide open spaces to the wild beauty of the waterfalls and caves. There's so much to see and do - find out more here ...

Glyncorrwg Ponds

Glyncorrwg Ponds
Just two miles from Bryn Teg House is Glyncorrwg Ponds situated in an isolated valley off the river Corrwg in the Afan Forest Park. Mountain biking, trout fishing, coarse fishing, and canoeing are our most popular sports, plus miles of old flat railway lines and steep mountain slopes providing days worth of cycling and walking.

Telephone

  • 01639 851820

Address

  • Mrs J. Williams
    Bryn Teg House
    9 Craig Y Fan
    Cymmer
    West Glamorgan
    SA13 3LN

Email

  • free wi-fi available to all our guests