Afan Forest Park – Rhyslyn, near Port Talbot

Welcome

Rhyslyn is in Afan Forest Park.

It is within walking distance of the village of Pontrhydyfen.

There are two waymarked walking trails here. The easier trail goes alongside the river and the longer trail goes along a ridgeway track with views of Pontrhydyfen viaduct.

The picnic area is next to the car park.

Walking trails

The walking trails are waymarked from start to finish.

Look out for the information panel at the start of the trail.

Find out about walking trail grades.

Rhyslyn Riverside Walk

• Grade: Easy
• Distance: 1.1 miles/1.8 kilometres
• Time: 45 minutes
• Climb: 197 feet/60 metres

Follow the Afan River upstream to a viewpoint and return along a disused mineral railway track.

This is a flat route almost all the way along riverside paths and on forest roads.

Watch out for cyclists on sections of the walk.

Penrhys Walk

• Grade: Moderate
• Distance: 3.6 miles/5.7 kilometres
• Time: 2 hours
• Climb: 856 feet/261 metres

Enjoy panoramic views along the ancient ridgeway track which connected Baglan church on the coast to Craig y Llyn north of Glyncorrwg.

You can see all the way to the Carmarthenshire Fans (peaks) on a clear day.

Mountain bike trails

All our mountain bike trails are waymarked from start to finish and have been graded for difficulty.

At the start of the trail there is an information panel – please read this before setting off.

• Find out about mountain bike trail grades.
• For a list of our mountain bike trails and information to plan your ride, go to mountain biking.
• For more information about mountain biking in Wales, go to the Mountain Bike Wales website.

Rookie (Green) and Skills Park

• Grade: Green (Easy)
• Distance: 6 kilometres
• Climb: 145 metres
• Time: 30 minutes – 2 hours

This green-graded trail is a fun, winding, and flowing trail.

It is a perfect introductory route for newcomers with a wide trail and slightly sweeping declines.

There is a Skills Park on the trail which offers riders the opportunity to develop their technical riding abilities .

Picnic areas can be found along the trail.

Rookie (Blue)

• Grade: Blue (Moderate)
• Distance: 2.4 kilometres
• Climb: 94 metres
• Time: 45 minutes – 1 hour

This short blue-graded trail provides a taster for those wishing to progress.

Dropping down and following along the River Afan, this loop exposes some secret spots.

Picnic areas can be found along the trail.

Rheilffordd Cycle Trail

• Grade: Green (Easy)
• Distance: 14.7 kilometres
• Climb: 266 metres
• Time: 1½ - 2 hours
• Alternative starting point: Afan Forest Park Visitor Centre

This gentle trail follows the wide, flat route of an old railway track that once carried passengers and coal the length of the valley.

On over 14 miles of disused railway and forest roads this trail connects the communities of Pont-rhyd-y-fen and Glyncorrwg - a great way to explore the Afan Valley.

Please note - this trail includes access along a public highway (road) with no pavement or cycle path available.

Y Wal Trail

• Grade: Red (difficult)
• Distance: 18.6 kilometres
• Time: 1½-3 hours
• Climb: 520 metres
• Alternative starting point: Afan Forest Park Visitor Centre

Boasting some of the best singletrack descents in the UK, this trail traverses the north side of the Afan Valley on singletrack.

It varies from fast, open and flowing to tight, technical and rooty.

Great views of the valley and coastline open out at different points, and in places the steep-sided slopes can feel exposed.

The approach to the singletrack shares a section with the Rheilffordd Low Level Cycleway and the disused railway line, so please ride with consideration for the many other forest users.

For a longer ride, combine with White’s Level Trail via one of the W2 links - see Afan Forest Park Visitor Centre.

Richard Burton Birthplace Trail

Rhyslyn car park is within easy walking distance of the village of Pontrhydyfen where the famous actor Richard Burton was born.

The Richard Burton Birthplace Trail sets off from the car park to Pontrhydyfen and his birth place.

There are information panels along the trail with interesting facts on his childhood and career.

For more information, go to the Discover Neath Port Talbot website. 

Afan Forest Park

Rhyslyn is situated in Afan Forest Park.

Afan Forest Park is one of Britain’s iconic mountain bike destinations and a popular place for walking.

The forest park is situated in the Afan Valley, a former coal mining valley just a few miles from the M4.

You can discover some of the valley’s heritage features along our trails in the forest park.

Other trails in Afan Forest Park

Explore Afan Forest Park from the car parks at these three other places:

• Afan Forest Park Visitor Centre – main car park in the forest park with walking trails and mountain bike trails for riders of all levels
• Glyncorrwg Mountain Bike Centre – starting point for three red-graded mountain bike trails
• Gyfylchi (Afan Bike Park) - home to an extreme-graded skills area

Visiting safely

We want you to return home safely after your visit here.

You are responsible for your own safety as well as the safety of any children and animals with you during your visit.

For advice and tips to help you plan your visit here go to Visiting our places safely.

Changes to visitor facilities

See the top of this webpage for details of any planned closures or other changes to visitor facilities here.

For your safety, always follow instructions from staff and signs including those for trail diversions or closures.

We may divert or close trails whilst we undertake maintenance work or other operations and we may need to close other visitor facilities temporarily.

In extreme weather, we may close facilities at short notice due to the risk of injury to visitors and staff.

Organising an event on our land

You may need permission from us to organise an event or to carry out some activities on our land.

Check if you are allowed to use our land.

How to get here

We recommend you follow these directions or use the Google map below which has a pin on this place’s location.

Rhyslyn is 4 miles north east of Port Talbot.

Exit M4 at junction 40 for Port Talbot and follow signs onto A4107 towards Cymer.

Follow the brown and white signs for Afan Forest Park from the roundabout after leaving the motorway.

After 3½ miles, turn left onto the B4287 towards Pontrhydyfen.

Go over a bridge and, as the road bears left, take a sharp right turn onto the access track.

Follow the access track for 350 metres to reach Rhyslyn car park.

The Ordnance Survey (OS) grid reference for the car park is SS 800 942 (Explorer Map 165 or 166).

The postcode is SA12 9SG. Please note that this postcode covers a wide area and will not take you directly to the entrance.

Sustrans National Cycle Network route 887 goes to Afan Forest Park. For more information go to the Sustrans website.​

View this place on the What3Words website.

Public transport

The nearest mainline railway station is in Port Talbot.

For details of public transport go to the Traveline Cymru website.

Parking

Car parking is free of charge.

Overnight parking is not permitted.

Contact details

There are no staff at this location.

Contact our customer team for general enquiries during office hours, Monday to Friday.