Cambrian Way rerun: Cardiff Bay to Crosskeys

Saturday 17th May 2025

Almost immediately after coming back from my ill-fated walk along the Cambrian Way last year I started to plan a return visit to the sections that I had failed to do previously because of bad weather, but then, a couple of months later, I had a crazy idea of doing the whole trail again. The Cambrian Way is about three hundred miles long starting in Cardiff, by the south coast of Wales, and following a course over the mountains all the way across the nation until eventually ending in Conwy on the north coast, three weeks later. Despite the many difficulties I had last year, the idea of doing it again and learning from my previous mistakes was exciting and proved irresistible. After months of meticulous planning over the winter and eager anticipation I eventually arrived at the railway station in Cardiff and immediately set off in the wrong direction. The Cambrian Way starts at the gates of Cardiff Castle, which is north of Cardiff Central station, and yet I headed south towards Cardiff Bay. Since I’ve already done a lot of the Cambrian Way before I felt I was under no obligation to stick rigidly to the trail this time, so while I would follow new sections of the trail for me, I had no qualms about cutting corners on sections that I had done before. Last year, I started my trail by walking around Cardiff Bay as I felt that was the more fitting place to start a coast to coast trail across Wales and this time was no different, so I headed south to Roald Dahl Plass outside the Millennium Centre where I had views across Cardiff Bay.

From the Water Tower I set off along the Taff Trail, soon joining the river and heading north. Since the Cambrian Way also follows the River Taff out of Cardiff, I thought this be a good route for me to take from the bay, along the west bank of the river passing the Millennium Stadium and bypassing Cardiff Castle, while the exciting thought filled my mind that my epic, three week journey had just begun. The weather was warm and sunny, but I knew that in Wales this was not going to last for three weeks, though I hoped that this time I would be prepared for anything. My path coincided with that of many cyclists and runners, and while the Cambrian Way passed through Bute Park I passed through the pleasant landscape of Sophia Gardens and into Pontcanna Fields. The river was lined with trees while cow parsley and buttercups lined my path, which I had not seen when I left Cardiff last year since it had been in August, so I was looking forward to the change in vegetation that I would see this time on the trail. At Black Weir I crossed the bridge and finally joined the Cambrian Way on the east bank of the Taff where wild garlic decorated the woodland floor. At Gabalfa the Cambrian Way crosses the river for a needless diversion to Llandaff Cathedral, so I stayed on the east bank following the Taff Trail and when the trail turned right along the edge of Hailey Park I stayed beside the river. This wasn’t deliberate, but preferable and soon I reached a railway bridge where I rejoined the Cambrian Way and where a short stretch of road walking led me to one of the highlights of the whole trail.

I had entered a disused length of the Glamorganshire Canal which is now a nature reserve and was a fabulous place to walk, totally overgrown and given over to nature. It was gorgeous with the shallow waters of the canal filled with water lilies, looking beautiful even though they were not in flower, while yellow iris filled the bank to my left. Eventually I came to the end of this surviving section of canal where I had my first climb of the trail up to the complex network of paths that took me through the junction of the M4 motorway with the A470 trunk road, that soon led me into the village of Tongwynlais where my first proper climb took me up the road to Castell Coch. I was not bothered about the red castle, but the steep climb that took me through woodland that soon had me sweating in the warm weather, so I was thankful when the gradient eventually eased. Last year, I turned left at this point to head back down into the Taff valley with my first day on the trail already finished, but this time I kept going along the popular, wide path. The yellow flowers of broom decorated the thick green vegetation that lined the path until at the Three Bears Caves, a disused mine, I stopped for lunch. My onward course took me past a golf course on my left while to my right the woodland floor was carpeted with wild garlic, though not at its best as it was going to seed. After passing a car park, I crossed a road and followed a narrower path that weaved around the contours before widening and becoming easier underfoot, so I strode on, enjoying the walk with the trees shining a bright green in the sunlight.

When I reached a junction I checked my location and realised that I had missed a turning, so I had to retrace my steps back through the brightly lit trees until I eventually returned to the point that I should not have missed. I had thought that having done a lot of the Cambrian Way before the navigation would be easy for me so I could relax and just enjoy the trail, but much as I would have loved to have disengaged my brain, this incident showed that I couldn’t afford to since I had not missed that turning last year. I should at least have been able to learn from my missed turnings last year, but at Thornhill I made the same mistake I’d made before. The undulating trail continued along a broad ridge with little or no view so I just ploughed on and appreciated having the shelter of the trees from the sun. My interest was only awakened by the frequent appearance of wild garlic and particularly in one place where it covered the woodland floor and had not gone to seed. When the views did finally appear, on the edge of an old quarry, they were rather hazy, so despite the clear blue skies, they were not as appealing as they had been last year at this point. My route took me over Cefn Onn and continued for many miles until I finally turned north again on a wide forestry track through Coed Cefn-pwll-du and descended into the Rhymney Valley to reach Machen where the first stage of the Cambrian Way ends. I had originally planned on stopping at this point, but since it was still early and I was feeling strong, I decided to keep going, climbing up the hill towards Mynydd Machen. 

This was a tiring climb in the hot weather with the young woodland not providing me with any shelter, though as I climbed the views opened out towards Newport, where I was staying for the weekend, and beyond to the Bristol Channel. Eventually I turned north again to climb an eroded path that brought me to the radio transmitter and trig point that sits at the summit of Mynydd Machen, but I was just glad that the climbing was now over and I had a long descent into the Ebbw valley. Previously I had made a number of mistakes on this descent, so I now made sure to take the correct route into woodland decorated with bluebells and down a complicated sequence of paths that had previously been overgrown but it was not too difficult now to find my way, especially with the benefit of hindsight. Soon, I reached the Ebbw River and the road between Crosskeys and Risca where I turned left to reach the railway station at Crosskeys. This was a great start to the Cambrian Way and after spending all year doing exercises to strengthen my legs I felt better prepared for this walk than many others that I have done. I was eager for what the next three weeks lay in store for me.

Port Erin to Peel

Friday 25th April 2025

I was not feeling great at the start of this day and the weather had deteriorated in sympathy with light rain falling as I made my way through the streets of Douglas on the Isle of Man and caught a bus to take me to Port Erin where I had been the day before walking along the coastal path, Raad ny Foillan. My plan was to continue along that path on the most strenuous section even though I wasn’t feeling great, so I first reversed my steps of the day before and soon I rejoined the coastal path on a road that descends to the deserted Fleshwick Bay where I found a path that climbs steeply up the hill while behind me were misty views back over Port Erin and towards the Calf of Man. The terrain was heather moorland, which will be spectacular in August when the heather is in bloom, but was not at its best in this murky weather in April. The rain had eased but the same cold, easterly wind that had plagued me all week continued to blow while the path was so narrow I felt like I was walking on a tightrope, constantly crossing my legs in front of each other with every step, which wasn’t helping my knee pain that had appeared the day before. Eventually I reached the top of Lhiattee ny Beinnee and descended the other side to reach a road where a car park provided me with a place to stop and have an early lunch.

My progress slowly continued in the misty weather conditions past Burro Meanagh and up to Cronk ny Arrey Laa, which is the highest point on the Raad ny Foillan coastal footpath and why this is considered to be the most strenuous section, though it was not particularly difficult for me, even in this weather. With these strong winds, the top of the hill felt a bit like a mountain, but it is nowhere near as high. A path heads west towards the coast from the large summit cairn and trig point that took me past a memorial, but soon came to nothing, forcing me to retrace my steps past the cairn and onto a path that initially led me down north east before bending right to slowly descend all the way down to the coast. Eventually I crossed a stream where wild flowers reminded me that throughout my crossing of these two hills I had seen little variety in the moorland vegetation, so they were a welcome change. The terrain was now more interesting as the weather improved with the hazy views on the hilltops now replaced with stunning views along the coast under brightening skies. With Niarbyl Bay ahead of me I slowly began to enjoy this walk as I made my way across the slopes and down to Creggan Mooar where the sun briefly came out.

All too soon I reached a road where I turned inland and away from the beautiful coastline while the sun also disappeared, never to be seen again by me on the Isle of Man. The road brought me into the village of Dalby on the A27 road where my route continued beside the main road north until I reached Ballachrink where the trail descends to the coast, bypassing Glen Maye, but I hated to miss out on this valley so I stayed on the road until I reached the village where I could turn down into the valley. This was a delightful place overflowing with wild garlic, but I soon realised I was heading upstream rather than down so I retraced my steps and after some confusion I eventually found the right path that led me down into the stunning ravine where a small waterfall rewarded me for my efforts. Excellent paths provided me with amazing access through this beautiful narrow valley until I reached a sign that indicated the Raad ny Foillan coastal path does actually go through this valley. I eventually realised that the trail ascends through Glen Maye and then returns to the coast high above the northern side of the glen. Even though the lower part of the glen was less appealing for me, because of a lack of trees, it was still a fabulous place to walk through and soon led me to the coast where I had to climb ridiculously steeply up the cliff face until I reached the path on the northern side of the glen and back on the route of the Raad ny Foillan. Lesson learnt and if I ever do this path again I will know which way to go.

Beyond there I followed the path which hugged the coastline above precipitous cliffs and was a pleasure to walk along, so it was a pity the weather had deteriorated. With spectacular views before me towards Corrin’s Tower and behind me along the craggy coast, the sensational path led me around the many secluded bays and inlets before finally taking me around Peel Hill and down into the town which had lain hidden behind the hill. My first view of Peel was not pleasant being of the industrial west end dominated by the power station, but soon the rest of the town emerged and I descended through woodland to the river and into Peel where I caught a bus back to Douglas. This was another odd walk with the first half over the hills being rather dull in the misty weather, but it improved with the weather as I came back down to the coast, including that amazing moment when the sun came out. The following day the weather was even worse and since I needed to catch the ferry in the afternoon I decided to travel on the steam train again and not do any walking. In Port Erin I had a look around the railway museum and then caught the train back to Douglas before catching the ferry home. This was an amazing week with the highlight being the abundance of wild flowers that I saw everywhere, particularly wild garlic and bluebells thanks to the warm spring that had brought them to flower several weeks early so I could enjoy them during a late Easter. This was a fabulous week and with so many things to see and do on the Isle of Man I need to come back again so I can take in the many places I didn’t have time for.