National Cycle Network, Route 43 is part of the National Cycle Network and the Celtic Trail, which connects Swansea with Builth Wells. Most of the route is still awaiting development. As of June 2006, there is a 13-mile section out of Swansea that is open and signed.
The existing developed part of the route uses existing cycleways and canal Paths and follows the River Tawe.
Swansea
The route begins in the Maritime Quarter near the Swansea Bay barrage. It runs alongside the Tawe west bank past the Sainsbury's store where cyclists have to cross via a pedestrian crossing at the Quay Parade bridge. Once across the road, the route turns right over the Quay Parade bridge. Once over the bridge, there is an immediate left turn into a dedicated path which follows the west bank of the River Tawe as far as the Pentre-Chwyth traffic junction, in the White Rock area. To the left of this path the Hafod copper works are visible.
Signage for the route is poor at the White Rock area and there are a number of alternate routes northwards that can be taken there. The most traffic free route from the Pentre-Chwyth junction continues left into the Morfa Retail Park, over the Liberty Stadium foot bridge, then right again following the east bank of the River Tawe past the Liberty Stadium, then under the Landore viaduct.
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (July 2008)
Clydach
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (July 2008)
The main route through Clydach follows the direction of the Swansea Canal, and is flat all the way, however there are several barriers which require cyclists to dismount. Kingfishers can be seen, especially close to Pontardawe. The path in the area can be busy with dog walkers.
Trebanos
The path continues from Pontardawe Leisure centre and the Trebanos stretch begins behind the Colliers Arms / post office in Trebanos and follows the canal down towards Clydach. It comes out in Coedgwilym Park.
Pontardawe
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (July 2008)
In Pontardawe the splits into two sections at the rear of Pontardawe leisure centre. One cycle path goes to the east of the leisure centre alongside the River Tawe. The other path keeps following the canal tow path to Ystradgynlais. The cycle path continues through the Pontardawe recreation ground alongside the river.
Ystalyfera & Ystradgynlais
Takes a little detour on to the public road, but reconnects at "Starving Hill" and has a tarmacked section all the way to the "Heads of the Valleys" road.
A towpath is a road or trail on the bank of a river, canal, or other inland waterway. The purpose of a towpath is to allow a land vehicle, beasts of burden, or a team of human pullers to tow a boat, often a barge. This mode of transport was common where sailing was impractical due to tunnels and bridges, unfavourable winds, or the narrowness of the channel.
Pontardawe is a town and a community in the Swansea Valley in Wales. With a population of 6,832, it comprises the electoral wards of Pontardawe and Trebanos. A town council is elected. Pontardawe forms part of the county borough of Neath Port Talbot. On the opposite bank of the River Tawe, the village of Alltwen, part of the community of Cilybebyll, is administered separately from Pontardawe, but has close ties to the town. Pontardawe is at the crossroads of the A474 road and the A4067 road. Pontardawe came into existence as a small settlement on the northwestern bank of the Tawe where the drovers' road from Neath and Llandeilo crossed the river to go up the valley to Brecon.
The Taff Trail is a popular walking and cycle path that runs for 55 miles (89 km) between Cardiff Bay and Brecon in Wales. It is so named because it follows the course of the River Taff. Along much of its length, it follows the National Cycle Network Route 8 that continues to Holyhead, and is substantially off-road.
The River Tawe is a 30 miles (48 km) long river in South Wales. Its headwaters flow initially east from its source below Llyn y Fan Fawr south of Moel Feity in the Black Mountains, the westernmost range of the Brecon Beacons National Park, before the river turns south and then southwest to its estuary at Swansea. Its main tributaries are the right bank Upper and Lower Clydach Rivers and the Afon Twrch. The total area of the catchment is some 246 km2 (95 sq mi). The Tawe passes through a number of towns and villages including Ystradgynlais, Ystalyfera, Pontardawe, and Clydach and meets the sea at Swansea Bay below Swansea. The Tawe Valley is more commonly known as the Swansea Valley.
The Swansea Vale Railway (SVR) was a railway line connecting the port of Swansea in South Wales to industries and coalfields along the River Tawe on the northern margin of Swansea, by taking over a tramroad in 1846. It was extended to Brynamman in 1868. Passengers were carried from 1860, and a loop line through Morriston was built.
The Maritime Quarter is a residential area of Swansea, Wales, UK located immediately south of the city centre shopping core. It falls within Swansea's Castle ward. The area is bounded by Brynmill to the west, Swansea Bay to the South, the River Tawe to the east and the A4067 to the north.
Clydach is both a village and a community in Swansea, Wales, within the Clydach ward and the Llangyfelach parish. It is located 6 miles (9.7 km) northeast of Swansea city centre. In 2011, the population was 7,503. Welsh is the first language of 24 per cent of the population and both Welsh and English language schools are available. The village lies close to the M4 motorway which can be accessed via the bypass or old road via Ynystawe. The community includes part of the village of Glais.
The Swansea Canal was a canal constructed by the Swansea Canal Navigation Company between 1794 and 1798, running for 16.5 miles (26.6 km) from Swansea to Hen Neuadd, Abercraf in South Wales. It was steeply graded, and 36 locks were needed to enable it to rise 373 feet (114 m) over its length. The main cargos were coal, iron and steel, and the enterprise was profitable.
Alltwen is a village in the Swansea Valley in Wales. Alltwen forms part of the community of Cilybebyll and is administered separately from adjoining Pontardawe on the opposite bank of the River Tawe.
The Swansea Valley is one of the South Wales Valleys. It is the valley from the Brecon Beacons National Park to the sea at Swansea of the River Tawe in Wales. Administration of the area is divided between the City and County of Swansea, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, and Powys. A distinction may be drawn between the Lower Swansea valley and the Upper Swansea valley; the former was more heavily industrialised during the 19th and 20th centuries.
The Lower Swansea valley is the lower half of the valley of the River Tawe in south Wales. It runs from approximately the level of Clydach down to Swansea docks, where it opens into Swansea Bay and the Bristol Channel. This relatively small area was a focus of industrial innovation and invention during the Industrial Revolution, leading to a transformation of the landscape and a rapid rise in the population and economy of Swansea.
Ynysforgan is a village in Swansea, Wales, between Morriston and Ynystawe, just off junction 45 of the M4 motorway
Pontardawe railway station was a railway station on the Swansea Vale Railway that ran along the River Tawe. British Railways closed the station to passengers in 1950. The line continued carrying coal but with the decline in coal mining the station closed completely in 1965.
National Cycle Route 4 is a route of the National Cycle Network, running from London to Fishguard, Pembrokeshire. Between these, the route runs through Reading, Bath, Bristol, Newport, Swansea and St David's. Within Wales, sections of the route follow branches of the Celtic Trail cycle route.
National Cycle Route 1 is a route of the National Cycle Network, running from Dover to Tain. The 1,264 mi-long (2,034-kilometre) cycle-path is located in the United Kingdom.
The Lea Valley Walk is a 50-mile (80 km) long-distance path located between Leagrave, the source of the River Lea near Luton, and the Thames, at Limehouse Basin, Limehouse, east London. From its source much of the walk is rural. At Hertford the path follows the towpath of the River Lee Navigation, and it becomes increasingly urbanised as it approaches London. The walk was opened in 1993 and is waymarked throughout using a swan logo.
National Cycle Route 78 runs from Campbeltown to Inverness. It was officially launched as the Caledonia Way in 2016 as part of the wider redevelopment of Scotland's cycle network. It runs from the Kintyre peninsula to the Great Glen and the route varies from on road to traffic-free forest trails and canal paths.
The Clydach Gorge is a steep-sided valley in south-east Wales down which the River Clydach flows to the River Usk. It runs for 5.6 kilometres (3.5 mi) from the vicinity of Brynmawr in Blaenau Gwent eastwards and northeastwards to Gilwern in Monmouthshire. The Gorge was one of the first locations in the region to be industrialised though it still retains its natural environment. It has long been an important transport corridor between Abergavenny and the lowlands of Monmouthshire and the northeastern quarter of the South Wales Coalfield. It is now exploited by the A465 Heads of the Valleys trunk road which runs between Abergavenny and Swansea and which serves the Heads of the Valleys sub-region.
National Cycle Route 23 is a route of the National Cycle Network, running from Reading to Sandown. The partially signed route passes through Basingstoke, Eastleigh and Southampton; once across the Solent, it continues through Cowes and Newport.
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