2020 Autumn Road Trip - Family & Forests

23rd - 25th October 2022
Afan Forest Park :
https://naturalresources.wales/days-out/places-to-visit/south-west-wales/afan-forest-park-visitor-centre/?lang=en
What3Words Location : w3w.co/stands.panic.detonated

We spent much of the next 24 hours hanging out with Steve’s brother and his family. It was really wonderful to finally catch up with our gorgeous nephews!

Next stop on our South Wales tour was up into the valley’s. We had hoped to book a ride on the fastest seated Zip Wire in the world, however, we hadn’t pre-booked and for the first time in many years our half term dates matched the south wales term dates! It was fully booked.  So instead, we headed deeper into the valley.

We decided to wild camp that evening in the carpark at the Afan Forest Visitor Centre. Spread over 28 square miles, the forest park is nestled in the Afan Valley and is well known for it’s mountain biking, hiking and hill walking trails. We arrived in the early evening and headed out to explore the forest

The first thing we found was an adventure playground in front of the visitor centre. The boys enjoyed a fast and furious game of tag chasing each other around the wooden structure. Once they were bored of that we set off walking again and found Cynonville Halt railway station.  Built to transport miners around the area, Cynonville Halt railway station was first opened in the early 1900s. Since 1959 no train has passed through it, and although the platforms remain, the trackbed is now a cycle path.

Back at the van I cooked dinner and we settled in to watch a movie. 

There is a permanent toilet block in the carpark, these were undergoing renovations while we were there, but we were able to access the portaloos while the visitor centre was open. If you plan to stay here, make sure you double check the overnight parking price, the pay and display machines were out of order when we arrived so we were lucky enough to enjoy a completely free night.

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