Bryabe one

Slow Way not verified yet. Verify Bryabe here.

An excellent walk mostly along an old railway line, now a footpath and cycle path (national routes 46 and 492). There are some fine views across to the Black Mountains, as well as the local mountains. I did the walk from Abergavenny, so it was a long, steady, uphill plod all the way from Llanfoist. There are a few deviations from the original railway line, where the land is privately owned, or the line used to go through tunnels, and here the path can become quite steep, along country lanes or dedicated alternative paths. The views are stunning in parts, especially where you can see down the Clydach Valley towards the Black Mountains and also around Puck`s valley. There are also quite a few relics from the area`s industrial heritage. The path is metalled most of the way, but there are some nice short stretches of grassy paths around Puck`s Valley, with a few wet patches here and there, but not too bad considering there had been heavy rain a few days before.

It`s worth a diversion to the Clydach Nature Reserve for its wildlife and waterfalls if you have the time or the energy, but it`s a steep walk back up to the rail path.

The rail path itself is generally good for wheeling aswell as walking, with a single swivel gate and a single kissing gate along the way (the kissing gate is at the end of the rail path stage before the second diversion on to a country lane (grid ref. 32082123), although there is a possible alternative on another metalled lane). The lane diversions however, are single track, and although a bicycle may just pass an on-coming car they may not be wide enough for a wheelchair to pass a car and there are few passing places.

Photo 1 - The path between Llanfoist and Govilon
Photo 2 - The old railway station at Govilon (sign pointing towards Brynmawr)
Photo 3 - Country lane between Govilon and Gilwern
Photo 4 - Crossing the viaduct near Clydach
Photo 5 - Some of the historical industrial sites along the way
Photo 6 - The path is diverted around the disused railway tunnels
Photo 7 - The view down the Clydach Valley
Photo 8 - Puck`s Valley.

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