Dincar four

Verified Slow Way

Verified by 50.00% of reviewers

This route is fine for the most part but at one point uses a private road which has no public access. See Dincar 6 for a similar route with no access issues.

The first part of the rout from Dinas Powys to Michaelston-le-pit was mostly over common land, lots of paths to choose from all well maintained. After Michaelston-le-pit there the path was less well marked and the stiles are less well maintained, some were quite difficult to negotiate and the path was difficult to follow. On getting to the Leckwith woods the path as marked on the OS map was blocked off, but there were plenty of alternatives ways through the wood to Old Leckwith Bridge.

This was a great fun walk, pretty adventurous, and ending suddenly right in Cardiff. I expected it to feel suburban, but it really didn't, and there were meadows, woodland, and some challenging off pistes.

The three stars are for two reasons - the path follows a track that isn't a right of way and has a sign saying private (Dincar six has been invented since, and takes you round this bit).
This route off Leckwith Hill is treacherous too - it is a right of way, but was a very slippery bank down slimy wild garlic, after going over some barbed wire. I enjoyed it for the drama, but was tired afterwards, and it'd be rubbish for anyone unsteady on their feet, or with a big backpack or baby carrier.

I walked most of this route from Dinas Powis to Cardiff, but has access issues to the track west of Leckwith and south of West Hill Wood. The gate was locked and has signs saying there was not access.

I'm not local and it's possible the previous reviewers know something I don't, so I'm reviewing this route as "maybe" good enough for the network - but happy to switch to "yes" or "no" if someone has some local knowledge to share!

It's a really beautiful route, including some great views.

The trickiest part of this route is to the north-west of Leckwith Farm and under the pylons, especially if you are coming from the west. Coming from that direction you currently need to look for a hole in the hedge, get around some barbed wire and then get down a steep and slippery 15+ metre slope. It would be great if someone cleared a hole in that hedge where the right of way is.

That all said, I walked the whole route other than that track... and loved it! A really brilliant walk, with an unexpected amount of adventure and wildness so close to Cardiff.

I wanted to give this route five stars... but the barbed wire, tricky navigation and access issue mean that it's going to get a three for now..

I'll be uploading an alternative route option that deals with the access issue.

A lovely route from Dinas Powys to Cardiff. A couple of tricky connections along the route. The golfers at the start did not like us following the public rights of way. However if you keep to the right perimeter as you enter the golf course you should be fine. The trail past the ancient fortification of Dinas Powys is so quiet and beautiful its like being in another time and space. Once you get on to the path beyond this you feel the pressure of people with money who have built their hacienda complete with fence enclosure and banks of stones to experience the squeezed and left over spaces for the path. The climb to the top of Lechwedd is tricky through the wood as much of the undergrowth is starting to blur the way but the view of Penarth from the top is spectacular from that angle. The decent back down to Cardiff must be carefully navigated as again some insensitive boundary treatment can lead to confused ways down. The decent through the wood is nice and then you exit by Leckwith Bridge to cross towards Cardiff City Stadium. The roads are busy here and it is a bit of a trek along towards Canton. The walk along NInian Park Road in to the city centre bring you to view the Principality Stadium. A short walk along Wood Street takes you to central square the BBC building and the station.

A really beautiful route with some great views and a lot of open countryside. Very easy to do for the first 3 miles but could be a bit muddy when it has been wet. There is a short uphill path at 3 miles which can be a bit overgrown in the summer so you might need a stick or long trousers. Most of the route sticks religously to paths which are very obvious although there is one track where a farm gate needs to be climbed over, and one field where the path isn't obvious even though the gate on the other side is. A mixture between fields and woodland until reaching the top of the walk where there are views over the Severn Estuary to England and also into Cardiff itself. Once down the hill to Leckwith there is an urban stretch with is very easy to navigate and takes you straight into Cardiff Central Station, but with many transport options to get there for weary legs.

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