Ystnan one

Verified Slow Way

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The access point from the main road heading away from the Nant Ddu hotel is marked Private. I had to continue further away from the hotel to pick up both access and a footbridge, clearly marked on an OS map.

It is very boggy as described for about 100 feet, but with luck and a walking pole, I made it through.

The fording wasn’t too hectic and the pole was again very useful.

This apart, it was a lovely walk.

Whilst the route looks clear at most points its sadly not passable in wet weather due to the ford. We attempted it but didn't feel safe so turned back, finishing at Penderyn and cutting across Cwm Cadlan on a minor road the next day.

June 2025. Direction: Nant Ddu to Ystrafellte.

Part of the 2025 National Parks Trail Challenge.

This is quite a wet walk in several places, despite it being after a fairly dry spell. The path starts by following the Taff Trail, which this far north is just a footpath and getting quite overgrown in places by now. After the path up through the forestry breaks out into open moorland, the first couple of hundred metres or so is a bit of a swamp. Very high and uneven tussucky grass, which I was trying to balance on rather than get my feet wet. Very hard walking through this short section ! After a couple of falls and a couple of water over the boot experiences, it gets a bit drier and easier before joining the road. There is plenty of space along the verges, but a lot of the traffic is travelling pretty fast here. The lane down to the fords and Hepste Fechan is easy to spot. Fortunately, the streams were reasonably low and I could pick out a stepping stone route across them - maybe not so easy after a wet spell ! There followed a lovely stretch across moorland, farmland and then lanes down into Ystrafellte and "Waterfall Country" I didn`t take any detours to visit any of the tourist attractions, but there are plenty around the area. It looks like the pub in Ystrafellte had recently closed (permanently) and the only other place for provisions was the post office, which only opens for 2 hours (10 - 12) during the day.

Photo 1 - Taff Trail footpath signs
Photo 2 - Looking back down into the Taff Valley
Photo 3 - The tracks leading from the road to Hepste Fechan
Photo 4 - The fords near Hepste Fechan
Photo 5 - The bridge over Nant Hepste Fechan into the farmland
Photo 6 - The track across the farmland
Photo 7 - The Mellte River, Ystrafellte.

Ystradfellte is in a beautiful valley. The path cuts through a lovely forest and own an old track onto open moorland. There is a "ford" to cross - this is a stream and even in summertime went over my boot ! The route then joins the A4509 which has no verge and has cars travelling quite fast round bends. It then joins the forest and there is an attractive path to the reservoir.

At the time of the review there was no access to the path through the forest and on to Pant y Wern. This is due to diversions in the forest. There is a bridleway heading north west out of Nant Dru which leads to the A 4059. Making the walk along this road now 2 miles rather than the 1.5 it would be. traffic is fast along this road but the verges are wide. It is a shame as the rest of the route is excellent. There was a locked gate in open access country! just south of Heptse Fechan.

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