Connect Cowbridge with Slow Ways

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more walks and reviews are needed to fully connect Cowbridge to the verified network. Can you give a hike and help?

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Cowbridge / Y Bont-faen

Vale of Glamorgan


Slow Ways linking Cowbridge and Barry, Bridgend (Wales), Colwinston, Llanharry, Llantwit Major, Pencoed, Peterston-super-Ely

Wales / Vale of Glamorgan / Cowbridge

Cowbridge’s seven Slow Ways are 57% checked

Drawn: 7/7
reviewed: 6/7
verified: 4/7
and surveyed: 1/7

Help connect Cowbridge

Many Slow Ways have several route options. Some will be better than others, or good for different reasons.

Our goal is for each Slow Way to have at least one route that is verified and surveyed. To be verified – and get its snail badge – a route needs at least three positive reviews.

Give a hike and help get a for every one of Cowbridge’s Slow Ways.

Walk to Cowbridge from further afield

Slow Way Route To do
Bridgend (Wales)—Cowbridge
Bricow one Pioneer me Distance 13km/8mi Ascent 158m Descent 161m
Colwinston—Cowbridge
Colcow one

Double check Distance 7km/4mi Ascent 71m Descent 102m
Colwinston—Cowbridge
Colcow two Survey me Distance 7km/4mi Ascent 92m Descent 125m
Cowbridge—Barry
Cowbar one Survey me Distance 22km/14mi Ascent 439m Descent 436m
Cowbridge—Barry
Cowbar two Pioneer me Distance 21km/13mi Ascent 437m Descent 432m
Cowbridge—Llanharry
Cowlla one

Review me Distance 9km/5mi Ascent 73m Descent 137m
Cowbridge—Peterston-super-Ely
Cowpet one

Double check Distance 12km/7mi Ascent 217m Descent 211m
Cowbridge—Peterston-super-Ely
Cowpet two Verify me Distance 12km/7mi Ascent 217m Descent 211m
Llantwit Major—Cowbridge
Llacow one

Survey me Distance 8km/5mi Ascent 110m Descent 128m
Llantwit Major—Cowbridge
Llacow two Pioneer me Distance 8km/5mi Ascent 110m Descent 128m
Pencoed—Cowbridge
Pencow one

Double check Distance 12km/8mi Ascent 199m Descent 208m
Pencoed—Cowbridge
Pencow two Review me Distance 13km/8mi Ascent 198m Descent 208m
Pencoed—Cowbridge
Pencow three

Enjoy me Distance 11km/7mi Ascent 194m Descent 204m

Fancy stretching your legs a bit more?

If you’ve polished off all of the routes between Cowbridge and its neighbours, how about walking its whole web?

This includes the great ring of routes that join its neighbours to each other!

Collective progress

54% of Cowbridge’s seven route options are drawn, reviewed, surveyed and/or verified

13/13

drawn

10/13

reviewed

1/13

surveyed

4/13

verified

7 people have contributed to Cowbridge’s Slow Ways

5 people have pledged to walk and review a route

1 people have surveyed a route in Cowbridge

112km out of 155km have been walked and reviewed

279km of reviews have been shared in Cowbridge

Latest Updates

It was nice to see the impressive church is Llanblethian and then to walk along the road with views to the south. Following the meandering road again it’s fairly flat until you reach the village of Colwinston with yet another pub and historic church to visit....

Stuart Bain

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Photo 2 - Penllyn church Photo 3 - View towards Bridgend from just outside Penllyn village Photo 4 - View towards Pencoed from after St...

Paul Chilcott

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The only section that wasn`t obvious was between Gaer Wood up to where the footpath emerges at Crossways, where a couple of direction markers were missing and it was so easy to just follow the Valeways markers. Photo 1 - The River Ely just outside Peterston-super-Ely...

Paul Chilcott

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A lovely walking route, mostly through lanes (Photo 1), but also a nice bit of woodland coming out of Cowbridge....

Paul Chilcott

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Paul Chilcott took this photo on Cowbar one

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Photo 1 - Green lane leaving Cowbridge Photo 5 - The natural pavement beach near Rhoose Point Photo 7 - Pebble beach near The Knapp, Barry...

Paul Chilcott

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It didn't feel at all safe to cross from this direction as the oncoming traffic is coming from around a bend with poor visibility and it seemed very busy....

sftuck

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Walked in two sections from Cowbridge to Rhoose and from Rhoose to Barry. A lovely rural walk that is well waymarked. There were a few areas that were a bit overgrown, especially round the edge of Cardiff Airport, but nothing too difficult....

sftuck

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An excellent walk through lanes and fields, mostly well signposted, until the last section leading into Llanmaes. Photo 5 - Footpath through the wheat fields leaving Llanmihangel...

Paul Chilcott

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Photo 4 - River Thaw meadows, Cowbridge...

Paul Chilcott

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Once out of Cowbridge, there is a large section along country lanes, but only 2 cars passed me, so not very busy....

sftuck

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I have walked parts of this route several times as I live in Llanmaes, and I also walked the whole route over the summer from Cowbridge. As has already been mentioned in another review, the route is not well-marked south of Llanfihangel, and it crosses fields where rights of way seem to have been ignored and marker posts are absent or have fallen over. It cannot be cycled, although it would not be hard to plan an alternative route through the lanes....

Phil Tandy

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Stuart Bain surveyed Pencow three

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The first section is fairly easy road and path walking with three wooden stiles as you climb up to St Mary’s Hill. There is a section a road walking as you got though Llangan but the village is beautiful so worth doing. Once on the fields the route is fairly clear, so follow the path descending into the Penllyn estate. A few wonky stiles at the start of the walk and the steps descending into Cowbridge must be navigated with care....

Stuart Bain

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Cowbridge

sftuck surveyed Cowbridge

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This route starts in the village of Colwinston, it took us out onto country lanes with views over open rolling countryside....

Sabina and Dingo dog

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Sabina and Dingo dog took this photo on Colcow two

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This route took us from Cowbridge into Peterston, it started off on a pavement path under the railway and taking us up a short sharp hill onto a lovely section across open fields. Then the path takes a route between the buildings, then some holiday lodges and grazing paddocks....

Sabina and Dingo dog

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Sabina and Dingo dog took this photo on Cowpet one

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The footpath section after the church at Llanblethian is lovely, just follow the main path through the woodland and enjoy it....

polls78

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However the path going through the stables at Pant Wilkin is really difficult, there are fences and buildings over the line of the path. This is really frustrating; it has the potential to be a truly lovely route but lack of maintenance, lack of use and non-existent signage have combined to make it really difficult....

polls78

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Cowbridge—Peterston-super-Ely

MaddyT added Cowpet two, a new walk from Cowbridge to Peterston-super-Ely

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Most of this route is easy to navigate, but some of the paths between Cowbridge and Aberthin need maintenance, especially on top of the hill: wobbly stiles & a fence blocking access into a field (not barbed - can be climbed over). It would be easier, if unpleasant, to walk along the main road (pavement all the way, though narrow in places)....

MaddyT

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Pencoed—Cowbridge

MaddyT added Pencow three, a new walk from Pencoed to Cowbridge

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As well as being easy to miss (unmarked and obscured by a fallen tree), it's extremely boggy and blocked by further fallen trees. It seems to be well-used by horse-riders, which makes it arduous to follow; I didn't get very far and don't recommend it....

MaddyT

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Walking from Pencoed, this is a scenic route once south of the A473: woods, fields, lanes, mostly well-marked footpaths, and a pub in Penllyn. Things to note: 1) Just south of Pencoed, the path through the wood near Tan-y-lan Farm is clearly marked at the bottom but not at the top; if walking towards Pencoed, look out for it as you approach the wood. If you miss it, you can take the zigzag route that skirts Tan-y-lan. 2) Leaving Penllyn towards Cowbridge, go past the church and along the driveway until you see two signs saying there is no right of way; look for the footpath marker on the right, through the fence and across the fields....

MaddyT

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Cowbridge—Barry

MaddyT added Cowbar two, a new walk from Cowbridge to Barry

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The Barry to Rhoose section is easy, along the coast path; Rhoose to Cowbridge involves more careful map reading but is well worth the effort. Most of the route was marked and fairly easy to follow across the fields. Between Llantrithyd and St Hilary I recommend staying on the lane: the bridleway included a locked gate and a potentially muddy field, and one of the short footpath sections was blocked by corn....

MaddyT

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Instead, I followed the pedestrian/cycle sign towards Coychurch which involved a very short section of main road (wide footpath), then turned left into a quiet lane: straight on, then turn left to join the footpath across a field to Pant-y-gôg.....

MaddyT

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Pencoed—Cowbridge

MaddyT added Pencow two, a new walk from Pencoed to Cowbridge

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However, going via Treoes seems an unnecessary detour: see Pencow3 for a more direct route....

MaddyT

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I walked from Llanharry to Cowbridge - mostly an enjoyable walk, especially the section just north of Cowbridge. Further north, there are several dilapidated stiles that need to be crossed with care, and one stile has been blocked by a wire fence (not barbed) around a field: an additional obstacle to climb over....

MaddyT

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Cowbridge

MaddyT surveyed Cowbridge

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However, there’s no need to use the main road at the Cowbridge-end of the route....

MaddyT

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Colwinston—Cowbridge

MaddyT added Colcow two, a new walk from Colwinston to Cowbridge

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This is a nice walk, largely along quiet lanes but with a section crossing fields between Llanmihangel and Llanmaes. The northern part of this section is fine, but navigating the southern section was more challenging as the path is much less obvious. The fields consist of green crops which were only knee-high, but if they reach head-height in summer...!...

MaddyT

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Cowbridge

GaBick surveyed Cowbridge

View facilities
Bridgend (Wales)—Cowbridge

Slow Ways added Bricow one, a new walk from Bridgend (Wales) to Cowbridge

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Colwinston—Cowbridge

Slow Ways added Colcow one, a new walk from Colwinston to Cowbridge

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Cowbridge—Barry

Slow Ways added Cowbar one, a new walk from Cowbridge to Barry

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Cowbridge—Llanharry

Slow Ways added Cowlla one, a new walk from Cowbridge to Llanharry

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Cowbridge—Peterston-super-Ely

Slow Ways added Cowpet one, a new walk from Cowbridge to Peterston-super-Ely

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Llantwit Major—Cowbridge

Slow Ways added Llacow one, a new walk from Llantwit Major to Cowbridge

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Llantwit Major—Cowbridge

Slow Ways added Llacow two, a new walk from Llantwit Major to Cowbridge

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Pencoed—Cowbridge

Slow Ways added Pencow one, a new walk from Pencoed to Cowbridge

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1

Cowbridge, Thu 18 April

Cloudy

Cowbridge’s Slow Ways starting point

Grid ref

SS9955274639

Lat / Lon

51.46178° / -3.44730°

Easting / Northing

299,552E / 174,639N

Fancy stretching your legs a bit more?

If you’ve polished off all of the routes between Cowbridge and its neighbours, how about walking its whole web?

This includes the great ring of routes that join its neighbours to each other!

Facilities

Users have reported that the following facilities can be found within 1km of Cowbridge's meeting point

Public toilet

Wheelchair accessible toilet

Supermarket or convenience shop

Restaurant, cafe or pub

Accommodation

Accommodation for under £50 a night

Campsite

Bothy

Free wifi

Mobility scooter hire

Off-road wheelchair hire

Disabled Parking

Train station

Bus stop

Ferry

Official ‘Walkers are Welcome’ town

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