Walks near Cardiff by train
Stations: Cardiff Central · Cardiff Queen Street · Cardiff Bay
MapA day hike in the countryside is just a simple train journey away — explore the most charmingly located railway stations near Cardiff and plan your next day of green.
Alternatively, view walks directly from Cardiff.
Abergavenny Circular via Ysgyryd Fach (Monmouthshire)
45 minutes direct from Cardiff Central.
Walk details: Rail Rambles.
Barry Island Circular via Whitmore Bay (Glamorgan)
30 minutes direct from Cardiff Central.
Wales Coast Path circuit around Nells Point, Whitmore Bay and Friars Point, mostly flat apart from a steady climb at the start.
Coastal: almost all along the coast.
Nells Point: Coastal headland east of Whitmore Bay with the old National Coastal Institution building on top.
Breakwater Lighthouse: Lighthouse marking the entrance to Barry Harbour, visible from the coast path.
Whitmore Bay: Main Barry Island bay with sandy beach and seafront promenade.
Friars Point: Headland on the west side of Whitmore Bay with views across the Severn Estuary.
Time: 1h–2h
Warnings: Steady climb at the start.
Walk details: Transport for Wales (tips, photos and turn-by-turn directions).
Gloucester Circular via Gloucester Docks (Gloucestershire)
1 hour direct from Cardiff Central.
Medieval friaries, Gloucester Cathedral's fan-vaulted cloisters, the historic docks and the river-meadow Alney Island reserve on the Severn.
Gloucester Docks: Britain's most inland port, the 1827 terminus of the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal, ringed by Victorian warehouses.
Gloucester Cathedral: A great medieval cathedral with celebrated fan-vaulted cloisters, near the start of the walk.
Llanthony Secunda Priory: The surviving buildings of a 12th-century Augustinian priory beside the Gloucester docks.
Alney Island Nature Reserve: A river-meadow nature reserve on an island between two channels of the River Severn.
Over Bridge: A single-span masonry bridge over the Severn designed by Thomas Telford and completed in 1829.
Time: 1h
Walk details: Bristol Rail Campaign (photos, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Barry to Llantwit Major (Glamorgan)
30 minutes direct from Cardiff Central.
Coastal headlands, pebble and sandy beaches, flat rock-shelf beaches, low cliffs, striated limestone cliffs, parkland, quiet cliff paths, wetland and historic town centre.
Coastal: nine tenths along the coast.
Time: 5h30–10h30
Warnings: Check tide timings.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Trehafod to Pontypridd (Glamorgan)
30 minutes direct from Cardiff Queen Street.
Flat tarmac route between Trehafod and Pontypridd stations through Rhondda Heritage Park, Barry Sidings Country Park and Pontypridd town centre.
Waterway: three fifths along the Afon Rhondda.
Woodland: half under tree cover.
Rhondda Heritage Park: A former colliery turned mining museum at Trehafod, telling the story of the Rhondda coalfield.
Barry Sidings Country Park: A reclaimed colliery site in the Rhondda valley, now a country park on the flat path to Pontypridd.
Ynysangharad Park: Pontypridd's main park, home to the National Lido of Wales.
Time: 1h–2h30
1 lunch spot: Barry Sidings Country Park Café
Walk details: Transport for Wales (tips, photos and turn-by-turn directions).
Keynsham to Bath Spa (Somerset)
1 hour from Cardiff Central, with one change.
Recommended: A largely off-road route using the River Avon Trail and the well-maintained Bristol & Bath Railway Path (Sustrans Cycle Route 4), flat, smooth and scenic, with extensive tree shade in summer. The first part out of Keynsham, before the cycle path, has kissing gates and a cattle grid and can be muddy. Follows Sustrans National Cycle Route 4; passes Avon Riverside station on the Avon Valley Railway.
Waterway: two thirds along the River Avon.
Woodland: a third under tree cover.
Time: 3h30–6h30
1 lunch spot: the Bird in Hand
Warnings: The Bristol & Bath Railway Path is a very busy cycle and jogging route — cyclists can pass at speed. The Keynsham end has five kissing gates and muddy ground.
Walk details: Slow Ways.
Severn Tunnel Junction to Newport (Monmouthshire)
30 minutes direct from Cardiff Central.
Recommended
Walk details: Railwalks.
Barry to Rhoose Cardiff International Airport (Glamorgan)
30 minutes direct from Cardiff Central.
Port Talbot Parkway to Briton Ferry (Glamorgan)
30 minutes direct from Cardiff Central.
Recommended
Walk details: Railwalks.
Rhoose Cardiff International Airport to Llantwit Major (Glamorgan)
30 minutes direct from Cardiff Central.
Briton Ferry to Swansea (Glamorgan)
45 minutes from Cardiff Central, with one change.
Recommended
Walk details: Railwalks.
Maesteg to Sarn (Glamorgan)
45 minutes from Cardiff Central, with one change.
Recommended: Far reaching views on Maesteg and the Llynfi valley. A walk primarily following the eastern bank of the River Lynfi, on an old tram road around the Garth and through fields with limited gradient and with a short climb up to Betws and a final off-road cycle lane into Sarn. A 100m section of narrow road walking at Betws. Runs through Bryngarw House and Country Park, over 100 acres of meadows, gardens and mature woodland. Both Sarn and Maesteg have train stations for a rail-and-trail option.
Time: 3h–6h30
Lunch: Pubs and a shop in Betws to break up the journey; a café at Bryngarw House.
Walk details: Slow Ways.