Walks you can reach from Llantwit Major by train

Flat Wales Coast Path circuit around Cardiff Bay out to the barrage, with views back to Cardiff, Flatholm Island and across to Devon on a clear day.

Waterway: four fifths beside rivers and canals.

Wales Millennium Centre: Landmark bronze-clad arts centre on the Cardiff Bay waterfront.

Pierhead Building: Grade I listed red-brick Victorian dock office on the bay.

Senedd: Welsh Government parliament building on the Cardiff Bay waterfront.

Norwegian Church: White-painted timber church built for Norwegian sailors, now an arts centre.

Captain Scott Monument: Memorial to Captain Scott's 1910 Antarctic expedition, which set sail from Cardiff.

Cardiff Bay Barrage: Tidal barrage closing off Cardiff Bay, with a wide promenade across it.

Time: 3h (1h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)

1 lunch spot: Mermaid Quay

Warnings: Lower waterside path is not fully accessible due to its surface.

Walk details: Transport for Wales (tips, photos and turn-by-turn directions).

Recommended: A flat walk through former industrial land where nature is starting to reclaim the coast.

Coastal: almost all along the coast.

Time: 3h30 (2h walking, 1h30 lunch)

Walk details: Railwalks.

Recommended

Time: 6h30 (5h walking, 1h30 lunch)

Walk details: Railwalks.

Impressive walk; spectacular. Coastal path with woodland.

Coastal: almost all along the coast.

Woodland: a fifth under tree cover.

Time: 4h30 (3h walking, 1h30 lunch)

Walk details: Railwalks.

A walk of two parts: well-defined paths and ginnels through the Brackla housing estate, then off-road field, woodland and quiet country-lane walking. Some sections are steep, with stiles and steps and ground that can be boggy in the woods even in dry weather. Part of the route follows the Bridgend Circular Walk. Pencoed has trains to Bridgend, Swansea and Cardiff, so the walk can be done in either direction.

Time: 3h30 (2h walking, 1h30 lunch)

Lunch: Pubs, cafes, shops and supermarkets at Brackla triangle and in Pencoed.

Warnings: Heol Simonston is busy with fast traffic and the crossing points have poor sight lines; cross with great care. The high-banked lanes near Coed y Mwstwr have no verge. There are several stiles and steep, difficult ground approaching the M4 tunnel; using the underpass at Princess Way is simpler and safer than the road crossing. Can be muddy.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Time: 9h30 (8h walking, 1h30 lunch)

Walk details: Railwalks.

A more rural route through fields, involving stiles and best done when the ground is dry or frozen.

Time: 5h (3h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)

Warnings: Involves stiles, and the field sections are best avoided when the ground is wet. Can be muddy.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Field paths and a less monotonous town section and with fields that can get very muddy after bad weather.

Time: 3h30 (2h walking, 1h30 lunch)

Warnings: Two fifths urban. There may be cattle in the fields.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Impressive stretch; impressive.

Coastal: two thirds along the coast.

Time: 6h30 (5h walking, 1h30 lunch)

Walk details: Railwalks.

Awesome views across the Severn estuary and Gwent Levels. A long, mostly off-road coastal walk along the Wales Coast Path, with sweeping views across the Severn Estuary and Gwent Levels and plus a few stretches along busy roads going in and out of the two cities. Very exposed to the elements throughout. Mostly follows the Wales Coast Path. Wildlife includes kestrels, curlews and grass snakes; 7,000-year-old footprints have been found on the estuary shore. The Lighthouse Inn at St Brides Wentlooge is currently closed.

Coastal: two thirds along the coast.

Time: 8h (6h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)

Lunch: There are no places to get food or water on the route, so bring everything you need.

Warnings: A fifth urban. The route is very exposed, so wind, rain or heat will be strongly felt. There are no refreshment or water stops the whole way, so carry everything you need. A few stretches along busy roads at the city ends.

Walk details: Slow Ways.

Reverse direction: Railwalks.

Travels through quiet roads or off-road cycle lanes through the suburbs of Bridgend, into Laleston, across Stormy Down and down into Pyle. A short walk across boggy fields and with overgrown stiles between Upper Park Farm and Laleston. Passes the Old Bridge (Yr Hen Pont) built in 1425 at Bridgend.

Time: 4h30 (3h walking, 1h30 lunch)

Lunch: Laleston has a pub, shops and cafes (though the pub may be closed); shops and facilities in Bridgend and Broadlands.

Warnings: A series of old stone stiles between Upper Park Farm and Laleston are overgrown with brambles and nettles and in one place barred by gates; the route into and out of Laleston is hard to find.

Walk details: Slow Ways.