Walks near Cwmbran by train
MapA day hike in the countryside is just a simple train journey away — explore the most charmingly located railway stations near Cwmbran and plan your next day of green.
Alternatively, view walks directly from Cwmbran.
Abergavenny Circular via Ysgyryd Fach (Monmouthshire)
15 minutes direct from Cwmbran.
Ledbury to Great Malvern (Herefordshire)
1 hour from Cwmbran, with one change.
Majestically out of the Severn Plain. Undulating hills, steep ascents and descents and rocky paths and scree. Malvern Hills formed from ancient rock 680 million years old; inspired Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. Renowned spa destination from 17th century.
Hilly: three fifths on high ground, rising above the surrounding land.
Woodland: a fifth under tree cover.
Time: 6h30 (5h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Boggy sections; steep descents treacherous in unsuitable shoes; loose scree.
Walk details: Walk Midlands (tips, photos and local insights).
Ledbury to Colwall (Herefordshire)
1 hour from Cwmbran, with one change.
Through the timbered town of Ledbury, then woodland and the Three Choirs Way climbing below the Herefordshire Beacon, with Malvern Hills views.
Hilly: two fifths on high ground, rising above the surrounding land.
Time: 5h (3h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Lunch: Passes the Woodshed Café near Eastnor.
Walk details: Worcestershire Community Rail Partnership (PDF).
Cardiff Circular via Cardiff Bay Barrage (Glamorgan)
30 minutes direct from Cwmbran.
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).
Gloucester Circular via Gloucester Docks (Gloucestershire)
1 hour from Cwmbran, with one change.
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: 3h30 (2h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Walk details: Bristol Rail Campaign (photos, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Barry to Llantwit Major (Glamorgan)
1 hour from Cwmbran, with one change.
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: 7h (5h30 walking, 1h30 lunch)
Warnings: Check tide timings.
Walk details: the Saturday Walkers Club (tips, local insights and turn-by-turn directions).
Trehafod to Pontypridd (Glamorgan)
1 hour from Cwmbran, with one change.
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: 2h30 (1h walking, 1h30 lunch)
1 lunch spot: Barry Sidings Country Park Café
Walk details: Transport for Wales (tips, photos and turn-by-turn directions).
Cardiff to Barry (Glamorgan)
30 minutes direct from Cwmbran.
Port Talbot Parkway to Briton Ferry (Glamorgan)
1 hour direct from Cwmbran.
Severn Tunnel Junction to Newport (Monmouthshire)
30 minutes from Cwmbran, with one change.
Barry to Rhoose Cardiff International Airport (Glamorgan)
1 hour from Cwmbran, with one change.
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.
Rhoose Cardiff International Airport to Llantwit Major (Glamorgan)
1 hour from Cwmbran, with one change.
Recommended: A flat and fairly easy walk.
Coastal: three quarters along the coast.
Time: 4h30 (3h walking, 1h30 lunch)
Walk details: Railwalks.