The best MTB trails around Ystalyfera

Superb flat ride

The Black Mountain Category 3 Climb from Brynaman is a 5.5km climb with a total ascent of 312m, topping out at 495m. The average gradient is 5.8% with the steepest 100m section reaching 8.4%. Grind out the best gear you can on the consistent slope and gradually as you rise above the valley towards the plateau you are rewarded with some of the best scenery in Wales. You've earnt the descent.

Well maintained tow path and is quite tranquil

Herbert’s Quarry is part of the Black Mountain and Mynydd Myddfai Registered Landscape of Outstanding Historic Interest in Wales. Unlike in other lime producing areas where canals and tramroads could be built, the industry at Herbert’s Quarry was served solely by road transport. The lime trade was a factor in the development of Turnpike roads, and the network of tracks and roads over the mountain is closely associated with the activity at Herbert’s Quarry. As you walk through the site you are taking a journey through time, and walking in the footsteps of many hundreds and thousands of people before you, people whose hard work, sweat and drudgery shaped this landscape and left a rich industrial legacy.

Nestled along one of the finest driving routes in Great Britain, this spot is perfect for a leisurely picnic at the available benches or simply admiring the stunning views. Keep an eye out for the occasional ice cream van to add a sweet touch to your visit

The Mumbles Lifeboat Station has been operating since 1835 and has been a well valued addition to the safety of seafarers for nearly two hundred years. A visit to a lifeboat station is always interesting but at the moment there are safety concerns regarding their slipway so lifeboat is moored in the bay and the station and shop are not open at this time. Let's hope they get to return their boat home soon.

Bracelet Bay is a small bay on the south of the Gower Peninsula. It is the first bay one comes to after leaving Swansea Bay and rounding Mumbles Head. Surrounded by limestone cliffs, the bay is pebbly, with some sand. To the west, the bay is separated from Limeslade Bay by Tutt Hill, the location of a coastguard look-out station. A notable feature of the bay is the "Big Apple" kiosk, a concrete structure that was erected by the roadside during the 1930s as an advertising feature and has been a sales outlet ever since. Several similar kiosks were erected along the South Wales coast, but the one in Bracelet Bay is the only example surviving. In 2010 it was largely rebuilt after being damaged by a vehicle the previous year, and in 2019 it was designated a Grade II listed building. The name 'Bracelet' is thought to be a corruption of 'Broad Slade'.

NCN43 follows old railways lines, riverbanks and canals from Swansea to Clydach. This section follows an old railway line, it's flat and gravelled, easy riding but pretty and no cars.