Route Overview
| Overall Rating |
⭐ Route RatingsNo ratings yet. Be the first to ride and rate this route! |
|---|---|
| Distance | 56.27 miles |
| Surface | Tarred in places, and self-compacting gravel in others, becoming progressively worse, the further north you go. It can be very muddy in places, after rain. While some parts of the Taff Trail are very child-friendly, overall, it's not very child-friendly. |
| Difficulty | Hard |
| Child-Friendliness | 🟡 Somewhat child-friendly |
| Suitable Bikes | Gravel and/or MTB |
| Barriers | Especially around Merthyr Tydfil there are plenty of barriers, and there's at least one section of steps (with a wheel channel alongside). |
| Café / Food | In Cardiff, there are a number of cafés, but soon there will be very few directly on, or very near the Taff Trail. The next is the Park View Cafe, in Pontypridd, the Aberfan Community Centre (off the trail) in Aberfan. Next, Red Spice and Tasty Trotters are just about on the trail, in Merthyr Tydfil. The next cafe is quite a bit off the trail, in Talybont On-Usk, until you finish in Brecon. |
| Train Access | In addition to Cardiff, there are train stations in Pontypridd, Abercynon, and Merthyr Tydfil. |
| Parking | There are various places to park at, or near the train stations listed. |
The Taff Trail runs for 56.27 miles, from Cardiff Bay to Brecon. The route as shown on the map below starts at Cardiff Central train station, and there are various other train stations along the route. Because the Taff Trail officially starts in Cardiff Bay, I added a section from the train station to the start.
Throughout, the Taff Trail contains on-road segments. In total, roughly 70% is completely traffic-free. Obviously, you don’t have to cycle all of the Taff Trail in one go. The presence of multiple train stations almost directly on the trail means you can simply do traffic-free segments, such as that between Taff’s Well and Treforest.
It is possible to do the whole ride in a day. At a fairly slow average speed of 8 to 10 mph, that would be around six hours of cycling, plus more time for breaks in between. Remember to factor in getting back from Brecon.
Photos are by John Morgan, Dan T, David Lewis and DimunitiveFox.
Surface on the route
The surface varies quite a bit. Parts are smooth tar, some parts of bumpy tar, and some parts are self-compacting gravel, which can get muddy during wet weather.
North of Merthyr Tydfil the surface becomes considerably rougher
Refreshments
There are few cafés, or pubs, outside of Cardiff. The next is the Park View Cafe, in Pontypridd, the Aberfan Community Centre (off the trail) in Aberfan. Next, Red Spice and Tasty Trotters are just about on the trail, in Merthyr Tydfil. The next cafe is quite a bit off the trail, in Talybont On-Usk, until you finish in Brecon.
Bikes
Though parts of the Taff Trail can be used by any type of bike, overall you will be better off with a standard bicycle, and ideally a bicycle with chunkier tyres.
Toilets
There are toilets at Cardiff Central, at Cardiff Bay, at Taffs Well station, on the trail in Pontyprydd, in Merthyr Tydfil, near the dam wall of Talybont Reservoir, at The Royal Oak pub, in Llanfrynach and in Brecon.
Safety from traffic
Over 70% of the Taff Trail is completely traffic-free, but that leaves sizeable sections of on-road cycling, on normally fairly quiet roads.
Points of Interest along the Taff Trail
Cardiff Bay has several attractions. Further along, look out for the Pontsarn viaduct, and the Steam Museum at Pontsticill Reservoir, part of the Brecon Mountain Railway. Do try and visit the Cyfarthfa Castle in Merthyr Tydfil.
Routes in Wales
- The Swiss Valley Trail
- Brunel Trail
- Taff Trail traffic-free cycle route
- Lon Eifion Cycleway
- Port Talbot to Kidwelly Cycle Route
- Prestatyn to Rhos-on-Sea Traffic-free Cycle Route
Barriers
There is at least one significant section of stairs on the Taff Trail. The staircase has a wheel ramp, but trikes and any non-standard bikes will struggle.
At the Cardiff end there are no barriers, but there are plenty of barriers later on, especially around the Merthyr Tydfil area.
Cycle Hire
You can hire bikes, including trikes, from Pedal Power.
Child friendliness
Some parts of the Taff Trail are very child-friendly, but overall the route isn’t suitable for especially younger kids.
Social safety
Many parts of the route are very isolated.
Hilliness
While significant parts of the route have mild gradients, there are steep sections, and overall, the route is hard.
Forecast for the Taff Trail
Because of the length of the Taff Trail, there are two forecasts, one for each end.
What the Taff Trail looks like
Getting to the Taff Trail
As this route starts by Cardiff Central train station, it makes for a gorgeous, car-free day out. As ever, before taking your bike on the train, read my Bikes On Trains guide for helpful tips and advice.
More Routes
To find more routes, click this link.
Interactive map for the Taff Trail
You can download the GPX file from the map below, simply by clicking the GPX button. Hovering over the elevation profile will show the elevation for that point along the route, in both metres and feet. It will also show the gradient.
If viewing the map on your phone, you will also see a Navigate and Record Route button, below the map. WillCycle Supporters can have voice turn-by-turn navigation of the route.
And finally…
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Hello! Merthyr local here. The new bridge over the A465 has been installed/opened and that diversion on the busy road is no longer in place.
The council have recently made some improvements to the section of the trail that runs through Merthyr including replacing barriers with more accessible ones and even getting rid of those horrid steps in the underpass under the A470. Not much to be done about how steep it is, however!
This video illustrates the current state of the trail very well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoTo8yUBkyc
Thank you so much, Dave.