Tarquin's cycling pages

21 March 2004 - Taff Trail to Caerphilly

WhereTaff Trail to Caerphilly
(Brecon Beacons and South Wales)
Date21 March 2004
Duration2 hours
Distance11 miles (~18 km)
WeatherSunshine and occasional showers, strong wind at times
Trail conditionsDamp and lots of tarmac
RiderAgeBike(s)
Clare Doran 19 Apollo Terra
GT LTS 2000 (TWJ)
Mark 'Tarquin' Wilton-Jones 23 GT LTS 2000 (TWJ)
Apollo Terra

Trip report

Description by Mark 'Tarquin' Wilton-Jones

This trip, while short, was useful because it showed us how to bypass one steep section of the Taff Trail. The new route was all on tarmac, but for most of the length of it, it had a bridleway running alongside it, so if you want something a little more interesting, you can take that instead.

The trip started as the last Taff Trail trip, with a lot more wind. At the slope down from the first dismantled railway track to the other, we turned right, but stayed on the track, all the way to the beginnings of Caerphilly. On a calmer day, this would have been much more enjoyable on the return, as it is a long downhill section. The track reached an old railway junction with several brick arches and a choice of routes, one into Caerphilly, and the others being just for dog walkers, as they offer no easy ways back to the main trail (one of them would be good for cycling if you wanted to do a loop).

We turned around and headed downslope into the wind. Once past the first bike hurdle, I took the bridleways, and played on a few bike ramps, allowing Clare to take a more leisurely ride on the tarmac. The bridleway is navigable (ooh, big word!) by bikes at all times, and offers a few little challenges, so it's worth wasting a bit of energy to test your bike's suspension, and your own skill. If you feel you can manage it, the bike ramps can test your stunt biking abilities too, so there is something for most cyclists here, just as long as you can convince yourself to leave the boredom of the tarmac.

Sadly, all good things must come to an end, as after passing a few houses, and an alternative route back to the roads, the trail joined the roads at Taff's Well. From this direction, the route is well signposted, and pointed out how we could have used it on the way out, but the incorrect 'end (of cycle lane)' sign was obviously the reason we had missed it.

Once back past Tongwynlais, we stayed on the dirt track instead of using the steep road. This again turns out to be a useful alternative to the road (you will almost certainly have to walk the bike up the steps at the end). In several places, there were areas to the sides of the trail where I tried improving my skills offroad, hoping on and off logs and over ruts and branches. At one point, I also hit a small tree stump and threw myself clean over the handlebars onto my back. My helmet and bag - which was filled only with air - provided a cusion preventing any discomfort at all, so unseen by anyone else, I got back on the bike and continued to try to hop over tree trunks.

Once at the top of the steps, we rejoined the road and cycled back to my house to finish the trip.

Home page
Trip list
11 October 2013
02 October 2013
25 September 2013
18 September 2013
22 June 2013
08 September 2012
02 June 2011
12 March 2011
23 January 2011
12 June 2010
08 November 2009
15 October 2009
10 October 2009
19 August 2009 No. 2
19 August 2009
16 August 2009
17 July 2009
25 October 2008
30 July 2008
29 July 2008
13 July 2008
22 March 2008
02 February 2008
10 November 2007
28 April 2007
16 December 2006
12 November 2006
05 November 2006
29 July 2006
23 July 2006
15 July 2006
01 July 2006
22 June 2006
10 June 2006
04 June 2006
01 June 2006
20 November 2005
19 November 2005
13 November 2005
05 September 2004
21 August 2004
16 August 2004
27 June 2004
20 June 2004
21 March 2004
14 March 2004
08 February 2004
17 January 2004
20 July 2003
Rider list
Bike list
Contact me
Disclaimer
See my caving site

Valid XHTML 1.0 Strict, CSS, JavaScript and DOM!