[1] From Catherine Drive, go back to Mill Road (While not normally busy, be alert for fast traffic) and turn right, away from the village. In a short distance, you’ll reach the entrance to Castell Coch on the left. Go though the gateway and up the drive that bears left, noticing the splendid beech trees on the right as you pass the car park. Beyond the top car park the drive forks, go right into the coach park (alongside castle) and double back on the clearly defined footpath on the right signposted ‘Taff Trail’, into the trees. The path climbs the wooded slopes of Fforest-fawr (great forest), passing wooden barriers. A few metres further, you come to a path junction where you turn sharp left onto a broad track.
(A) Little is known of the original Castell Coch or Red Castle, except that is was destroyed sometime in the 15th century. In the 1870’s the ivy-covered ruin with its crumbling, red sandstone walls formed the base of a fairy-tale creation when the Marquess of Bute commissioned an architect to rebuild the castle in 13th century style. Apart from the conical turrets, a flight of fantasy by the architect William Burges, the castle has the look of a serious fortress with a dry moat, portcullis and drawbridge, while the surprisingly small interior is lavishly decorated in Victorian Gothic style. It is interesting to note that Cardiff Castle, another home of the Bute family, was also remodelled by William Burges. The land on which the castle stands is owned by Forest Enterprise; it contains the remains of lime pits and old iron workings and the northern part of the forest was used during the First War as a training ground for tank drivers.
The track runs gently downhill for a kilometre to reach a disused railway whose route you will be following for the next 1200 metres. Don’t cross the bridge over the trackbed, but go right, passing through the barrier and dropping down to the old line.
(B) You are now on the trackbed of the Barry Railway’s branch line to Rhymney. This line opened in 1901, cashing in on the wealth of coal being mined in the Rhymney Valley. At its peak, between 80 and 90 coal trains passed this spot each day so few passenger trains ran, although for 50 years until 1964, summer excursions from the Rhymney Valley to Barry Island proved popular. However, with the withdrawal of regular freight services in 1963, the line’s fate was sealed though coal traffic lasted until December 1967.
(C) Below you is the village of Ty Rhiw whose old terraced houses were built for the miners who worked the collieries of Nantgarw and Rockwood. The latter was a drift mine whose horizontal shaft entrance has lain abandoned on the hillside to your right since the early 1960s. Beyond Ty Rhiw lies Taff’s Well, a small but popular spa town in the 19th century, its waters having the same properties as those in the more famous Bath, although its pea-green waters were cooler and the surface was in constant motion from bubbles of nitrogen and carbonic acid.
Walk for about 900 metres with winter views left over Taff’s Well to Garth Hill and ahead to the ridge of Craig yr Allt, passing under a bridge
[2] After another 250 metres, look out for wooden kissing gates on the right, go through, ignore stile on right, and follow the path as it climbs left, then doubles back right, still climbing through oak woods. The gradient eases as you emerge from the woodland to continue on a narrow path, invaded by bracken in summer. When you reach a junction of main paths, take the path that doubles back sharply to the left and climb the hillside with good views over the River Taff on your left. When you reach a waymark post with radio mast ahead, the path swings round to the right, and becomes broader. At a further waymark, take the narrow path climbing up to the left to reach the ridge. There are fine views from here with Cardiff Bay away to the south and Nantgarw to the north.
(D) Older Ordnance Survey maps show a colliery at Nantgarw. Completed in 1910, the shafts reached a depth of almost 265 metres. The mine was worked until 1927 then remained idle until 1946 when it gained a new lease of life and was productive until its final closure in 1986. The town also had a pottery here, producing porcelain until 1822. Reopened ten years later, it stayed in business until 1920 producing clay tobacco pipes.
(E) The old Rhymney Railway is also shown on the older maps; this opened in 1858 carrying passengers and freight between Rhymney and Cardiff. Competition with other railway companies (there were six in the area) forced the Rhymney Railway to look for another route to Cardiff – a tunnel beneath Caerphilly Common which opened in 1871. The original route was still used for coal traffic into the 1980s but closed with the decline in the Welsh coal industry.
You have easy walking now to a fork in the path where you take a broad, grassy path to reach the summit ridge. Continue along the ridge past the hardly noticeable high-point at 273 metres, then when you start to lose height, look for a path going downhill to the right. Follow this, going left where you meet a broad path, losing height rapidly and passing close to an electricity poles. Carry on down the hill, picking up a wire fence on the left and following it round to the right to reach a broad track by a metal field gate. Climb the adjoining(overgrown and difficult to see when checked) stile and walk down the track, passing through another gate to reach a lane
[3] Turn left along the lane, through a third gate (usually open), and continue for about 400 metres to a junction where you turn sharp right. (While not normally busy, be alert for fast traffic) Walk along this lane for 200 metres, passing the entrance to Blackbrook House on the left, then ‘Uplands’ on the right. Directly opposite this grand entrance, look for a footpath on the left, just beyond a black-painted gate. Go through kissing gate in the fence, drop down to cross the brook, then climb to the meadow on the far side. Walk ahead up the centre of the field, passing by the electricity pole then aiming for kissing gate in the hedge towards the right corner of the field. (Both the entrance and exit to this grassland can be surprisingly wet!) In the following field, walk ahead with trees to your right, towards a gate and stile by stables. Pass through and turn right down the driveway to reach the road. Here, take the waymarked path running back up to the left with the backs of properties to your left. The stony path takes you beneath power lines and when you reach the pylon, turn sharp right, still gaining height. As the path level out, you reach a junction, follow the waymarks right, walking parallel with the road down to your left. When you reach the road, (Very busy, cross with care) turn right, look for waymark on the other side and cross with care. Follow the path keeping parallel to a house drive on your left. Your route soon climbs steeply to Caerphilly Common and when you reach the summit trig-point.
[4] take note of your route off the hill; this is to the right, down a gravel path with a radio mast on a hilltop 2 kilometres distant.
(F) From this 271-metre summit, there are good views north to Caerphilly and its 13th century castle, the largest medieval fortress in Wales and famous for its leaning tower.
Leaving the summit, take the aforementioned path down to a waymark post, then left for 250 metres to reach another road, (Very busy, cross with care) to the snack bar opposite, a handy point for refreshment. Walk down over the grass behind the refreshment hut to reach a roughly surfaced track by the road. Turn left and follow the track until you approach a concrete garage ahead on the right. Before reaching it, take a track up to the left passing the boundary of a house on the right, where you have splendid views down to Caerphilly and its castle in the lower foreground. When you reach a path junction by a wall with an old gate on the right, go straight ahead keeping the wire fence on your right and ignoring the path dropping down to the left. Continue, with views across meadows on your right and the path broadening as you enter woodland, mainly conifer. Ignore a minor path going off to the left and from here, beech trees predominate, your route descending steeply to a junction of tracks. Go right then immediately left down the hill to reach a further junction after 250 metres; here, the main track bears left, but your route is to the right though a wooden kissing gate. The track becomes a path which takes you over an old, narrow bridge that once spanned a tramway from mineral workings. Beyond the bridge you reach a T-junction and you can double back down to the right to view the structure.
[5] From the bridge, turn right along the track for no more than 50 metres, looking for a narrow path on the left before you reach the conifer plantation (you can often hear rushing water from an unseen stream at this turning). Follow the path from the track, ascending through conifers to reach a lane, then cross to a track opposite. The path now climbs in woodland and makes for 300 metres of pleasant walking before you reach an open area where the air shaft of the Caerphilly to Cardiff railway tunnel can be spotted in the trees to your left. At the track junction, go right and follow the path as it climbs for a further 300 metres to reach a 'T' junction where you turn left. Walk along this track for a little over a kilometre, ignoring paths left and right. Eventually, the track swings round left and joins a lane; here, turn left and follow the tarmac taking you round to the right with good views over Rudry Common and across to Caerphilly. Stay on the lane until you see a grass path running down left to a lower road, take this then walk past the picnic tables on the Common and climb to the summit.
(G) In medieval times, Rudry Common was part of a manor and used for grazing cattle and sheep. It is still privately owned and the Commoners have the right to gather firewood and let their pigs forage for acorns. Rudry is on the southern edge of the South Wales coalfield and miners extracted the coal using bell pits, these are the depressions you can see around you. The miners dug down to a coal seam, then worked horizontally along the seam until the walls of the pit became unsafe, at which point they moved further along the Common to begin again. From the summit, you have good views north to Bedwas; the colliery has gone but the spoil tip can be seen from your vantage point, as can the regimented rows of miners’ cottages. Away to the east, the radio masts on Mynydd Machen are visible.
[6] Moving on from the summit, take the grassy path running east (or right in relation to your approach) and head for the stone wall and trees. When the wall is reached go left, keeping the wall boundary on your right. The wall bears round to the right, and shortly after passing a metal field gate on your right go left, again with the boundary to your right. As you descend, you pick up a track which is followed going right with the boundary. Eventually, you pass a metal gate set in a stone wall on your right and another track ascending to join from the left. Continue, bearing right as a path veers away left, and pass beneath power lines with a meadow to your left. You leave Rudry Common; walk down a metalled lane with a residential development on the right, to the little mining village of Garth Place. At cross roads, turn right into the village, passing the pub and Post Office on the left, then a row of miners’ cottages built in 1890. The spoil tip for the mine is at the end of the village next to a children’s playground. Follow the road out of the village climbing for 200 metres then passing houses on the left. Opposite a white house on the left with its gable end facing the street, look for a lane on the right marked by white-painted stones. Turn into the lane then go immediately left along a narrow footpath uphill through trees. (The path and its signpost are easy to miss!) You soon come to an open area where you pass beneath power lines, then continue climbing gently, the trees now replaced by bracken, waist-high in summer. At the top of the field pass through a metal kissing gate and go ahead following the just discernible outline of a grass track, bordered on the left by oak and beech trees. Continue to the top of the hill, where a second line of trees come in from the right then descend, still following this ancient track and aiming for an electricity pole, eventually passed on your left. At the bottom of the field, a further kissing gate gives access to a concrete path which crosses a stream then climbs steeply to reach the road opposite Rudry church. Turn right along the road, go past a house named The Old Griffin, then turn left into the road just after it. Follow the drive on the right side to reach the left corner boundary of the white-painted house then follow between the boundary fences to reach a broken wooden kissing gate. Follow the path to reach a further broken gate and beyond here, follow the waymarks up to the right, ignoring the path dropping down left, and climb steeply for 100 metres to the top of the hill then descend to a 'T' junction.
[7] You are now on the Rhymney Valley Ridgeway Footpath; turn right and walk for a few metres to a junction where the main track turns left downhill. Go over the stile ahead and climb steeply into magnificent beech woods, the steel cable slung between the trees on your left being your guide, though this is mostly on the ground and may be covered by leaves. After the initial hard ascent, the gradient eases and you have generally easy walking through the wood for about 700 metres, eventually reaching an open area with a wire fence on your right then briefly back into woodland before walking with the fence and meadows on your right. The path descends to a farm, go through a wooden gate with the farm on the right, then through a further gate to a lane. Cross, go through the gate opposite and climb the track into pasture with fine views north to Caerphilly and the hills beyond. Carry on, eventually passing through another gate to a grassy area where the uneven ground indicates mineral extraction in earlier years.
(H) This is an attractive spot now however, particularly in early summer with the sweet scent of the hawthorn blossom, and the colourful heathland flowers underfoot. There are superb views in clear weather south to Cardiff Bay and beyond to the Somerset coastline; north lie the Brecon Beacons.
When you reach a path junction, take the track running down to the right then in about 60 metres, fork to the left (the original route continues to reach a fence and trees). The path crosses the entrance to a disused quarry on your left. You can leave the path here (Caution, take care. Monitor anyone for whom heights may be a problem.) and climb up left to view the chasm, then walk along the edge to rejoin your route at the far end. The path climbs briefly here to woodland of beech and hawthorn with the scent of wild garlic in the air in springtime, and in about 350 metres you reach a left bend where a track comes up from the right. Go left through a wooden gate and follow the rough track downhill for a short distance to a junction. Turn right, soon passing beneath power lines with meadows down to the left, to a wooden gate. Continue onwards for about 800 metres passing through two further gates and walking past a derelict farm on the left to reach the road.
[8] Turn left on the verge and where you have good views of traffic in both directions cross this very busy road with care, continue to the top of the hill where opposite ‘The Traveller’s Rest’, you go right along a lane.
(I) Although nearing the end of your walk, the thatched Traveller’s Rest is a tempting proposition, being open all day with a creative menu – perhaps drive back to it having reached your car!
Follow the lane for about 850 metres, almost to the radio masts, then enter a car park on the right. There is an interesting information board here describing the Nature Reserve you are about to enter.
Two exits give egress from the car park, take the one opposite the entrance then follow a well-defined path down into woodland. When you reach cross-tracks go ahead, the path veering to the left and the descent steepening, to reach a further track junction; go left here, again losing height and crossing a small, often indistinct stream. Beyond this stream, walk for 30 metres looking for a broad, but often difficult to find path going right, down the hill. Follow this descending steeply to a level area, you should be able to see a waymark, then go ahead to pick up the path and losing height again. The path narrows and winds its way between trees, crossing a bridleway. Continue on downward to the valley bottom, where a path joins from the left and you bear right to climb a stile and cross a stream via the bridge
[9] Climb the bank ahead to reach a broad track, ignore the stile and gate down to the left, and turn left to walk along the track for 600 metres to reach the road. Turn left and walk with care for 100 metres to wide entrance on the right (sonmetimes gated depending on farmers use) by a telegraph pole where you enter a field. Follow the hedge on the left for about 150 metres, at which point you should be able to see your exit, a stile(perhaps overgrown) by a gate in centre of the far hedge, below the quarry on the skyline; bear right to reach it. Continue straight down the centre of the next field, picking up the hedge on the left after 100 metres which you follow towards a gate in the bottom corner. On the left just before the gate is a stile which you cross, then continue in your original direction, now with the hedge on the right, to pass through a field gate. Carry on with the hedge still on the right, through a further gate then down a track to a U-shaped junction. Take the lower track down to the right through woodland to a equestrian complex, don't enter the complex, but look for the waymark sign on the left. Follow this as it skirts around the property to exit to the lane. Turn right and walk behind the rear of a new housing development to Catherine Drive and your starting point.