Wales can claim to be the world’s first industrialized country with more people in the 1851 population census working in industry than in agriculture. This stage passes through the coastal towns that were once the powerhouses of industry – as well as through the local seaside resorts that grew to provide recreation for the workers. The route makes use of NCN trails wherever possible and follows many miles of local shared-use paths. The final 13 miles around Swansea Bay are entirely traffic free.
Parked up below the impressive steel and copper front of Wales Millennium Centre (Canolfan Mileniwm Cymru) in Cardiff Bay
Head south following the blue signs for local route 4 down Lloyd George Avenue towards Cardiff Bay. Ride through Roald Dahl Plass past the Wales Millennium Centre, around the bay and across Cardiff Barricade to Penarth (3/64 miles). Penarth was a popular holiday destination during the Victorian era when it was promoted as ‘The Garden by the Sea’.
Out in the Bristol Channel are the islands of Flat Holm, which traditionally was part of Wales, and Steep Holm, which belonged to England. Once they were fortified to defend shipping using local ports but both are now protected nature reserves and sites of special scientific interest.
Turn right at the roundabout at the end of Penarth Portway and follow NCN 88 alongside the marina before turning left up the serpentine shared-use path that provides an easy ascent to the town centre. Ride through the town centre and past the railway station to join a largely traffic-free path that ends at Cosmeston Drive.
Turn right, then left and follow a shared-use path alongside the B4267. Ride through Sully (8/59 miles) and then turn left along the A4055 using the sections of shared-use path that have been created so far. Go straight on at the next roundabout, cross the carriageway and follow a shared-use path alongside Ffordd-Y-Mileniwm through Barry Docks (11/56 miles). There are plenty of signs for the Wales Coast Path along this section of the route but none for NCN 88. However, as long as you keep heading west along the shared-use path, you cannot get lost. Before World War I Barry Docks were the busiest coal port in the world employing about 8000 women and 10,000 men.
Follow this path across the complex junction by the Premier Inn hotel and along Barry Island link road opposite and then turn right along Heol Finch. Turn right after passing under the railway and Harbour Road and follow the path along the coast before turning left along The Parade. Once around the bend and heading away from the coast, this road becomes Lakeside and then Romilly Park Road. Follow it around to the right where there is a fine bistro, ride under the railway bridge and uphill around the perimeter of Romilly Park. Turn left along Park Road and follow it through to Porthkerry Country Park where there is a popular café and the first waymarker sign for NCN 88 for many miles. Continue along the shared-use path behind the café and ride under the railway viaduct to join a narrow lane that ends at a junction where a group of attractive thatched cottages sit uncomfortably opposite the perimeter fence of Cardiff Airport.
Turn right following a waymarker sign for NCN 88 towards Llantwit Major and ride around the perimeter of the airport. Turn right again near the cargo terminal and follow a shared-use path across the A4226, through Penmark (16/51 miles), then Llanmaes (22/45 miles) and down to Llantwit Major (24/43 miles).
Llantwit Major grew up around Cor Tewdws, a monastery and seminary with over 2000 students, including seven sons of English princes. It is believed to have been founded sometime around AD395, making it the oldest school in Great Britain. It was destroyed by Vikings in AD987 and then closed in 1539 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The remains of the monastery are hidden somewhere below St. Illtyd’s Church in the middle of the village.
Despite rapid growth to accommodate personnel from the local RAF base during the 20th century, the town retains much of its medieval character, making it a desirable place to live for those working in Cardiff and Bridgend, particularly since the railway station reopened in 2005.
Follow NCN 88 down Burial Lane alongside the 15th-century town hall and out into the countryside. Ride through St Donat’s (25/42 miles) to Marcross (26/41 miles). The American tycoon William Randolph Hearst purchased the medieval St Donat’s Castle, now the Atlantic College, in 1925 and visited annually until 1936, typically with an entourage of film stars and famous politicians. Although the route runs close to the coast it seldom feels like it. If you want to get closer, or perhaps just stop for a break at the clifftop café, turn left down the lane by the inn in Marcross and ride for 1 mile down to Nash Point where the twin towers of the 19th-century, Grade II listed Nash Lighthouse used to provide a clear set of ‘leading lights’ to guide vessels around the dangerous sandbar below the ever-crumbling limestone cliffs.
The two lighthouses at Nash Point
Return to the main road and ride through Monknash (27/40 miles), Broughton (28/39 miles) and Wick (29/38 miles) to Ewenny (32/35 miles) where NCN 88 currently peters out. In the first half of the 20th century the three-storeyed maltings in Broughton was run as a welfare hotel, providing low-cost holiday accommodation for miners’ families from nearby coalfields. Turn right towards Bridgend in the centre of the village and then after 150 metres, turn left along New Inn Road. After 1½ miles, turn left along the A48 for 300 metres (perhaps resorting to the pavement if the road is busy) and then turn right at the unsigned crossroads and follow this lane across the A473 and along an unnamed lane with a weight restriction. At its end, turn left and quickly left again at a staggered crossroads. Follow this narrow lane for just over a mile going straight across the first junction before turning right at a junction around a triangular patch of grass. Ride downhill passing under the M4 and over the railway to Pyle (38/29 miles).
Cross into Croft Coch Road at the traffic lights and pass under the railway. Turn right at its end and follow waymarkers for NCN 4 around in a loop to meet the A48. Turn right and follow the shared-use path for 1 mile, then turn right towards Margam Discovery Centre. Follow NCN 4 around the perimeter of Margam Country Park (41/26 miles), negotiating a pair of narrow iron gates where you may need to remove any panniers to squeeze through. The 850-acre country park contains the remains of an abbey, a Cistercian monastery and Margam Castle; there is also a neo-Gothic house built by local industrialist Christopher Rice Mansel Talbot (1803–1890). After you emerge from the country park, turn right in Margam Village, follow the shared-use path across the M4 motorway and then the A48 and continue through Margam (45/22 miles) to Port Talbot (48/19 miles).
The name Port Talbot was first given to the docks in honour of Christopher Rice Mansel Talbot of Margam Castle, who sponsored their development in the 1830s. Eventually,
