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By Steven Lloyd Watkin, Saturday 14th March 2009 5:45 pm

Went hiking with the guys from Pontardawe today. we got a taxi up to Ystradgynlais and started a hike there after a breakfast in Merlyns.  As a note a few doors down there’s a cafe called Mimosa which is named after the boat which took the first Welsh settlers to Patagonia. The cafe was opened many yeas later by descendants of one of those original families who had returned to Wales.

We headed over to the Neath to Brecon Railway, and then up the hill to see the site of an old powered tram system with powered by something called “the machine” or “the engine”, I forget. Anyway at the top of the hill is the ruins of the old machine house which you can see in my photos. From there we headed north towards the Cribarth (and the pub). The Sarn Helen Open Cast meant that we had to detour and head back down to the railway line.

We headed up the railway line for  a bit (its being changed to a cycle path by the open cast people), and cut off to cross the valley to head up the Cribarth. We came across a circular building which was used to feed cattle of a Scottish design (McTurk brothers?).  There was a dead sheep inside so obviously it wasn’t working so well any more ;)

We followed the Tawe for awhile before headnig up the Cribarth and eventually towards the Ancient Briton for a few beers and watch the Italy vs Wales rugby match.

Heres some photos: Ystradgynlais to Abercraf hike

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