Ystwyth Trail

The Ystwyth Trail is a 20 mile (32km) scenic cycleway, bridleway & footpath route following the Ystwyth river from Aberystwyth before climbing up towards Cors Caron, Pontrhydfendigaid and Tregaron. Substantial off road sections of the trail follow the track of the old Great Western Railway line and are are suitable for families with young children. The complete trail is suitable for experienced cyclists.

All of the Ystwyth Trail is suitable for walkers. The trail offers access to circular walks around Trawsgoed, circular routes across the Cors Caron National Nature Reserve and provides a link to Pontrhydfendigaid and Strata Florida Abbey.

Most of the off-road sections of the Ystwyth Trail are suitable for families with young children. There are several level sections and the route between Aberystwyth to Llanfarian is almost all on a tarmac surface. From Llanilar, which has easy parking, there is a 4 mile traffic free section where the former railway track closely follows the river Ystwyth towards Trawsgoed and the Black Covert picnic area.

The section along the edge of Cors Caron, just north of Tregaron, is also fully accessible, being completely off road and level, skirting the edge of Cors Caron nature reserve. There is parking and toilets about half way between Ystrad Meurig and Tregaron, and there is access to the bird hide at the centre of the reserve along boardwalks.

The Manchester & Milford Railway Company (M&M)

The original ambition of the M&M was to profit from connecting the transatlantic port of Milford Haven in Pembrokeshire with the cotton industry of north west England.The plan was to lay a track from an existing railway at Pencader, north of Carmarthen, to link with Llanidloes and onwards, through Newtown, to link to Shrewsbury and Manchester.

The M&M did not venture into development until 1864 when it commenced laying 27 miles of track between Pencader and Pontrhydfendigaid. The track arrived at Tregaron in 1866 but the major
questions were always going to be how to get north east from Tregaron to Pontrhydfendigaid and beyond. The challenges involved the great expanse of Cors Caron, one of the largest peat bogs in
Britain, and beyond Cors Caron and Pontrhydfendigaid the upland expanses of the Cambrian Mountains.The intended route towards Pontrhydygroes, Devil's Bridge, Llangurig and onwards to Llanidloes was fraught with difficulty and problems had already been encountered in attempting to tunnel between Cwmystwyth and Llangurig.

A decision was made not to head towards Pontrhydfendigaid but to cross the eastern edge of Cors Caron towards Ystrad Meurig, the station built there being called Strata Florida after the historic Cistercian abbey just east of Pontrhydfendigaid. The idea of laying a track to Llangurig was abandoned in favour of a route towards Aberystwyth, which was reached in 1867.

The M&M was taken over by the Great Western Railway Company (GWR) in 1911. GWR subsequently became part of the British Railways network.The Aberystwyth to Carmarthen railway line ceased transporting goods in 1964 with passenger trains ceasing a year later.

Sustrans routes

The Ystwyth Trail forms part of Sustrans Route 81 (Lôn Cambria) linking Aberystwyth with Shrewsbury and Route 82 (Lôn Teifi) linking Aberystwyth to Cardigan and Fishguard.

The routes are the same between Aberystwyth and Llanilar where the routes diverge.

Aberystwyth to Llanilar map

Lon Cambria follows the river Ystwyth eastwards to Pontrhydygroes and Cwmystwyth and on to the Elan Valley and ultimately, Shrewsbury. It would then be possible to return to Aberystwyth by train. Travelling the other way, heading west from the top of Cwmystwyth into Aberystwyth is a glorious 24 mile downhill.

Lon Cambria

The Ystwyth Trail turns southwest to cross the watershed and drop down into the valley of the River Teifi. Lon Teifi follows the river all the way to the coast at Cardigan.

Lon Teifi