River and Railway Walk, Afan Forest Park

History

The River and Railway Walk follows part of the trackbed of the South Wales Mineral Railway, which carried coal from Glyncorrwg, famous for its steam coal, down to the docks at Briton Ferry. The company was incorporated in 1853 for a line of about 13 miles from the Glyncorrwg collieries to the docks. Isambard Kingdom Brunel laid out the route, and R. P. Brereton later took over from him. The railway opened from Briton Ferry to Tonmawr in 1861 and on to Glyncorrwg in 1863, as a broad gauge line, and was converted to standard gauge in 1872.

The walk drops to the River Afan at a ford that Natural Resources Wales's walking booklet says dates from the 12th century, when monks used it on the way to and from Neath Abbey. It then climbs to the old railway, now a forest road, and passes the sealed entrance of the 1,109-yard Gyfylchi Tunnel. A landslip closed the tunnel in July 1947.