Penderyn Mineral Line

Come and discover a hidden corner of the National Park by making your way along this old tramway between Penderyn and Hirwaun.

You’ll have an excellent opportunity to do some wildlife spotting whilst at the same time looking out for signs of the route’s industrial origins. This is a grade 2 walk: Routes with some sections with slightly looser surfaces, slight gradients and gates but no stiles. There are some seats.

Of interest

As you step along this old quarry line fringed with flowers and trees you will probably hear birdsong in spring and summer accompanying the burbling sound of Afon Cynon, the nearby river which flows alongside. The relative tranquillity of today is a far cry from the time when horse-drawn trams hauled tonnes of limestone and silica rock from the quarries at Moel Penderyn to the ironworks at Hirwaun along this line, which was built in the 1780s. It would have resounded with even louder noises when after 1904 steam and then diesel locomotives replaced the horses. Why not pair your phone with the Hirwaun Audio Trail and listen to the stories of the ‘ghost’ of William Bryant – once a worker at Hirwaun Ironworks.