Nant Fawr Trail, Cardiff

The Nant Fawr trail is a route that follows the Nant Fawr (which means big brook or stream in Welsh) up through Cardiff. It links up a series of parks, wild areas and fields to form a green corridor through the capital city of Wales. As I was born in Cardiff it also holds a number of memories. Waymarks, showing a stream parallel to a path, appear only intermittently, so the correct path is not always evident. My route follows that on the leaflet (found here) issued about the path by the authorities.

Waymarking

The route starts at Waterloo Gardens (reached by a number 56 bus or you can walk from Queen's street railway station) and follows the Nant Fawr (a.k.a. Roath Brook) into Roath Mill gardens, and then to the Recreation ground. This is the route my mother walked with me in my pram to visit my Auntie and cousins, some 55 years ago. Tarmac paths follow the Nant Fawr in formal gardens with grass and trees, at this time of year the daffodils form yellow pools and blossoms on the magnolia trees give a contrast to the dull, leafless trees around them, although the weeping willow over the stream, my favourite tree as a child, is starting to show signs of green, The roads each side of the narrow parks have solid, red brick, terraced houses with bay, sash windows and small front gardens. The stream is shallow, but I recall my mother telling me not to paddle in it, although I could not see how I could drown in such a small depth of water.

The Recreation ground is much wider, wide enough for football pitches, and the houses each side are grander, some of the dark sandstone that was used in much of Cardiff at one time. Various frames for exercising are dotted along the path, I failed in an attempt to swing from hand to hand while hanging below one.

The Roath Pleasure gardens follow, not quite the Kubla Khan's pleasure dome, but an area with a bowling green and tennis courts, sadly empty of players when I passed.

After walking under the A48, a noisy, dual carriageway that speeds traffic into Cardiff, I entered the grandly titled Roath Botanic gardens, with its glasshouse and rose gardens, and a variety of trees and flowers, a place to wander in more summery months when the plants are all out, although even in April it is well visited by dog walkers and their dogs. The children concentrate in the playground below the embankment that holds back Roath park lake. There is still a long "slide" which we were amazed at as children when it was first installed many years ago, it was much longer than any we had been on previously, even in Butlins.

At the top of the embankment, or rather dam, Mr Softee still parks his Ice Cream van selling "99's", we used to argue which was best Mr Softee or Mr Whippy. There is competition from a shop selling Ice cream at the other end of the embankment but nowadays we normally visit the Terra Nova Cafe for a latte and apple or rhubarb slice. One cannot take visitors to Roath park without them pointing out what my nephews (and Wikipedia) called the lighthouse, actually a clock tower memorial to Scott of Antarctica and his colleagues; gallant gentlemen who died in their failed attempt to be first to reach the South Pole. Their ship, the Terra Nova, sailed from Cardiff. As my mother is found of reminding me, Roath park was given to the people of Cardiff by the (3rd) Marques of Bute whose father became very rich as a result of developing Cardiff Docks to transport coal from the Welsh valleys. People of Cardiff have certainly enjoyed Roath Park: my parents courted on the lake, my father rowing beneath the trees on the island (rowing boats can still be hired but the islands are now roped off); in the winter of 1962-63 my cousins and I walked across the lake when it was solidly frozen over; we also used to feed the many swans, ducks, geese and seagulls bits of stale bread which they congregated to receive, a sign now warns you that bread is junk food for the wild life and you can buy more suitable food at the greenhouse. When I visit today the paths around the lake are full of people walking their children, who the swans hiss at when they get too close; dogs are led around, pugs seem to be the current favourite breed; runners jog with iphones or fitness devices attached to their arms, and couples still roam around arm in arm, some young, some not so young.

Beyond the lake is the Wild Garden (where my mother had her first kiss), with trees and wild garlic rather than mown grass, and paths no longer tarmaced. Then I cross over past Cardiff High School and continue walking beside the stream in a wild meadow then a wood. Wet, winter weather has made the path muddy, but green shoots bring the hope of spring. Crossing Rhydypenau road I come to an area of grass, meadows and woods cared for by the council and the Friends of Nant Fawr (there is a similar friends group for Roath Park). The path goes around the Llanishan and Lisvane Reservoirs although you can only see the latter due to the trees. Llanishan reservoir was the centre of a major community campaign to stop it being turned into a housing development, which appears successful. It is now operated by Welsh water and it is to be hoped that access will improve.

The trail now crosses fields, muddy in places, possibly where houses will be built under the new Local Development Plan. A sharp turn left through more fields brings you to Lisvane road, a left, right, 3rd right then takes you through a modern, housing development and just when you think you are walking up someone's drive a path alongside trees becomes visible. This takes you behind houses to Mill Road, where you go left then right through a posh neighbourhood, being careful when you cross the road at a bend. A short walk downhill takes you to the start of the path through Coed y Felin.

The friends of Coed y Felin maintain a lovely path along the stream through a length of woodland (coed in Welsh). It starts where a Mill (felin in Welsh) and mill pond once stood, and then extends up a narrow valley through trees, with side paths across stepping stones and into more woods. A wooden sculpture adds to nature's interest. Sadly leaving this woodland I go past a modern but tasteful housing development and the Lisvane and Thornhill train station.

The final park of the route Cefn Onn is over the railway bridge. There are a wide range of trees and although the rhododendrons have been reduced by a disease called phytophthora, there is much to enjoy including an ornamental pond and little paths through the vegetation and little brooks. A small red, iron bridge always reminded me of Japan or maybe China. It is another favourite area with dog walkers and families. Dogs, which seem larger than those at Roath park, should be on a lead but many are not.

The leaflet on the Nant Fawr trail indicates the trail finishes (or starts) slightly north of Cefn Onn path but I would just enjoy the park itself as the destination, unless you wish to carry on up to the ridge behind Cardiff on the Rhymney Ridgeway path (or head east to the Ty Mawr Pub). For me that will be a walk on another day and I returned home via the Lisvane & Thornhill station.

The path is exactly 10 kilometres long (6 1/4 miles) and you climb 146 metres if you go in the same direction as me. A gpx file of the route that you can use with a gps device is available on wikiloc, or you can download an app and follow my route on your mobile phone using ViewRanger.

Update: At the very start of walk (or the end if start from Cefn Onn) is the Waterloo Gardens Teahouse. I recently visited it for the first time and was impressed by the range of teas offered and the egg timer that comes with the tea, so you remove the tea leaves, in their own strainer, at exactly the right time. The cakes are wonderful, the orange and almond cake melted in my mouth. They also have nice coffee (including decaffeinated)!