Every dog owner loves to take their best friend for a walk. Rhydyfelin has many footpaths and country lanes where you can take your pets for a walk. The following places are good places to take a walk with your dog in Rhydyfelin. Fancy a stroll with your pooch? Here are some ideas for your next walkies.
1. The Taff Trail
The Taff Trail is footpath/cycle path that runs between Cardiff & Brecon. A section of this path runs through Rhydyfelin along a former railway line that was closed in the 1960s. There are plenty of places to access the Taff Trail throughout Rhydyfelin.
It’s great for walking your dog, but it doesn’t loop around so you’ll end up walking back on yourself or walking through streets. As this is a path, it’s shared with other walkers and cyclists, there’s not much of an open space for your dog to run around.
2. The Rhydyfelin/Treforest 5km Loop
This walking route was posted on RCT Council’s YouTube Channel (watch the video here). The walk is just over an hour in total. It’s mostly flat with a few gentle slopes. The route mostly follows streets and footpaths, with very few areas to let your dog off the lead for a run.
3. Along the River Taff (behind Cae Glas)
There’s a small area of land along the banks of the River Taff with a grassy area that’s great for local dog walking. You can get to this area easily by walking to the end of Alexon Way towards the river, or directly opposite Hawthorn Garage on Cardiff Road.
Also, if you cross the bridge near Jamil’s Indian Restaurant and turn immediately left, you can walk through the woods on the other side of the river.
4. Eglwysilan Common
The common is at the top of the mountain on the East side of Rhydyfelin – it’s a fairly steep walk up there but you can also drive up past Pontypridd Golf Club, or take the exit for Tesco from the Upper Boat roundabout, turning immediately right past the Griffin Mill garage until the road becomes a country lane.
It’s perfectly possible to walk to Eglwysilan Common or Mynydd Eglwysilan from Rhydyfelin without needing to drive, but it is very steep – not a hike for beginners.
There are grazing sheep and cows up on the common, so be careful with your dogs if you want to let them off the lead.
5. From Rhydyfelin to The Rocking Stone
Walking with your dog from Rhydyfelin to the Rocking Stone is approximately a 2 mile walk, with a gentle incline towards the end of the walk. You can walk towards the Rocking Stone through Coedpenmaen from the Glyntaf Roundabout. Be extremely careful crossing at the roundabout. The route is mostly along streets, but it’s very rewarding and quite a nice walk.
There are some stunning views from the Rocking Stone, a glacial rock, approximately 100m above sea level. There’s a small area of grass around the stone and a footpath.
