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Arriva Trains Wales |
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Region |
For details of places served by ATW trains, select the following: Search WalesRails .......... Message Board |
Preserved: WalesRails: Back to Welcome page |
Wales and West's own corporate web pages may be accessed at http://www.walesandborders.co.uk)
(Left)
An ATW train pauses at Llanwrtyd on the Heart of Wales branch
Scroll down to read the entire article, or select subject heading to move directly to a
topic.
Stations served by ATW
Preserved railways served by ATW
In the railway privatisation process, the South Wales and West Railway Company
franchise - like that of the Cardiff Railway Company - was awarded to Prism Railways, and
the official hand-over took place on October 13 1996.
With the introduction of the 1997/8 Winter timetable, the company changed its name to
Wales and West Passenger Trains, which better describes the area it serves, and at the end
of October 1997, the company moved from Swindon to new headquarters in Cardiff.
From September 30 2001, the company had another name change - to Wales and Borders - in
anticipation of all rail services in Wales coming under one franchise. From the same date,
Cardiff Railway Company became known as Valley Lines.
Subsequently, the franchise was awarded to Arriva Trains Wales.
ATW operates provincial services throughout the principality, and along the
Marches Line to Holyhead, Liverpool and Manchester. It also runs services from South
Wales to connect at Waterloo with Eurostar services to Paris and Brussels.
Cardiff...
...is also served by Valley Lines.
Cardiff...
...is the gateway to the coast and Valley areas of south east Wales.
A city since 1905, and the capital of Wales since 1955, Cardiff is celebrating
both anniversaries this year.
The city stands at the mouth of the
River Taff (part of which was diverted in the mid-nineteenth century to clear a site for the what is now Cardiff
Central station). Noted for its Victorian arcades and pedestrianised shopping areas, it
also offers top class facilities for sport, theatre and the cinema.
Cardiff Castle is presently undergoing an £8m refurbishment, to include a new
visitor centre. The castle has Roman and Norman connections, but, apart from Roman remains
at the base of the south east walls and the Norman Keep, what you
see is mostly a Victorian reconstruction. Nearby, the civic centre is considered among the
finest in Europe, and incorporates the museum, law courts, the former Welsh Office
(now the secretariat of the Welsh Assembly), university
buildings and the City Hall. With a referendum in September 1997 narrowly voting for the
establishment of a Welsh Assembly to govern Wales, the City Hall was one of the venues
under consideration to house the body, but the Assembly - which first sat on June 1 1999 -
is presently housed in Crickhowell House in Cardiff Bay (see below). Behind City Hall is
Alexandra Gardens with its imposing War Memorial commemorating two World Wars and more
recent conflicts.
In the city centre, the other building of great antiquity is St John's Church, dating from
the thirteenth century.
There are several malls off the pedestrianised shopping area, which also has St David's
Hall - renowned for concerts by top-class orchestras and entertainers - and the Cardiff
International Arena, the venue for conferences, pop concerts, ice shows, and the like. The New Theatre
celebrated its centenary a few years ago, and stages plays and other productions, including those
by the internationally-celebrated Welsh National Opera, until the WNO moved into
its new home: the Wales Millennium Centre for the Performing Arts (see below).
Close
to the city centre, on the banks of the river, the Millennium Stadium (left) is the new
home of Welsh Rugby. Opened for a Wales v South Africa friendly in June 1999, it took on
an international importance when it staged early rounds of the Rugby World Cup in October,
and the Final on 6 November of the same year. It is now used to stage Wales' home games in
the Six Nations Rugby Tournament, international football matches, concerts and other
high-profile events. While Wembley Stadium is being developed it also been the venue of prestigious
football matches, including the Worthington and FA Cup Finals. A very
versatile building, it also stages speedway, concerts and religious
conventions.
A mile to the south, the Cardiff Bay development is transforming the derelict docklands
area into a leisure, residential and light-industrial complex, while the barrage which
dams the mouths of the Taff and Ely rivers was
brought into operation on November 4 1999 to create a 500-acre freshwater lake.
To the north of the city, is Llandaff Cathedral, which has been a place of worship for
more than 1,400 years. Partly destroyed by bombs during World War II, the cathedral was
rebuilt and rededicated in 1958, its nave overarched by the sculpture of Christ in Majesty by
Jacob Epstein.
On the city's western boundary is the Museum of Welsh Life at St Fagan's, which
recreates the Welsh way of life in authentic buildings from all over Wales. Dismantled
from their original locations and reassembled at St Fagan's - itself a manor house dating
from the Civil War era - they provide a base for many practitioners of old crafts such as
pottery and woodcarving, and also includes a blacksmith's forge.
Cardiff Bay
The Cardiff Bay area has been developed as a waterfront park with leisure, residential
and light-industrial complexes on reclaimed derelict dockland, and is the start of the
Taff Trail which can be followed as far as Brecon, 57 miles away.
The major feature is the Barrage which can be reached by road train from its
stop outside the car
park in Stuart Street.
The Welsh assembly meets in
Crickhowell House (pictured left) while a new debating chamber has been built
alongside. Close by, the Pierhead Building is a striking
terracotta edifice that was once the headquarters of the Bute Dock Company, which opened
the first of the docks in 1839, and was the prime influence behind the Taff Vale Railway
Company. It is now used as the Visitor Centre for the National Assembly.
Both are now put in the shade by the new Wales Millennium Centre for the
Performing Arts (right, with the former Bute Dock and Railway Company
headquarters in the right foreground), which opened in November 2004. It is the home of Welsh
National Opera and seven other performing arts groups including the Urdd, the
Welsh organisation for the youth of Wales. Outside the Millennium Centre is
Roald Dahl Place - named after the children's writer who was born in Cardiff - built on the site of the basin of the Bute West Dock, now used
for street theatre and open-air concerts. The steel column with water cascading
down it will be recognised by fans of Torchwood - the spin-off from the
successful BBC Wales television series Dr Who, both of which are filmed
largely in Cardiff and the surrounding area - as supposedly the entrance to
Torchwood.
A coffee bar and art gallery has been established in the Norwegian Seamen's Church where Roald Dahl was baptised as a child. A short distance away is 'The Tube' - a
cigar-shaped structure which houses the Cardiff Bay visitors' centre, and was the base for
the Spirit of Cardiff, a powerboat which attempted the fastest circumnavigation
of the world in 2002. The target was almost 25,000 miles in 50 days, calling at 26 different
countries, but a series of misadventures culminating in a heart attack suffered by one of
the crew, led to the attempt being abandoned, though not before a number of records were
broken,
Tied up permanently at the quay alongside The Tube is the Helwick Lightship, which was
stationed off the Gower Peninsular guarding a treacherous sandbank 50 miles
northwest of Cardiff, but is now used as a Christian Fellowship centre.
A little farther away,
Techniquest is a unique hands-on science centre which demonstrates scientific principles
and phenomena in colourful and surprising ways, while at Harry Ramsden's restaurant, it
is claimed, are served the best fish and chip meals in the world.
The St David's Hotel is one of only two Five-Star rated establishment in the city. Mermaid
Quay a is modern eating and shopping complex which also overlooks Plas Roald Dahl (Roald Dahl Place)
an open arena where concerts are held and street artists often perform.
Boats and water taxis (pictured left) ply their trade around the bay and up-river as far
as the Castle near the city centre. They will also land you on the Barrage itself, where
you can see the massive sluice gates in operation.
Pontyclun
A town at the boundary of the former coal field, and the rural Vale of Glamorgan. Nearby
is Llantrisant, which has a charter dating from 1346, but is more famed, perhaps, for the
part played by one of its former inhabitants in legislating for the disposal of bodies by
cremation. Nineteenth-century druid and mystic Dr William Price settled in Llantrisant
and, in 1884, scandalised the town by burning the remains of his son, who had died in
infancy. Brought to trial, he was acquitted on payment of one-farthing costs. The Doctor
himself was cremated near the town, and a statue in his memory has been erected in the
town square.
Llanharan
The latest station on the South Wales mainline opened on December 9 2007.
Llanharan is mainly residential. St Julian and St Aaron Church dates from the
mid-19th century with colourful stained glass east window. Llanharan House,
northeast of the station is about a hundred years older, and has a massive
cantilevered circular stone staircase. About 3km southwest is Llanhilid where a
film and television studio complex - dubbed Valleywood - is being built. Also at
Llanhilid, St Illid and St Curig church is of indeterminate age, but the nearby
castle ringwork is 12th century.
Pencoed
A mainly residential town on the River Ewenny, it is surrounded by green fields and
rolling countryside. In June 1998, it hosted the National Eisteddfod, an annual
cultural festival held entirely in the Welsh language.
Bridgend
A market town, Bridgend gives access to the Vale of Glamorgan, and has a number of
medieval castle ruins in the area. Among these are Coity and Ogmore, the latter close to
stepping stones across the River Ogmore which also gives access to the Glamorgan Coastal
Path. Two miles from Bridgend is the village of Ewenny, with its pottery and Norman
Priory. North of the town are the formerly-industrialised valleys of Llynfi, Garw and
Ogmore, while to the west is the seaside resort of Porthcawl.
Bridgend (23 mins)
A market town, Bridgend gives access to the Vale of Glamorgan, and has a number of
medieval castle ruins in the area. Among these are Coity and Ogmore, the latter close to
stepping stones across the River Ogmore which also gives access to the Glamorgan Coastal
Path. Two miles from Bridgend is the village of Ewenny, with its pottery and Norman
Priory. North of the town are the formerly industrialised valleys of Llynfi, Garw and
Ogmore, while to the west is the traditional seaside resort of Porthcawl. Arriva
Trains Wales run services into the Llynfi Valley serving stations to
Maesteg. There are also connection with the
Vale of Glamorgan line to Barry and Cardiff.
9 mins
(14)Bridgend (43 mins)
A market town, Bridgend gives access to the Vale of Glamorgan, and has a number of
medieval castle ruins in the area. Among these are Coity and Ogmore, the latter close to
stepping stones across the River Ogmore which also gives access to the Glamorgan Coastal
Path. Two miles from Bridgend is the village of Ewenny, with its pottery and Norman
Priory. North of the town are the formerly industrialised valleys of Llynfi, Garw and
Ogmore, while to the west is the traditional seaside resort of Porthcawl. Arriva
Trains Wales run services into the Llynfi Valley serving stations to
Maesteg. There are also connection with the
Vale of Glamorgan line to Barry and Cardiff.
Pyle 7 mins (36)
Pyle is one of the stations opened by local authorities, resulting from the National Union
of Railmen-inspired Swanline initiative. Mainly residential with a light-industrial estate
nearby, to the west of the town is Kenfig Burrows, an area of sand dunes part of which
covers the buried city of Kenfig. Kenfig Pool lies at the heart of the nature reserve. The
dunes run westward into the Bristol Channel. At the southern extremity of the bay is Sker
House, made famous in the R. D. Blackmore novel: The Maid of Sker.
Port Talbot Parkway 13 mins (28)
Port Talbot is dominated by the steel works to the south and the oil refinery to the
north, but beyond the industrialised areas there are many areas of beauty and interest.
Aberavon, nearby, was once a seaside resort, but this function ceased soon after the
closure of the railway from the Rhondda and Afan valleys, on the course of which, the Afan
Country Park has been created. The revival of the town as a leisure-based resort
relies on the Aquadome watersport centre, and the multiplex cinema close by. Surfers are attracted to the beach area, where cross
currents and straight-off-the Atlantic breezes can whip up some pretty fair waves.
Three miles east of the town, is fifth-century Margam Abbey, around which has been created
Margam Country Park, which includes a boating lake and a narrow-gauge railway. The abbey houses a
remarkable collection of Celtic and medieval stone crosses.
Baglan 19 mins (27)
Opened as recently as June 2nd 1996, this was the fifth and last of the Swanline stations.
Mainly residential, the village is dominated by the oil refinery to the west. Close to the
station, there is an interesting church, the Bagle Brook Hotel, and the newly-opened Neath
and Port Talbot General Hospital.
Briton Ferry 22mins (21)
Site of a small wharf on the River Neath, the village is 'graced' by not one, but two
motorway bridges soaring overhead. The station serves a mainly residential community.
Neath 26mins (17)
Standing on the River Neath, the town has its origins in the Roman fortress of Nidum. An
attractive market town, here is the ruin of the castle and Neath Abbey which was founded
in 1129. Before the coming of the railways, the port was served by two canals - the
Tennant and the Vale of Neath - the latter having being restored in its upper reaches.
Outside the town are the Aberdulais Falls with its restored tin plate works, and,
rather
more distant, Cefn Coed Colliery Museum. Throughout the Vale of Neath, there are many
waterfalls and cascades, principal among which are the Melincourt near Resolven
(pictured), Ysgwyd Gwladys (the Lady Fall) and Ysgwyd Einon Gam near Pontneathvaughan.
Also reached by an hour's strenuous walk from Pontneathvaughan is Ysgwyd-yr-eira (the Fall
of Snow), remarkable because it is possible to walk behind the torrent of water from one side
of the valley to the other.
Skewen 31 mins (12)
This Swanline station serves a mainly residential area.
Llansamlet 35 mins (8)
On the northern outskirts of Swansea, Llansamlet is another Swanline station which serves
a largely residential area, though the Enterprise Zone is not too far away. Of interest as
the train approaches the station are four 'flying buttresses' over the track, designed by
the celebrated railway engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel to combat the effects of
subsidence in the area. After more than 150 years, they still demonstrate their
effectiveness. The Swansea Vale preserved railway is within walking
distance of the station.
Swansea 43 mins
Wales' second city, Swansea was extensively damaged during World War II. Over the years,
the bomb damaged areas have been replaced with modern shops and houses, a process
completed with redevelopment of defunct dockland to create the Maritime Quarter.
It has a modern shopping centre, with many attractive parks close by.
The Grand Theatre celebrated its centenary in 1997, and has been refurbished to a very
high standard. It was opened by the celebrated Italian soprano Madame Adelina Patti, whose
pavilion stands in Gors Lane.
A barrage across the mouth of the River Tawe, and the conversion of part of the former
dockland area into a picturesque marina, has given Swansea an attractive waterfront
quarter which harks back to its seagoing heritage. On the northern quay of the marina is
the Swansea Industrial and Maritime Museum - which will soon become the Welsh Industrial
and Maritime Museum - with extensive displays and artefacts which highlight that
heritage. Close to the Dylan Thomas Theatre is a statue of one of Swansea's most famous
sons: the writer, poet and playwright, most notoriously of 'Under Milk Wood' a wickedly
whimsical day in the life of the fishing village of Llareggub (try reading the cod-Welsh
name backwards!).
The city's university is located at Singleton Park, a public area which has a boating lake
amongst its many attractions.
Swansea is the gateway to west Wales, but closer at hand is the Mumbles, famed as the site of the world's first passenger railway, which used steam,
diesel, electric - and even sail - power in its 153-year existence from 1807 until 1960.
There were plans to resurrect the Railway using a revolutionary flywheel driven tram
system, but this has been abandoned, one reason - ironically - being that the original
route has been developed as a promenade and cycleway. Mumbles pier houses the
Swansea lifeboat station.
To the west is the Gower peninsular - the first region in Britain to be
designated an area of outstanding natural beauty - with numerous bays and inlets
and a coastal cliff-top path. The northern coast is flatter with salt marshes
forming the boundary with the sea.
After passing Landore depot on the right and burrowing through Cockett Tunnel, the train
arrives at
Gowerton.
The northern coast of the Gower peninsular is some distance away, but not inaccessible
from the station. In the town, St John's church is notable for its marble reredos.
The line crosses the River Loughor estuary in parallel with a more-recent road bridge, and
soon is joined by the
Near the
Guild-hall, a statue to General Sir William Nott - a hero of the Afghan Wars - stands on
the spot where, in 1555, Bishop Ferrar was martyred at the stake for his Protestant
beliefs.Stations on this branch are part of the Greenway initiative
supported by the South Pembrokeshire Action with Rural Communities (SPARC) forum, which
seeks to encourage green tourism in this very green area of the Welsh countryside.
With the aim of persuading visitors to leave their cars at home and utilise public
transport while holidaying in the area, packages are available which gives reduced travel
to stations in South Pembrokeshire, and discounted accommodation which ranges from
farmhouses, small guest houses or larger hotels.
Once in the area, there are further initiatives which enable visitors to explore the
region by foot, bicycle (cycle hire is available) or by train or bus. There are a number
of official cycleways, and a variety of walks of various lengths - such as the Landsker
Borderland Trail, or the footpath to the coast from Penally station especially created for
disabled visitors.
There is also a scheme whereby long-stay visitors can be collected from Whitland station,
taken to their overnight accommodation and, in the morning, provided with bicycles or
information about walking routes for them to complete the next of their journey. At the
end of their week's or fortnight's holiday, they are again taken to the railway station
for their journey home.
Details of the scheme are available from railway stations serving West Wales, or from
SPARC at The Old School House, Station Road, Narberth, Pembs, SA67 8DU. Tel; +44 (01834)
860965
Leaving Whitland, the line divides, and trains for Pembroke Dock take the left-hand
fork. From the train, the rural nature of the Landsker borderland (which separates the
English-speaking South from the Welsh speaking North of Pembrokeshire) is self-evident.
Narberth
is the first stop. The Arberth of the Mabinogion, a collection of medieval Welsh folk
tales and legends, where Pwyll, the prince of Dyfed met the hounds of the Underworld -
which all adds spice to a walk in the hills around the town!
In the old guild hall there is a museum, part of which is devoted to the Mabinogion, and
part to the Landsker. Three miles away is Oakwood Leisure Park, which includes Megafobia -
Europe's largest wooden roller-coaster - and the death-defying Vertigo, a 120ft-high swing
which reaches speeds of up to 60mph and is claimed to give the nearest sensation to flying
it is possible to attain.
Nearby, the Canaston Centre 2000 offers hi-tech Crystal Maze-style adventures in a
futuristic setting.
Kilgetty
was once at the heart of Pembrokeshire's coal mining district, but has long reverted to a
more rural style.
From here, the railway moves closer to the coast, and the remaining stations on the branch
are within walking distance of the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path, a 186-mile trail between
Amroth and Cardigan with some of the country's most spectacular cliff-top scenery.
Saundersfoot
station is set some way inland from the beach and harbour, surrounded by high cliffs which
give a strenuous but stunning walk along a section of the path to...
...Tenby
the principal seaside resort of Pembrokeshire, which can trace its history back to the
Viking invasion, though its popularity with holiday-makers dates only to the arrival of
the railway in 1860. St Mary's Church and the Merchant's House on Quay hill are both
medieval, while the ruin of the Norman castle overlooks the harbour, which, like that at
Saundersfoot, featured in the county's coal export trade.
Tenby boasts two beaches. Goscar Rock rises from the sands of North beach which has the
picturesque harbour at its eastern tip, while South Beach is dominated by St Catherine's
Rock, accessible at low tide, which is topped by a deserted fort (no longer open to the
public).
Penally
is reached after the railway has snaked across the golf course. The village has a 13th
century Church dedicated to Saint Teilo whose bones it is reputedly said to house, in the
churchyard of which is a carved Celtic cross.
Manorbier
has a castle which dates from the reign of Henry I, and was the birthplace of the medieval
historian Geraldis Cambrensis, famed for his account of a journey through Wales in 1188 by
Baldwin, Archbishop of Canterbury on a recruiting campaign for the Third Crusade. The
village also has a church of the same period as the castle.
Lamphey
has the ruins of the Bishop of St David's Palace (left), built in the early decades of the
14th century.
Pembroke
is dominated by the partially restored castle which is given further dramatic eminence by
its position atop a limestone crag. It was started around 1090, by one of the Marcher
Lords of Shrewsbury, and in places its walls are 20ft thick. At high tide, it is
surrounded by the sea on three sides, and on the landward side it is protected by a ditch,
but during the English Civil War its invincibility was breached when a traitor revealed
the castle's water supply to Cromwell's troops, who laid the castle to ruin.
From Pembroke, the line tunnels under Bush Hill, before emerging to arrive at
Pembroke Dock
station, close to the ferry terminal for Rosslare in the Republic of Ireland.
The Heart of Wales line (officially the Central Wales line) is the nearest to a quiet backwater it is possible to get on the modern railway. Though the first part of the line threads through a formerly industrialised region, beyond Ammanford the line passes through some of the most romantic scenery in the British Isles. Winding track and steep gradients means that the 90-mile journey between Llanelli and Craven Arms takes all of three hours to complete, but the reward for the leisurely pace is the view from the windows of the train. Though many places along the route had been famed for their healing waters since the early part of the seventeenth century, it was the coming of the railway which established the spa townships, though the modern railway has dropped the 'Wells' suffix from Llandrindod, Llangammarch and Llanwrtyd stations in present-day timetables.
Swansea 20 mins (235)
Wales' second city, Swansea was extensively damaged during World War II. Over the years,
the bomb damaged areas have been replaced with modern shops and houses, a process
completed with redevelopment of defunct dockland to create the Maritime Quarter.
It has a modern shopping centre, with many attractive parks close by.
The Grand Theatre celebrated its centenary in 1997, and has been refurbished to a very
high standard. It was opened by the celebrated Italian soprano Madame Adelina Patti, whose
pavilion stands in Gors Lane.
A barrage across the mouth of the River Tawe, and the conversion of part of the former
dockland area into a picturesque marina, has given Swansea an attractive waterfront
quarter which harks back to its seagoing heritage. On the northern quay of the marina is
the Swansea Industrial and Maritime Museum - which will soon become the Welsh Industrial
and Maritime Museum - with extensive displays and artefacts which highlight that
heritage. Close to the Dylan Thomas Theatre is a statue of one of Swansea's most famous
sons: the writer, poet and playwright, most notoriously of 'Under Milk Wood' a wickedly
whimsical day in the life of the fishing village of Llareggub (try reading the cod-Welsh
name backwards!).
The city's university is located at Singleton Park, a public area which has a boating lake
amongst its many attractions.
Swansea is the gateway to west Wales, but closer at hand is the Mumbles, famed as the site of the world's first passenger railway, which used steam,
diesel, electric - and even sail - power in its 153-year existence from 1807 until 1960.
There were plans to resurrect the Railway using a revolutionary flywheel driven tram
system, but this has been abandoned, one reason - ironically - being that the original
route has been developed as a promenade and cycleway. Mumbles pier houses the
Swansea lifeboat station.
To the west is the Gower peninsular - the first region in Britain to be
designated an area of outstanding natural beauty - with numerous bays and inlets
and a coastal cliff-top path. The northern coast is flatter with salt marshes
forming the boundary with the sea.
Soon, the train arrives at
The train now backtracks to the junction noted earlier, and soon reaches:
Bynea 5 mins (169)
The steelworks which overshadowed Bynea were demolished over 25 years ago, to leave a
pleasant town nestling on the edge of the salt marshes of the River Loughor.
Llangennech 11 mins (166)
is another former industrial town, built where the River Morlais flows into the Loughor.
Pontarddulais 13 mins (162)
was built around the tin-plate industry little more than a century-and-a-quarter ago,
though the fame of Pontarddulais now rests predominantly with its brass band and male
voice choir. There is an ancient church and castle motte on the marshes of the river
estuary.
Pantyffynnon 20 mins (156)
The century-old signal box which stands just outside the station controls all the
signalling for the branch until it reaches Craven Arms.
Ammanford 23 mins (153)
A former mining town on the edge of the anthracite belt of the South Field coalfield,
Ammanford is now the largest township on the HoW line.
From Ammanford, the true rurality of the branch soon becomes evident. The area around
Llandybie 32 mins (149)
is marred by limestone quarries, though the disused kilns have more than a hint of Gothic
Victorian in their architecture. The church dates from the 14th century, while the Plas is
the ruin of a 17th century mansion.
Ffairfach 35 mins (142)
is a small village located near where the River Cennen flows into the much larger Towy
Llandeilo 37 mins (137)
is named after one of Wales' most famous saints. St Teilo was a 6th century missionary
dedicated to converted Britain to Christianity. The station is located on the eastern edge
of the town near the banks of the River Towy, from where the road winds between brightly
coloured houses to the church and to ruin of Dynevor Castle.
Llangadog 49 mins (128)
church commemorates another of Wales' saints, this time St Cadoc who flourished toward the
end of the 5th century.
Llanwrda 52 mins (124)
was the site of the sister church to Llangadog, and is located up-river on the opposite
bank of the Towy.
Llandovery 59 mins (112)
(pictured left) is a busy market town, a mix of Georgian and Victorian architecture
surrounded by gentle hills. The ruins of the castle overlook the cattle market. The
Methodist chapel commemorates the best-known writers of Welsh hymns: William Williams of
Pantycelyn, a farm five miles outside the town. Llandovery College is one of only two
public schools in Wales (the other is at Brecon).
Cynghordy 69 mins
(104)
which name derives from a former meeting house, is the remote location
for two of the engineering wonders of the line; the 93ft high Cynghordy viaduct, and the
1,000-yard Sugar Loaf Tunnel. The viaduct is 650 feet in length and consists of 18 arched
spans. The mid-point of Sugar Loaf Tunnel is directly underneath the county boundaries of
Carmarthenshire and Powys.
Sugar Loaf Halt 77 mins (97)
Like Cynghordy, is remotely located, and both stations are ideal starting points for
rambles in the surrounding countryside.
Llanwrtyd Wells
83 mins (89)
(pictured left)
was established as a spa town as far back as 1732. Reputedly the smallest town in Britain,
and set on the edge of the Cambrian mountain range, red kite and other birds of prey can
be seen wheeling overhead. Near by, Lake Abernant offers fishing and boating facilities.
It is also the home of the annual man-versus-horse race, won this year by a man
for the first time in the competition's history.
Llangammarch 91 mins (83)
Yet another spa town, its waters are claimed as unique in that they contain barium
chloride, considered an infallible cure for all forms of heart complaint.
Garth 95 mins (79)
serves a quiet spa village, and is surrounded by beautiful countryside.
Cilmeri 100 mins (74)
has great significance for patriotic Welshmen as it was here that Llywelyn, the last
native Prince of Wales, met his death in 1282. A stone monument which marks the spot can
be seen from the train, west of the station.
Builth Road 103 mins (71)
is two miles from the town of Builth Wells, where the pump room is a reminder of its spa
origins in the 1780s. The town stands on the River Wye which is crossed by an 18th century
stone bridge. Parts of the church date from the 13th century , and contains an effigy of
Sir John Lloid, a personal attendant of Queen Elizabeth I. At Llanelwedd, outside the
town, the Royal Welsh Agricultural Show is held.
Llandrindod 114 mins (58)
(in English, the Church of the Trinity) developed as a spa town from 1749, but the
benefits of its waters were well-known for at least fifty years before. Every August, the
town steeps itself in Victorianna during its annual festival.
Penybont 127 mins (49)
was once the centre for horse races, in particular those employing the use of sulkies, a
light trap-like cart which carries the 'jockey'.
Dolau 132 mins (45)
Like most stations on the Heart of Wales line, it is looked after by local station
adoption groups, and is a frequent winner of the annual Best Kept Station award.
Llanbister Road 138 mins (39)
is ideally located for walks in the Radnor Forest, as is
Llangynllo 143 mins (35)
the next station along. Just before the 645-yard long Llangynllo Tunnel the line reaches
980 feet above sea level, the highest point on the branch.
Knucklas 149 mins (27)
is approached over a 465-yard viaduct a with distinctive castellated turrets which carry
the line 69 ft above the valley floor.
Knighton 155 mins (20)
straddles Offa's Dyke, the traditional boundary between Wales and England: the town in the
former country but the station located over the border. Though in Wales, the architecture
of Knighton's Norman Church is more typical of neighbouring Herefordshire.
The remaining stations are Bucknell, Hopton Heath, and Broome before Craven
Arms, which owes its name to one of the old coaching inns on the road between North
and South Wales, is reached. Craven Arms is on the Marches line which runs northward to
Shrewsbury, and southward to Hereford and Newport in the south. (See the North Wales and Marches section of the Wales and West pages.
W&B trains serve the following preserved railways in this survey, from stations at:
Copyright © 1996/7/8/9/2000/1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8 by Deryck Lewis. All
rights reserved.
Page created July 14 1996; Redesigned March 29 1999; Updated February 6 2008
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