The Two Sleeping Giants - Exploring the hills around Port Talbot Town

I was making my way to the industrial town of Port Talbot, I was looking forward for my adventure though the sky this morning was overcast, dull and grey. Port Talbot isn’t the most attractive of towns, the rundown buildings and the massive steel works makes the down look like a very unwelcoming place to be, the town isn’t known for its thriving tourism industry but the once thriving steel industry which unfortunately earlier this month is on the decline with a 1000 jobs lost.

Whilst the town itself is an ugly place to be, the hills surrounding the town are magnificent, they are normally missed and forgotten about as people make their way through the Port Talbot, the two hills stand like two giant guards looking over the town, protecting the beautiful scenery that holds behind them from Port Talbot’s sprawling residential areas.

As I stood outside the train station the two hills that I was about to climb stood out behind the town, from where I was standing they looked like a tremendous climb, to the right was ‘Mynydd Emroch’ at 241m high and to the left was the ‘Mynydd Dinas’ at 258.1m high.

I was making my way through one of Port Talbots residential areas to the smaller Mynydd Emroch, the hill sits next to another gigantic hill called Mynydd Margam which is neatly place behind the old industrial styled houses. I was looking up Mynydd Emroch, the sheer size of it looked a lot bigger than what I had thought, the almost vertical climb was going to cause a burn in my thighs and my recovering twisted ankle ‘there must be another way up’ I thought as a stood there gawping at this hill before me.

Mynydd Emroch (One of the hills I trekked).

Mynydd Margam (I didn't climb, sits next to Mynydd Emroch but it made a good picture).

Passing under the M4 motorway to the slightly upper class houses was a small lane country road leading up the side of the hill, ‘this must be a good place to start’ I thought to myself scratching my head as I looked up to see what is to come, even at the bottom of the hill the sites will fail to amaze you, I was taking a deep breath as I was looking over the different shades of the green and brown hills that dominated the landscape, as you peer through the gaps in the houses you can see the Port Talbot steel works, even though industrial buildings are not built to be attractive, there was something strangely beautiful about watching the steam cloud twirl and twist up into the area from the metal chimneys below.

View of the hilly landscape from the base of Mynydd Emroch.

The strangely beautiful picture of Port Talbot Steelworks from the base of Mynydd Emroch.

The road that lead up the hill was long and tiring, tractors and cars would squeeze past me causing me to lean into the wet grassy bank to avoid being run over, walking up this road you would notice small cluttered farm houses and agricultural land, there was one entrance that looked completely tempting to walk down, the road would twist down a grassy bank into the alluring hills on the other side, but I couldn’t, that wasn’t my goal today.

The distant hills from an entrance to a farm road.

I was barely half way up the hill, this long stretch of badly damaged tarmac was becoming challenging for my ankle, I was afraid of twisting it again far away from any help, deep down I knew I shouldn’t of been putting strain on my ankle, but the idea of being stuck indoors for another day was not tempting at all.

The gravel road which was surprisingly busy that lead me to my first track on Mynydd Emroch.

It wasn’t long after until I got to one of the best starting points of my journey up Mynydd Emroch, by taking the trail Craig Emroch, I would be passing through the conifer forest that cling to the side of the hill, I knew that the trail would take me around to the back of the hill and then up to the top. The trail started off slightly muddy at the entrance, the mud was slippery and I nearly fell onto my bottom, at that point I was praying that the path wouldn’t be like this all the way around, after passing through a dark green painted gate I made my way into the conifer forest, the green leaves pointed out sharply into the air as the trunk sprouts upwards trying to get as much light as possible as on the forest floor it was a little darker, bramble and fallen logs litter the floor beneath the tall trees, as you make your way slowly through the forest walking along its graveled path you could hear the distant sounds of the branches cracking echoing through the as the trees swayed gently in the wind, it gave off an eerie feel as if someone or something was watching me at all times, ‘this would be a perfect start for an American horror movie’ I thought to myself whilst smiling but also keeping a watchful eye between the thick dense forest, I don’t think I would know what to do if I came around one of the corners to find a man with a machete and a hockey mask, probably just run as fast as the deer do as they make their way through these trees.

I had almost forgotten that I was still not far away from the industrial town of Port Talbot, the distinctive smells that come from the steel works were no more and had been replaced by fresh clean air where you could actually smell the trees and the decomposing plant life on the ground, it was a relief to the senses.

I came to a small trickling stream that led to a small waterfall, the white water thrashed against the rocks and carried on further down the hill, I sat there for a while, closing my eyes whilst listening to the whoosh of the wind as it passed through the conifer trees and the trickle of the waterfall making its way through the forest to the bay.

The long never ended trail through the conifer forest.

The tall conifer trees slowly swaying in the wind.

The path itself was a little confusing as I had to get my map out a few times to make sure I was going the right way, the trail would take you up a hill to then not long after taking you back down, I was wondering if I was actually making any progress at all, large rocks and logs were now becoming noticeable which gave me an itching to climb but I chose wisely not to as I don’t know when the next person would make their way through this forest in winter and the last think I want to do was to struggle making my way on my weak ankle.

The path kept going up and down constantly, I was begining to wonder if I would ever make it to the top.

When you do make it to the top of an incline your views are astonishing, in the far distance away from the tree line of the forest you would see magnificent hills for miles and miles covered in farmlands and other unexplored forests, I got my binoculars out to see if I can see any life in the far away town, the town itself seemed quiet, the most interesting movement that was happening was the sheep that dotted the fields around the town like white clouds in the sky.

I carried on along the trail, it was starting to constantly seem like I was walking uphill, the forest itself started to slowly disappear towards the edges and became more open which gave the chance for other weirdly looking trees to sprout into life.

A strange looking tree growing in the gaps between the tall conifer trees.

I started to notice how large sections of the hills had no trees what so ever, they had been cut down and taken away for either to make paper or to make items out of wood, I don’t like seeing the deforestation of forests but who am I to complain when I use paper to write or sleep on a bed out of wood, because this is the private property of Afan Forest Park I believe this section of the forest was under controlled deforestation which means they only take away a certain amount of trees and then replace those trees with others which I started seeing springing up from the mud below, sheep and small horses were free to roam this hillside but the sheep would stand still and stare at me watching my every movement to make sure I am not a lurking predator.

The path now sits on the very edge of a hill with the rest of the hill towering high to my left whilst a steep drop was placed to my right, the wind had picked up as I stood on the edge looking out to the faraway hills and villages, I was amazed by the view and just thought how beautiful my country was, many locals don’t think about how beautiful their own country is and think about far away exotic lands, now I have been to some really nice spots around the world but the hills or Wales still fail to dazzle me.

The view of the far away hills from the top of this path was amazing.

Some of the far away hills you can see, really brought atmoshphere to the landscape.

The trail I had just came from, looking back in the direction of Port Talbot.

I carried on up the hill watching the buzzard glide through the air above my head, it lead me to a locked gate, I was a little confused about the situation, was I to be going on private farmland if I step over the gate, I wasn’t sure but I climbed over anyway and decided to risk it, I had images in my head of an old farmer man coming across his field on horseback with a shot gun shouting “get off my land” but I think I had been watching too many cowboy movies over the years that caused my mind to race.

I had made it to the top of the hill, a cool breeze touched my cheeks and neck and carried a faint familiar odor of farmland and nature, the grey clouds were rolling in over the hills with the faint patter of rain, the hills looked dominant in the landscape looking over the nestled little villages and farmlands that laid at their base, it was truly a beautiful site that not many get the chance to see whilst they are in Port Talbot, I felt privileged for my natural sense for adventure to be able to leave the town behind and to see this magnificent land all for myself.

At the summit of Mynydd Emroch

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After standing on top of the hill for good few minutes I quickly made my way off the land, I still wasn’t sure if it was private property or not, but I didn’t want to leave so fast, but even with such a nice view as this I had one more hill to trek up before darkness came over these lands.

I headed back towards Port Talbot by following the trail I once walked through, the echoing sound of barking farm dogs came through the forest, my blood raised to my head not sure if those barks were for me, I quickly tried to plan something fast, should I run, hide, swim down the river but after waiting a few minutes for the presence of a farmer and his dogs no one came, I guess as I am currently in the valley of South Wales any sound far away would bounce off the hills to make them sound a lot closer than what they actually were.

I had arrived back into the sprawling town of Port Talbot, from tracksuit wearing hoodies to the old lady holding a walking stick even though she seemed to be walking like she is in a race, it felt weird to be back in the town, the next hill ‘Mynydd Dinas’ was looking over the town as if it was taunting me, knowing I was going to be taking my steps through her paths. I was sitting on the bench outside Greggs eating my food and having a rest, but sitting there I learnt something new about the town, even though it is an ugly, run down industrial place the characters that have to live here can be very friendly, people would smile and say hello to you or come and sit next to you for a chat even though I was scoffing my face with a Belgian bun, the people of the town are friendly which is I guess one of the hidden secrets of Port Talbot.

The next hill hidden behind the tree, Mynydd Dinas.

So I went on through the town, crossing over a bridge that goes over the River Afan and onto the other side, the River Afan is the very river that separates these two giant hills. I stood at the bottom of Mynydd Dinas passing across a quick moving roundabout and walking through a barely lit vandalised graffiti riddled tunnel which looked very cold and unwelcoming, the sort of place where you would find the local gangs or drug addicts fixing up hidden away from society but luckily this time it was empty, I stood next to what was called ‘Mountain Road’ which was a very steep incline to the starting path of Mynydd Dinas.

One of the roads leading up to Mynydd Dinas.

The small lane up to Mynydd Dinas.

Passing a few small cottages the tarmac path eventually turns to mud and grass; I walked past a few fellow walkers who had smiles across their weather beaten faces “hello” came across a South East English accent “hello there” I replied with a smile and a nod. I was only just above the rooftops of the town below, the view was already starting to look like this hill was going to be worth it, the humming sound of passing traffic on the M4 was slightly in the distance just to remind me I am not far away from one of the busiest roads in the country, I headed up a little more to see the daunting task of what laid ahead, once again in an almost vertical shape, Mydydd Dinas was high above my head looking down on me as if I was a peasant approaching the queen.

Just above the rooftops of Port Talbot with the Swansea coastline in the far distant.

What is yet to come.

I looked at my map to sum up my decision on which track to take, there was a choice of three, there was either go straight up the vertical path, or go around either side of the hill which both eventually lead you to the top of the hill, I decided to take the side path around the edges of the hill hoping for more fantastic views of the far distant hills that make up this beautiful country, I followed along a path that showed Port Talbot to the right of me, from this high up the town looked more welcoming and more interesting to see. I followed the wired fence along which guarded me from a fatal fall whilst to the left were the sharp gorse bush with their spike spines and their alluring yellow flower. Life carried on in Port Talbot, the M4 snaked it’s way around the town for people heading further West or East whilst the Steel Works carried on swirling steam high up into the air like a giant white balloon inflating.

The eastbound trail around the hill with Port Talbot nestled at the bottom.

Port Talbot town with the steelworks in the distance as well as the previous hill Mynydd Emroch & Mynydd Margam as well as the M4 motorway snaking is way past the town.

As I went around the corner the hills looked even more magnificent than before, the brown and yellow plants that cover the hill side really brought out a dramatic effect along with the bellowing grey clouds high above my head, little communities sit quietly at the bottom of the two hills nestled away from the ever changing environment around them. I could had stood there for hours and watch as the shrubs would shiver in the breeze and the birds would swoop across this small valley between the two hills, but the rain was still pattering down so I needed to carry on.

Such a great view of natural Port Talbot, hidden behind the two hills guarding it.

Once again Port Talbot was slowly disappearing behind me, now on the edge of the town it was easy to forget that the town was behind you whilst you are staring at truly natural beauty of large rolling hills as if you were making your way through a ‘Lord of the Rings’ scene with of course Port Talbot being Mordor.

The edges of the town squashed between Mynydd Emroch and Mynydd Dinas.

The high cliff face of rugged grey rock and trees barely hanging on to the edge was high above me, I truly felt like I was properly out into the thickness of the countryside, now and again you would witness small rocks rolling off the face of the cliff as if the whole hill was moving ever so slightly, ‘clank’ ‘clonk’ ‘bash’ were the sounds that were made from those rolling stones as it plummeted to the hard rocked ground below, ‘I guess I would be avoiding standing there’ I thought to myself looking at the carnage that laid below.

Watch out for falling rocks up ahead.

The River Afon laid closely next to the two hills, the water looked a little bit more rougher up in this direction, the white water would meet with the brown murky water as it bashes its way down the banks of the river, thin forests would lay the outline of the river followed by a football pitch that must have a dramatic feel to the place when they are playing football, it has to be one of the most beautiful views from a football field in the whole world. From that spot I could see the path that I had to take, etched into the hill side like a wiggly line drawn by a child.

The river Afan flowing through the foot of the hills.

As I was happily walking along, trying to avoid any unnecessary rocks bashing against my toes, the ground started to become very waterlogged, even though the rain had stopped the water was still making its way down from the top of the hill and onto the trail that laid before me, every footstep I took the ground would almost disappear and leave me standing in a puddle of muddy brown water, I carried on walking when all for a sudden a gust of wind pushed me over when I was trying to keep balance on a small ledge, causing me to violently stumble into the muddy ground, the path had completely collapsed before me and tumbled down into the frightening drop below, if it wasn’t for my quick reaction onto grabbing the bramble vine that shredded my palm open causing it to bleed, I would have fallen down to the bottom of the hill with the rest of this small section of the path most likely fatally killing me, my leg was wedge between a bramble and a gorse plant as I rolled my body over to the other side, I laid down onto the grass and looked up the clouds in the sky heavily panting with my heart beating faster than it has ever before, I was in a little shock of what just happened, I looked down through the hole which was very nearly my grave and placed my face into my palms thanking God for letting me carry on, I forgot that my palm was bleeding with the flow of my red blood, so I got some tissues out of my bag and started whipping away the blood, I didn’t expect this day adventure to be quite adventurous as that.

The collapsed path that nearly became the end of my life with a terrifying drop below.

I carried on along the path slightly limping after what had just happened, eventually I come to this quite large hidden white house in the middle of the forest, the house itself looks deserted but there are cars parked outside, the path runs right through their back garden with the path sign pointing in the direction, so without hesitation I carried on walking along the edges of their garden to the gate on the other side, the path had completely been overgrown by the twisting bramble vine which stuck to my legs like leaches wanting to suck out more blood from me, I followed the gravel road up into what looked like another private field but I couldn’t see any of the path signs going off in any other direction, so I chanced it and followed the edges of the field to a path which lead in the direction of the hill, to my surprise there were a family of deer that scattered into the forest as I had startled them coming onto the field, they had seen me before I got the chance to see them, this was a shame as it would of made a great photograph to see the four dears happily grazing on the lush green grass that laid at their feet.

A field and the summit up above but with no access to the top.

Also the field where I saw the deers.

I followed the path towards the hill but unfortunately lead nowhere, the only path that I could see around me and it had been blocked off by overgrown slowly decaying ferns and bracken plants with no access to the other side, I didn’t want to chance walking through it just in case there was another drop just waiting for me on the other side, I felt like giving up trying to get to the top, I closed my eyes and looked up to the sky, ‘has this hill beaten me’ the thoughts racing around my head, I knew the way back but it wasn’t the way I wanted to go again as I had nearly lost my life trying to get to this very spot, I sat on a rock and looked back on the field from where I just came, it was a nice place to get stuck, amongst the many other hills in the distance with their different shades of grey, brown and green, the hills just went on for miles and miles as far as the horizon, it was truly a place which managed to put a smile on my face when I was feeling so down.

Deer tracks in the sloppy wet mud.

“Right, let’s get to it” I said loudly brushing the mud from my bum, the one positive thing about me having to walk back the way I came was that I knew what was to come, I knew about the drops, the falling rocks, the water flowing underground all the dangerous that made the journey difficult were now in the front of my mind, I powered my way around the slowly collapsing hill side to the other side, I wasn’t going to let this hill defeat me, it wasn’t long until the edges of Port Talbot slowly started peering around the side of the hill, the balloon shape steam was still pulping its way out of the chimney, the M4 motorway was still as busy as ever, life in this small South Wales town was carrying on as normal, obviously unaware of the drama that withholds on their mighty hill next to them, I come back to the beginning and decide to take the path that leads straight up the hill, the wind had started picking up and the rain came down a lot more sharply, it was like I had angered this sleeping giant and she wasn’t happy.

The steps were tiring, I tend to find when you are walking up a high hill I would rather a flat track than some steps, half way up and my energy was drained, the wind was getting harder and I struggled to stay standing still to admire the view of Swansea Bay around me, after a few breaths I carried on to the top of the steps.

A long way up the weary steps.

Looking down the steps back towards the town.

The howling of the wind sounded like far away wear wolves howling to the top of their lungs and the rain came down hard like daggers piercing the skin, the path now leads to just grass and mud, those far away hills still seem very close but they look like mole mounds that go on for hundreds of miles all with their own challenges to climb, to keep my mood going I started singing loud as no one was there to hear me, as I could see Swansea on the other side of the bay I started singing songs such as ‘Swansea Jack’ and the football song, the wind had now become like a barrier forcing me to push my hands in front to carry on going, I wasn’t going to give up, it was like a battle between David and Goliath to reach the top of this magnificent hill, after a few more levels of path ways to climb I was finally there, the sweet victory of reaching the very peak of Mynydd Dinas had overwhelmed me with the greatest of smile, I rested against a cold, wet rock and looked out at the view before me, everything looked so calm down at the level of the town, people carrying on with their daily lives but up here looking down at them was a harsh environment of cold ghastly winds and stinging rain, I could see Swansea in the distance lit up my the small gap in the clouds of the winter sun, I guess the cloud hadn’t reached as far as Swansea but Port Talbot was left in dull darkness, there was a small forest towards the top of the hill, the wind whistled through the trees causing them to sway violently in the wind.

Swansea Bay and the edges of Port Talbot town at the bottom of the hill whilst the path leads me to the summit.

The hill might not be even close to the height as Snowdon or Everest but I did feel like I was on top of the world, Mynydd Dinas is a fearless giant who if prevocked will try and stop you from climbing her trails she is not a hill to be messed with unlike her slightly smaller sister Mynydd Emroch to the east who has a lot more of a relaxing personality.

After a good 15 minutes at the hill’s summit I decided to make my way back down into the town, the wind calmed and the rain slowed down, it was like as if everything had gone back to normal when I was finally at the base of the hill looking back up towards the summit.

Next time you happen to be either passing through Port Talbot or in the town itself look to the two hills to the north of the town, go and explore their secret forests and hidden tracks, exploring the hills around the unattractive Port Talbot town opened my eyes to another world, the side of Port Talbot not many people see for themselves, they are truly hidden gems in South Wales that everyone sees but hardly no one explores.