NCN 46 - Heads of the Valleys

90.6 km 1245 m climbing A day 16% off road Road cycling Mid & South Wales

The route leaves Swansea on road and stays largely on tarmac for its full length, with a minority of off-road sections threaded in through the middle stretch.

From the coast it follows the Vale of Neath inland through Briton Ferry, Neath, and Resolven before the climbing begins in earnest above Glynneath and Pontneddfechan. The high ground around Cefn Rhigos and Hirwaun is exposed, and the line then works across the Heads of the Valleys corridor through a succession of former industrial settlements before dropping to Govilon, Llanfoist, and Abergavenny.

The figures

Distance	90.6 km
Climbing	1245 m
Off road	15 km, about 16% of the route
Riding time	about 6 hours, a long day
Region	Mid & South Wales
Route from	Sustrans

Worth knowing before you go

Swansea, Neath, and Abergavenny are your best resupply points; the settlements between Hirwaun and Brynmawr are smaller and less certain. The high section above Glynneath and around Cefn Rhigos is the most remote part of the route and exposed to weather. Abergavenny is the eastern terminus.

Put your own dates on this and TourTrax splits it into days at your pace, finds somewhere to sleep at the end of each one, estimates what it will cost and gets you to the start without flying.

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Other route guides

NCN 46 - Heads of the Valleys is an official route from Sustrans (their website).