Photos on stream again.

Took this shot on my way home from Pontneathvaughan
( Pontnethfechan in Welsh )

I had a great autumnal ride this morning, I got up with Tierloch, my youngest son, who leaves for his work at 05.45, and I was out on the road, lights ablaze pedalling down the valley, away from the sunrise. I did my usual loop, through sleeping Glynneath, around a silent Cwmgwrach, down the valley, through Resolven, but then turned back at Ynysarwed. By this time it was getting light, and I started to take a few photos.

These shots are not in the same sequence as my ride, I uploaded them all first to this blog and am now writing around them, if you understand what I mean. Still very much a novice at this.

This is the walk/cycle trail towards some waterfalls

at the very top of the Neath valley.

Another shot of the same trail.

At the foot of the falls, I'll have to look up the name.

This is the end of the trail, looking up at the falls.

This is actually a bridge over the dissused section

of the Neath canal, built to carry coal from Cwmgwrach washery.

Fascinating how it's become overgrown.

This is the road I travel on my local rides, as well

my commute, passing the above bridge on the right.

Looking back up the valley towards the sunrise

from the same spot.

This is the dissused canal looking back towards

Glynneath, this is where I saw the female otter

and her two cubs, earlier in the year.

Still on the same bridge, looking down the canal,

notice it's only a trickle this side, the canal preservation

society has been levelling the left side, and strengthening

the bank. Sadly it comes to a deadend a couple of hundred

yards on.

Here's the river Neath, looking from the now

defunct railway bridge, that used to carry coal

over it, to the washery, and back again, before being

carried down to Swansea docks, via Neath, either

by rail or the canal.

Looking upstream from the same bridge.

Sadly my phone camera completely fails to

portray the beautiful autumnal colours of the

trees, on the edge of Rheola forest, approx.,

halfway between Glynneath and Resolven.

I cycled up into the forest along a forestry road

and took this picture of a stream flowing towards

the Neath river.

This is Pontwalby, my part of Glynneath, I live

up the hill, turning left past the top house. When

I first started cycling, I found it hard, still do, on

occasion, when I'm tired after a long day at work.

This is the bridge at Pontwalby, which means

Walby bridge, but what you see is the Neath

river, Walby must refer to the tributary that

joins the river just round the bend downstream.

Looking back upstream from Pontwalby bridge.

The Subway 1.

Looking down the Neath canal towards Ynysarwed,

which means Arwed island, presumably because the village,

or should I say, small terrace of houses, sits on a little hill

at the side of the valley. Notice the towpath, which I cycle along,

and the bridge, which is mainly used by a farmer to get to

his farmhouse to the left.

This part of the canal is in total disrepair, this

used to be one of the locks, at Abergarwed.

Looking towards Ynysarwed again, but this time

from the lock, quite a pleasant scene, as nature

reclaims its own.

Here's the Neath river at Abergarwed which means

mouth of the Arwed, this is where the Arwed river or

stream joins the Neath river.

A quieter section of the river upstream from

Abergarwed.

And again.

This is the cycle trail I use at Cwmgwrach.

Well I hope this gives any reader a further taste of my neck of the woods.