This is a wonderful place for a walk! Not only is Richard Burton's childhood home here (a terraced…read morehouse on the main road) and one of the entrances to the massive Afan Argoed Forest Park, but there is an impressive, mile long circular walk you can do here which will take you over both a tall 19th century viaduct and a disused aqueduct! Start opposite the shop in Pontrhydyfen (there is only one!) and take the left hand fork facing you (Station Road) instead of going down the steep hill. Walk along here past the cemetery and a little further on turn right onto the aqueduct. After appreciating the marvellous views of the Afan Valley, cross to the other side, turn right into the village of Oakwood and walk to the end. Follow a grassy track which winds down some steps and then turn right onto the viaduct. This is another great place for views back over the village of Pontrhydyfen and the aqueduct, although the sides are high - you might need to stand on tiptoe! Keep going until a woodland 'crossroads' then turn right and follow the river back to the road, where you will turn left and left again up the steep hill to take you back to where you started. Not far from where we live and a walk we often enjoy at all times of year.

My little dog and I spent two hours walking one of the trails. The path used to weave through the…read moreforest but today we found a desolate and bleak hillside. All the trees have been cut down. There is a visitor centre where you can buy detailed maps and there's a café. Parking is £1 and there are showers and toilets on site. Bikes are available to rent with different level routes.

Marvellous, huge forest, trails of all kinds - steep gradients for serious mountain-bikers,…read moreless-strenuous ones for walkers, many even suitable for wheelchairs. You can walk all day in this forest admiring the lovely views without retracing your steps - and without meeting many other people either. There are some benches here and there and picnic tables down by the river. There are useful maps available in the visitor centre and there's a small shop for gifts in there too. I find the self service cafe very disappointing however as the menu (which hasn't changed for years) is extremely boring and unimaginative and the staff aren't friendly. There's almost nothing available for vegetarians either and nothing for vegans apart from the inevitable potato with boring old baked beans. Why on earth can't they even keep a box of veggie burgers in the freezer? So, to sum up: fantastic forest but poor cafe. UPDATE JAN 2009: Same old menu but when we asked, they found a tin of vegetable soup which was very nice. The lady who served us was friendlier this time. They had a delivery when we were there and I noticed that all the boxes contained pre-cooked baked potatoes, Yorkshire puddings, and other ready-meals. So don't expect home cooking but it's not expensive so that's one good thing. It's somewhere warm to shelter from the freezing wind too.

Ystradfellte is the Brecon Beacon's Waterfall country and its also were I grew up so its a place I…read moreknow well and love very much. Its a place that a lot of people in Wales know of just because of the fall and the caving complexes. The most famous of the waters is Sgwd Y Eira. If you have seen the advertising posters for Brecon Water this is the waterfall in the picture. Its a fairly easy walk apart from the steps as you get near and its one of very few waterfalls that you can actually walk underneath, though do expect to get sprayed a bit. I personally prefer some of the walks around the other falls which are much quieter in the summer and offer refreshing pools to swim in or picnic by. In all my years of living here I have never got bored of walking the area, its different all the time. Just a note to vistors the two main car parks charge a daily fee and a national parks ranger goes between them. If you want to avoid the fee park in the village itself and walk a bit further, tempting as it may be to pull up on the verges near the car parks I have seen so many break in's that you really are risking it a bit.

The Vale of Neath Leisure centre is a great place to get some exercise and relax…read more The free form pool is large and you can walk in it, making it very accessible for people with disabilities. There is a Spa pool just to the side of the main pool and also a Hydro-slide (I've never been brave enough to go on it). There's a lot of classes to choose from such as Aqua Aerobics and Swimming lessons and also early bird swimming. There is also a well equiped gym, but I only used it the once as it is always full of poser type men who make me feel very self concious and as there's no women only session I just leave them to it. The Leisure Centre is having a big overhaul at the moment with lots of building work going on to improve the facilities and offer a more varied programme of activities, work should be ending soon.

Went here with my family in hopes for a good outing. Walk was lovely, great landscapes and the park…read moreis nice now they've upgraded it. But I have to say I was quite disappointed when I ordered my food, I ordered chips and gravy, most of the people working there looked young so I had my doubts but I've had chips and gravy here before so I wasn't really worried. When food arrived it looked lovely but the gravy was onion gravy. Had onion bits in it too. Don't know what happened but I'm quite disappointed because the chips were lovely but couldn't eat the ones with gravy on because the gravy was disgusting.

What was previously a derelict colliery area is now an attractive park to wander round. There are…read moreseveral trails to follow; some lead you to a large lake, others through woodland areas to cascades and waterfalls. The information centre has excellent exhibits showing the historical background to the area. There is a cafe too for snacks and hot drinks. UPDATE MARCH 2009: A £1m improvement programme has begun and a new tourist information centre will be created soon and the cafe updated. I am not sure when everything will be open - I imagine they are aiming for this Spring/Easter. The park's trails are still open for walkers and cyclists. A lovely place to visit - I always enjoy coming here.

Banwen RFC is the heart of the village. Apart from having a successful rugby team, the club has…read moreseveral junior teams and is the venue for many other events such as Birthday Parties, Slimming Club and OAP meetings. It is also a base for many other sporting events such as Rallies and Cycling events Everyone is welcome at the club, both young and old.