Newport to Brecon - best route

[Charliecres]

I’m hoping to spend a few days in Wales in mid-August. Current plan is to get a train to Newport and ride north-ish till I run out of time and loop back south again. I’m happy with route ideas from the Gap northwards but want to escape the south coast urban sprawl both quickly and by the most pleasant route possible. Your wisdom and experience please.

[Mariner]

I rode up the canal to Brecon.
It was/is a great route if you can find the start in Newport.
Got a gpx if you need one.

Left Newport middayish and in Brecon early evening.

[RIP]

'quickly' - maybe continue train to Cardiff, then another train up to head of any of the valleys, eg Ebbw Vale then through Trefil quarry and over the moor down to Talybont. Bit of a change from the Gap?

[Taylor]

The canal is a pleasant enough ride.

[faustus]

Or get a train to Merthyr instead, and get on the Taff trail to the Gap fairly quickly. Then you miss the southern sprawl entirely. You could always take the Taff trail from Cardiff, never done it and no idea what it's like from Cardiff. It uses Sustrans route 8, part of the Lon Las Cymru, so it might be alright, and it's meant to be mainly off road....

[Bearbonesnorm]

part of the Lon Las Cymru, so it might be alright, and it's meant to be mainly off road....

No, car-free and off-road aren't the same things

[psling]

... I’m happy with route ideas from the Gap northwards but want to escape the south coast urban sprawl both quickly and by the most pleasant route possible.

The funny thing is, there is probably more good off-road riding between Newport and Brecon than there is for several miles north of Brecon!
That said, the above suggestions cover scenic, straightforward and quick(er)and make most sense for what you're looking for.
The Monmouth-Brecon Canal from Newport is very pleasant but, as is the nature of canals, you will be pedalling a lot - might sound strange but I find canal paths bum-numbing because there is no or very little free-wheeling, just continual pedalling. The Monmouth-Brecon is one I have ridden many times, usually joining it somewhere between Pontypool and Abergavenny as my easy route to Talybont and Brecon and have bivvied by its side many a time.
The Taff Trail from Cardiff via Merthyr is straightforward navigating once out of Cardiff and you can deviate to the Gap route once above Pontsticill. This is obviously a hillier route so you can shift your bum around more!

[RIP]

Did Cardiff-Merthyr train last year with Steve M, quick way of getting to 'best' bit of the Taff Trail. Then again the Valleys hold a lot of interest if you like nosing around like I do, and as Peter says that might be the 'best' bit instead depending upon your viewpoint. And get on some of those tops and it'll feel more remote than the Beacons! If you elect to ride to Merthyr you do need to be a proficient unicyclist though because it's likely you'll have a wheel nicked from underneath you. I'm allowed to say that because Steve said it to me and he's a Valleys man through and through . Actually I love being amongst the folks round there, great place.

[Charliecres]

Thanks all for the replies. Think I’ll stick to the canal on the way out if it’s reasonably pleasant.

I’ve looked at all possible combinations of onward train journeys and decided that the additional cost and complexity of another change of train outweighs the advantages. I just want to get out on my bike.

I agree that the valleys have a charm (and an edge) all of their own but on this trip I want to get properly into the middle of nowhere without too much delay.

[Charliecres]

Oh, and thanks for the offer of a GPX, Mariner. I’d appreciate that if it’s really tricky to get from the station to the Mon&Brec.

I’m actually quite looking forward to following it. I worked briefly on Canal & Riverboat magazine in the distant days of my youth. Ahoy me hearties and avast behind!

[psling]

... if it’s really tricky to get from the station to the Mon&Brec.

It's been a number of years since I've alighted from a train at Newport but you head back from the station towards the River Usk (you will have just been over it on the train) and turn left (North) just before the river onto Cycle Route 47 which follows the West side of the river initially and then heads west (urban) until it runs parallel with the M4. When you're alongside the motorway you have to turn right onto Cycle Route 49 which passes under the M4. Follow Route 49 and then the canal towpath all the way to Brecon

[RIP]

Three bonus points there Peter for use of the word 'alight'. I always try to do that upon arrival rather than just 'get off'. Makes it so much more of an occasion don't you think? . I wonder if it's even more of an occasion if you omit the 'from', in a similar way that one just 'boards'? I'll try that next time and see if there's any difference. Alighting also implies a consequent few minutes just standing there getting a measure of the surroundings and features before continuing the journey, in proper tramp bikepacker fashion. Don't start me on 'comprises of' either .

[psling]

I wonder if it's even more of an occasion if you omit the 'from', in a similar way that one just 'boards'?
...Don't start me on 'comprises of' either .

Ha ha, I actually did omit 'from' when I first typed it but then, in a superior kind of way, I added it to make it easier for people to understand.... oh dear!! I should be less passive. Or, is that more passive?

[RIP]

So, er, anyway, yeah, canal; great choice . Impossible to avoid the Star at Talybont that way too so that's a bonus.

[psling]

Yes, couple of nice pubs in Talybont, The White Hart and (as you say) The Star. Plus the Coach & Horses at Llangynidr just a couple of miles before Talybont. There is a nice cafe at Goytre Warf about 15 miles out of Newport. Can't think of any other watering holes actually on the canal but there are a few just off it plus Abergavenny and Crickhowell are just a short detour from it.

[Mariner]

Three bonus points there Peter for use of the word 'alight'. I always try to do that upon arrival rather than just 'get off'. Makes it so much more of an occasion don't you think? . I wonder if it's even more of an occasion if you omit the 'from', in a similar way that one just 'boards'? I'll try that next time and see if there's any difference. Alighting also implies a consequent few minutes just standing there getting a measure of the surroundings and features before continuing the journey, in proper tramp bikepacker fashion. Don't start me on 'comprises of' either .

You are Jacob Rees Mogg and I claim my £5.

Actually it is easy to find the start just don't try and use the main cycle route 46 through Newport as a dual carriage way has been built over it.
The way I went involved an underpass, a blocked footpath and a huge circular ramp up to a narrow foot bridge. Then when I found the start it was closed under the M4 for works. There is another underpass the other side of the dual carriageway but its well hidden.
If you look on a map it might be easier to come out the back entrance to the station car park. Ride down Devon Place then Queens Hill and Barracks Hill. The canal starts there plus it keeps you the right side of the dual carriageway.
Oh and you will need the lifts in the station to get your bike out.
gpx file here http://www.gps-routes.co.uk/routes/home ... ycle-route
Enjoy.