There are many variations to this walk, but the route takes in the sights of Fforest Fawr including many locations used in TV productions including Dr Who, Sherlock, Merlin, Casualty.
Distance: 3.5 miles
Strenuous: mild, steady climb at the start
Teilo wag factor: 4 (lots of places to explore and run around)
Starting at the school, head up the High Street, turn right by The Lewis Arms, and up Mill Road. Enter the Castell Coch gates, but don’t follow the road, instead take the path opposite the gates that goes up into the forest. This is a steady climb. You’ll pass a turning on the right over a stream, which provides an alternative route, but in this case we’ll go straight on. Just past this turning there is a side path that leads up to the Blue Water Mine. This has a fenced off pool, and is part of the old mining network in the forest.
Rejoin the path after visiting the mine and continue up the hill. You come to a cross-roads at the top. Go straight over, we are executing a sort of figure of 8 and will come back past this point later. Follow this path, you will be rewarded with lovely views up the valley to your left. The path then bears right and goes through Fforest Fawr, complete with a number of wood carvings.
Follow this round and then turn right when you rejoin the main, wide path. This is a long straight(ish) path with some undulation. You will pass the Three Bears Cave on your right, which is a favourite film location for the BBC.
Continue straight on this path, passing the point you had crossed earlier. As the path sweeps to the right, take the left hand branch which goes steeply downhill towards Castell Coch. You can try the cafe here if you fancy a slice of Bara Brith. Then take the road down to the entrance, and back down the hill to the Lewis Arms and the village High Road again.
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