Not to be confused with Ogmore by Sea, Ogmore Vale is a village nestled in a crook between the mountains of the Valleys. The hills are flush with woodland on the Eastern side, whilst windswept moors reach up to the clouds on the West. Between them both, the River Ogmore gurgles, slipping down South beside a disused railway line that now forms a flat section of the Great Glamorgan Way, serving as a relaxing stretch between your decent and your next climb up to the Valleys’ lofty peaks.

The village itself used to be home to the famous Gwalia Stores which can now be found, still serving as a shop, in St Faggans. Built in 1880, it made such an impact at the time and had so many services and goods on offer that it became known as ‘The Harrods of the Valleys’. After it closed in 1973 due to the rise of supermarkets, it was moved, brick by brick, to St Faggans in 1988, where you will find it now. But it’s worth remembering that Ogmore Vale is the landscape Gwalia made its name in, at a time so deep in the past that its amusing to note how the owners, William and Mary Llewelyn, were the first in the area to own a car!

The trail down from the village runs alongside the River Ogmore, and is built on top of the old railway line. Closed since 1958, the transformed railway line now offers a flat and relaxing ride, especially when travelling South. It gives you a rare reprieve from slopes in the Welsh Valleys, with nearly three kilometres of unimpeded cycling and horse riding.

On the Eastern slopes, you’ll find Garn Lwyd, a burial cairn dating back to the Bronze Age; a lonely resting place on the Welsh moors. Possibly part of a wider network of cairns, it is a great spot for a breather, to take in the views before your decent, or after the climb. Across from you on the other side of the valley is Ogmore forest, a plantation woodland that coats the hillside with lush foliage and undergrowth, presenting a welcome relief from sun or rain beneath its canopy.