This is a great route. We reversed it, cycling east to west, and extended by starting near the Severn Bridge. We found a lovely wooded trail (minor roads) to Usk and then onwards to the official start at Abergavenny.

The amount of off-road riding pleasantly surprised us. A lot of old railway lines and canal paths are used. Factor in that riding the canals reduces the average speed, and a few times we found ourselves dreaming of a bit of flat Tarmac.…

There have been comments on the tricky main road section near Merthyr; but this is being upgraded and we were able to tuck in behind road-work cones. Maybe the improvements will include a cycle-path??

We took our time and were away 3 nights (including the extension at the start) and enjoyed not rushing. The scenery is a delight, and we got very lucky (in late October) with no rain and a following easterly wind. You can’t expect more than that….

Itv would be quite possible to make a circle of this route, combining it with the more southerly Celtic Trail. Or use the frequent bike-friendly train services from Newport to Swansea, and cycle down from Abergavenny.

We kept a blog of our trip:

 https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=3d2&doc_id=24679&v=3W

Thanks for a great site and route idea , Richard!

Brian & Annie Marshall