Forest Holidays | Garwnant

Garwnant visitor centre is managed by Forest Holidays.

Garwnant Visitor Centre on the southern edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park lies within 400 acres of woodland on the northern edge of Llwyn-on reservoir. The centre is the starting point for walking trails, nature trails, mountain biking routes, and a fully accessible trail for wheelchair users and buggies.

Family friendly activities include a play area, low ropes course and two puzzle trails plus a café to relax in and enjoy fresh local produce and views. There are picnic tables around the main car park and along the walking trails – some have metal frames for holding disposable barbecues.Forest Frenzy is a low rope assault course recommended for ages 7-15. There is also a play area for under 7s.

Schools and Community Groups can join the Ranger and explore the forests around Garwnant. Educational and fun visits tailored for all needs.

GARWNANT WALKING & NATURE TRAILS
The long distance Taff Trail from Cardiff to Brecon passes through the centre, offering a diversity of splendid views.

WILLOW WALK - ALL ABILITY TRAIL - The Willow Walk (half a mile, 1 kilometre) is a gentle all-ability trail that allows easy access to explore the forest for visitors with wheelchairs, electric buggies and pushchairs. The Willow Walk is a gentle all-ability trail with a number of stream crossings. After crossing three bridges, the trail goes through a willow tunnel on its way back to the visitor centre.

THE WEM WALK (2 miles, 3.2 kilometres) - The woodland trail takes you past the ruins of Wern Farm, which reveals this area's agricultural past. The trail returns to the visitor centre along a forest road which offers some good views along the way.

GARWNANT PUZZLE TRAILS (half a mile, 1 kilometre) - You can discover more about the wildlife and trees that thrive in and around Garwnant by picking up a leaflet at the visitor centre. You can try either the Animal Sculpture or Accessible Tree Trail.

GARWNANT MOUNTAIN BIKE TRAILS

There are three MOUNTAIN BIKE TRAILS that start from the visitor centre:

ROWAN TRAIL (550 metres, grade green)
The Rowan mountain bike trail is a green-graded (easy) trail which has been designed for junior first time mountain bikers and it can be ridden fast or slow. It starts with a warm-up in the Bike Park, and then goes up a broad single track climb. It descends down a series of berms and open turns, humps and bumps and finishes below the Bike Park.

SPRUCE TRAIL (450 metres, grade blue)
The Spruce mountain bike trail is a blue-graded (moderate) short trail designed to improve riding skills. It shares the ascent with the Rowan trail and then splits off to follow a short rhythm section. An easy drop off is followed by some steep bermed corners and the fast descent flows through more turns and a fast finish, leading back on to the shared ascent. The route then descends the Rowan Trail to finish.

MOUNTAIN BIKE SKILLS PARK (for young children; adult supervision is highly recommended)
The Mountain Bike Skills Park has a series of child-friendly obstacles designed especially to improve skills and build confidence. Riders need to be able to pedal uphill and to negotiate simple turns. All features can be ridden slowly or avoided completely and riders push their bike up the ramp and ride around each of the features in turn.

FISHING
Fishing is not permitted on the Garwnant site but you can buy a permit to fish in reservoirs nearby that are managed by Dwr Cymru Welsh Water. Permits may be bought from the ticket machines on site. The cost of a permit varies according to location, size of catch, age and concessions.

CHANGING PLACES TOILET
There is a Changing Places toilet in Garwnant Visitor Centre which was donated by Mountway, a company based in the nearby town of Tredegar.

People with profound and multiple learning disabilities, as well as other serious impairments such as spinal injuries, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis or an acquired brain injury, often need extra facilities to allow them to use the toilets comfortably.

Changing Places toilets are different to standard disabled toilets with extra equipment, including a height adjustable changing bench and a hoist, and more space to meet their needs.

You will need a Radar key to access the Changing Places toilet. See the Changing Places website for more information

Summary of facilities for disabled visitors:

Disabled parking.
Wheelchair access to the visitor centre and café.
Accessible toilets (with baby changing facilities).
Changing Places toilet (with baby changing facility).
Hearing loop in café, meeting room and information centre.
Picnic tables with easy access for wheelchairs and electric buggies.