Diversions and Closures in Afan due to Tree Felling

Natural Resources Wales have announced a 12-week closure of Rhyslyn car park in Afan for tree felling in the area. From Monday 28 June, the car park will be closed and trail diversions and closures will be in place.

Rhysyln car park will be open on weekends, but throughout the week people are advised to park near Afan Forest Park Visitor centre. It’s worth noting that there are current refurbishment works taking place in the Afan visitor car park, so be mindful if visiting:

Please note refurbishment works are currently underway to the public toilets and shower facilities at Afan Forest Park Visitor Centre Car Park. Work is also underway to enhance the car park and create additional capacity. These works are scheduled to complete by September 2021. 

During this time temporary public toilet facilities will be made available to visitors and there will be a temporary reduction in available parking spaces on site in order to facilitate these works.

Afan Forest Park

Tree Felling

The felling is due to take place to allow trees contaminated with Dothistroma septosporum (red band needle blight) to be safely cut down say NRW. Natural Resources Wales have said that felling operations were reviewed due an incident during a recent harvesting operation. A felled tree toppled onto the forest road that a member of the public was walking along.

At NRW, we work hard to balance the health and safety requirements of an operational forest, with the recreational benefits the forest brings for all visitors whether they are walkers, runners, horse riders or mountain bikers. This was a freak incident. No one was injured, but additional adjustments have since been made to ensure the safety of visitors and contractors.

Visitor safety always has to take priority, leaving us with no other option but to close the nearby road and car park to be completely satisfied that felling can take place safely. The timing of the closures is regrettable with people keen to enjoy their summer recreational time at Afan Forest Park. However, it is imperative that this harvesting work gets underway to prevent further spread of the disease and we are doing all we can to minimise the impact this will have on the rest of the forest.

I urge visitors to adhere to the closures and diversions in place for their own safety. This will be a live operational site that could be dangerous if signs are ignored.

Claudia Robins, Team Leader for Forest Operations

Trail Closures

The following trails will be closed:

Rhyslyn riverside walk, Penrhys walk, Rookie Blue mountain bike trail.

The following trails will be diverted:

Y Wal, Rookie Green and Rheilfordd.

Multi user trail – foot and bike traffic only in both directions.

There are also additional closures and diversions in place throughout Afan:

Blade: The ‘Ghost Train’ section is permanently closed. Please follow waymarked diversions.

Blue Scar: Please slow down between berms on the ‘Mandrill’ section.

Penhydd: The ‘Big Dipper’ and ‘Desolation’ sections are closed due to harvesting operations. Please follow diversions in place.

Skyline: The ‘South Pit’ section is closed due to harvesting operations and a diversion is in place. Other diversions in place on ‘Short & Sweet’, ‘Riding High’, ‘On the Edge’ and ‘Coed Mog 1’ sections due imminent trail maintenance works.

W2: The boardwalk section of the W2 Black Run is closed for replacement. You may be asked to wait by a banksman on the Parson’s Folly Upper Link due to harvesting operations.

White’s Level: The boardwalk section (Goodwood) is closed for replacement.

Y Wal: The ‘373’ and ‘374’ sections are due to be closed for harvesting operations. A diversion will be in place along the forest road from ‘Picadilly’ along to ‘Graveyard’.

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Measures in Place

NRW have noted the measures they’ve taken to minimise impact during the felling:

• Signage and barriers will be in place to make closures and diversions clear to road users.
• Attendants will be assisting with traffic management on site seven days a week.
• Rhyslyn car park will be open on weekends, however the road will remain closed.
• There are other existing car parks you could use instead of Rhyslyn, such as Glyncorrwg Ponds.
• A temporary car park is also being provided at Tynmaen, near the Afan Visitor Centre.

There will also be further felling in the near future at Afan Masts. For more information on Afan Forest Park, head to Afan Forest site. We hope to do a follow up on this future, talking to those involved in the trails and getting an idea of what the future looks like for Afan.

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