Pupils from four schools attended an event to mark the Rhondda Fach Active Travel Route’s opening. They joined Councillor Ann Crimmings, leader of Rhondda Cynon Taf Council, and Councillor Louisa Addiscott, Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s cabinet member for Environment and Capital Infrastructure, to break the tape.
The new shared walking and cycling route spans 10km from Maerdy in the north to Tylorstown in the south and was delivered in four phases from 2023 to summer 2026. The main route contains several community links where residents can join or exit the path. A fifth phase of work is a future goal to create a new local link in Maerdy.
The council organised a local event to celebrate the new facility’s main route. Pupils from Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Llyn y Forwyn, Darran Park Primary School, Maerdy Primary School, and Tylorstown Primary School brought their bicycles and running shoes to join in the celebrations, near Ferndale Skate Park.
Also in attendance were council officers with roles within Transport, Active Travel and Heritage, representatives from the Welsh government and Transport for Wales, the local elected members for the Ferndale and Maerdy wards (Cllr Jayne Smith and Cllr Susan Morgans), and members of the local community group Envirofach.
The new active travel route largely follows the former railway line through the Rhondda Fach, while many structures have been replaced to support it. They include two bridges in Blaenllechau, the leisure centre footbridge in Ferndale and two railway bridges in Tylorstown.
The council delivered the scheme with the Welsh government, which provided support from its Active Travel Fund over several years. Transport for Wales also played a role in administrating and advising the scheme.
Crimmings said: “We’ve received excellent feedback from residents and visitors, with the community facility now accessible in its entirety – spanning 10km between Maerdy and Tylorstown. The new pathway and the beautiful landscape can be enjoyed by young and old – from walkers and runners, to people wheeling and cycling.
“It has been great to see this project come together after many years of hard work – to design and develop, secure funding, receive planning permission, and construct all four phases of work. Our thanks go to Welsh Government for its support over several years of its Active Travel Fund, as we share the ambition to improve walking and cycling provision within our communities.”
Addiscott said: “It was brilliant to see the smiles on the children’s faces as they joined us in celebrating this brilliant new facility. Projects like this encourage more people to walk, run and cycle more of their everyday journeys, which has many important advantages like improving people’s health and well-being, reducing the number of vehicles on our roads, reducing traffic congestion, and helping the environment.
“We’re continually updating our Active Travel Network Map for the whole of Rhondda Cynon Taf alongside Welsh Government, to shape our investment. Over the summer, we undertook an extensive consultation that included 16 face-to-face events held within local communities – recording the views of residents on how walking and cycling routes could be improved in their area.
“The Council has received important funding from Welsh Government’s Active Travel Fund in the current year (2026/27) to continue to deliver local projects. This includes developing the community walking and cycling route alongside the future Llanharan Sustainable Transport Corridor, and developing and delivering the Penywaun Safe Routes in Community Scheme. Officers are also continuing to develop further phases of active travel investment between Treorchy and Treherbert, using feedback from a recent consultation exercise.”
