It is eminently suitable for people looking for a long distance
challenge and also for those who wish to walk the trail in sections,
using the train to access day or weekend walking. Above all else it is
spot on for those seeking to discover at first hand the beauty and
tranquillity of the Welsh Marches and Mid Wales.
The trail starts off gently enough, but soon rises to remote uplands,
dips into wooded valleys, and eventually passes alongside the
captivating salt marshes of the Loughor Valley. The last leg takes you
to the Millennium Coastal Park and final destination Llanelli, a town
rightly proud of its industrial heritage. The appeal, of course, is not
just the walking but also the train journey. It is one of the slowest
trains in Wales, but do not let this put you off for this is not your
everyday sort of train. This is a very rural line which defied closure
during the Beeching era of the early 1960s. It ran through so many
marginal seats that the line was given a reprieve; no one wanted to be
responsible for pinning up that final closure notice.
For those without a car it is a lifeline. For many it is simply
irreplaceable. We are fortunate too, for it also happens to offer access
to great walking between stations through pockets of landscape which
are very different. We think this is a marriage made in heaven.
