What is the highest waterfall in South Wales? It’s Henrhyd Falls in the Brecon Beacons National Park and it’s a beauty. Stick around to find out how to get there and for photography of the great cascade.
Henrhyd Falls, or Sgwd Henrhyd in the Welsh language, is a 27m tall waterfall located in the Brecon Beacons National Park close to Glynneath.
Table of contents
- How do you get to Henrhyd Falls?
- Where is the nearest car park to Henrhyd Falls?
- How much does it cost to go to Henrhyd Falls?
- When is the best time to visit Henrhyd Falls?
- Wales travel content on A World Over
How do you get to Henrhyd Falls?
If you’re driving to Henrhyd Falls from Cardiff, you’ll want to get on the A470 all the way to Abercynon. Leave the A470 at Abercynon and join the A4059. The A4059 will take you to Aberdare.
Stay on the A4059 and pass through Aberdare. At the far end of Aberdare, the A4059 becomes to A465. Continue on the A465 in the direction of Glynneath. Come off the A465 at Glynneath and head through the town on the A4109.
Stay on the A4109. Just after Banwen Pyrddin the road becomes the A4221. After a few minutes, take a right off the A4221 to Coelbren.
Head down Dol Henrhyd Road until you can turn left and cross the river. Cross the river and head straight for a moment. You’ll see the Henrhyd Falls car park on your left-hand side. The whole drive takes about an hour.
You can reach Henrhyd Falls from Cardiff via public transport too. At the time of writing, the journey takes about around 1h 45m and you’ll need to take a train and a bus.
Get a train from Cardiff to Neath; this takes about 45 minutes. At Neath, get on the X8 bus to Coelbren. This takes roughly an hour. From here you just need to walk for about 10 minutes down Dol Henrhyd and then turn left to cross the river to arrive at the Henrhyd Falls car park.
At the car park, head down the slope past the signboard that details the history of Henrhyd Falls. The slope becomes quite steep and it’s a minute or so decent down to the bottom of the gorge. Here you’ll cross the river to the other side of the gorge on a wooden bridge.
Take care on this wooden bridge. It was muddy when I went and on the way back I slipped coming down the bridge steps. I slid pretty roughly down the steps and whacked my camera. Luckily the camera was fine and so was I, but I was quite muddy.
Once you’re over the bridge, it’s as straightforward as following the trail for about two minutes. Henrhyd Falls will come into view and you can begin to take it in.
The trail will take you all the way up to the falls and behind them. This gives you a nice perspective looking through the water and down the gorge.
Where is the nearest car park to Henrhyd Falls?
The Henrhyd Falls car park is located just above the gorge in which Henrhyd Falls sits. The carpark is about a 10-minute walk from the waterfall.
How much does it cost to go to Henrhyd Falls?
Visiting Henrhyd Falls itself is free. However, you should factor transport and any food costs into your trip. At the time of writing, the total cost of taking public transport from Cardiff to Henrhyd Falls and back is just under £20.
When is the best time to visit Henrhyd Falls?
To see Henrhyd Falls in all its glory, visit it on a sunny day after a period of rainfall. Clear skies will allow you pristine views of the falls and the gorge and will also make the walk from the car park much easier. Visiting after a period of rainfall will ensure that the falls are powerful and impressive.
These were the conditions when we went and Henrhyd Falls looked incredible. We also arrived really early in the morning (around 6:30am) and had the falls to ourselves for a few hours to take photos.
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