A little series on the spots I’ve come to love over the years, and now spend hours yomping around with our dog. Easily overlooked and simply unknown to the many who whizz past into the bigger hills of Bannau Brycheiniog, this is a little celebration of all these places we are so lucky to have in our city where the four-legged fluffers can roam.

First up in this series I’ve chosen the spectacular Wenallt (pronounced Wen-a-chll-t. Imagine you’re a vampire hissing for the double ‘ll’ as my Welsh-speaking friend likes to say). Wrapping around the outskirts of the neighbourhood of Rhiwbina in North Cardiff, this woodland boasts streams, ancient trees and some very old stone boundary lines.

Stepping into the the woods in the Wenallt always gives me a feeling of calm and contentment. Being a designated Ancient Woodland gives it a grandeur, with the canopy far above waving in the breeze which so often doesn’t touch you down below. The neighbouring golden farm fields slope down with you as you head downhill on the main pathways, with these picture perfect views greeting you if you glance right on your descent from the top car park. You could be anywhere, anytime in history. These natural pictures frames formed by the boundary treeline are some of my favourite parts of this woodland, but the goodness continues as you head down into the woods quite steeply so watch your feet!). Plenty of birds to be heard and sometimes seen, including woodpeckers! Enjoy the variety of trees, and the spectacular views down the slopes as the trees space out. One of the best things about walking here is that it’s essentially impossible to get lost – you know going uphill will always get you back to your car eventually!
One of my favourite places to walk the puppy as you can probably tell, and one I will always recommend for a bit of a wild-feeling so easily accessible.

HOW TO GET THERE:
Two carparks on Wenallt Road give easy access for those needing to drive, but pathways into the woods exist from all over and many Rhiwbina locals walk in from Wenallt Road/Rhiwbina Hill access points. Beware of the upper car park, the entrance tarmac is very potholed and just requires some careful negotiation.
Upper Carpark – ///bits.runs.bunch
Lower Carpark – ///wells.tame.shrimp

BEST ENJOYED:
All year round baby! This is an excellent walk for particularly rainy or sunny days as it offers year-round streams to cool off the doggos and a lot of cover from the elements (but make no mistake you will still get soaking on a rainy day). Great bluebell photo opportunities in the spring too! Bear in mind, because of the tree-coverage it tends to get darker a little sooner than sunset. The woodland never gets very busy, but there are normally a couple of other walkers, most with dogs, around at any time of the day/week.

TERRAIN & WAYMARKING:
Well-marked and obvious pathways, but plenty of room for making up routes and getting a little more lost amongst the trees if you fancy a real walk of solitude. Steep ups and downs in parts, but lots of flat/undulating in between so wear some half decent shoes whatever time of year. you visit. Can get VERY wet in the winter with all the streams running down the hill! Easily linked to other areas of the ridgeway for longer walks.

FACILITIES:
Bins at the car parks and a scattering of benches.

DOG-WALKING PROS/CONS:
Our pup loves everything about this place; the streams to drink from and lay in, the steep ground to sprint up and down on and the undergrowth to race through. You’re also very isolated from any roads as soon as you leave the car parks so you feel very safe if that’s something you worry about with your dog.
The only thing to consider is the livestock in the neighbouring fields (horse, cows, sheep), but all are fenced off with access gates/styles and they’re not always in residence. I’ve always found our dog to be way too interested in the woods itself to even bother attempting to get into the fields. Also, no bins in the woods themselves so be prepared to carry those poop bags out to the carpark with you.