Afan Forest Storm Darragh Recovery

Overview

After a challenging period of prolonged felling and storm recovery, Natural Resources Wales (NRW) is preparing to re-‘egg’-nite adventure at Afan Forest, just in time for Easter.

Afan Forest has faced significant challenges. Prolonged tree felling to remove dead and diseased larch trees and the devastating impact of storms — particularly Storm Darragh — left many areas inaccessible, and impacting tourism and the local businesses that rely on the forest’s vibrancy.

Contractors have worked tirelessly to clear storm-damaged areas, allowing much-loved trails such as Skyline and Blade at Glyncorrwg to now reopen. However, a small number remain closed or are diverted due to the severity of windblown trees and the safety risks these pose.

Reopened and redesigned trails

With the support of Neath Port Talbot Council, parts of the trail network redesign and safety improvements totalling £173,000 have received £160,000 from the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. The remainder being match-funded by NRW.

These vital funds have enabled essential trail redesigns and safety upgrades to Jetlag, ZigZags, Stage 4 and Rookie Blue making them more adventurous for riders, while including improved safety measures, all intended to help attract more tourism to the area.

Additionally, key trail reinstatement work has been made possible by Welsh Government’s National Forest fund, supporting efforts to restore access to this treasured landscape including reinstating the boardwalk section on Goodwood trail, and enhancement of the walking trails from the Afan Valley Visitor Centre and Rhyslyn Car Park.

Read the full update on the news section of our website.

Recreational trails

Bookmark this page and check back here regularly for updates on which trails are open, closed or diverted.

Walking Trails

Emergency response highlights

In the immediate aftermath of the storm and leading up to Christmas, we prioritised critical tree management tasks, including:

• Clearing forest roads to ensure access for residents.
• Supporting farmers in accessing their land and livestock to meet animal welfare needs.
• Enabling access to emergency and communications masts and to allow National Grid to restore power.
• Ensuring access to windfarms on NRW-managed land.

Looking ahead

We’ll continue to provide updates as work progresses and more trails reopen. Thank you for your patience and cooperation as we work to restore our woodlands.

Stakeholder meeting

The local land management team will be in contact very soon to arrange a stakeholder meeting to provide a more detailed update.

How you can help

To report any new incidents, please report them via our incident hotline on 0300 065 3000 or via our incident reporting form.