Today with little industry the future of the Afan valley lies in tourism with the Afan Forest Park attracting 170,000 visitors a year. The countryside centre at Afan Argoed has an exhibition on the landscape and scenery of the Afan valley, an outdoor exhibition of the valley's mining history, a blacksmiths forge and the South Wales Miners Museum. Also there is a café, gift shop and large car park often full at weekends.

From the centre visitors can walk several way-marked trails and explore an area of the valley known locally as 'Little Switzerland'. For children who visit, a Ranger offers courses on forest skills and woodland, pond and other habitat studies for all ages.

Afan Forest park is the fastest growing mountain bike centre in Britain, currently with four purpose-built trails.

Around twenty five miles of former railway tracks and forest trails are now used for walking, cycling, mountain biking, horse riding and watching wildlife. These trails have links with Margam Park, Aberdare and the Gnoll in Neath. Afan Argoed is now one of the major mountain bike centres in the country with purpose-built trails like The Wall, The Penhydd Trail, Whites Level and Skyline.

The Future?

Many suggestions have been made to increase visitors to the valley, including a cable car to a high point in the valley such as that at Matlock Bath in Derbyshire. There is a caravan park at Glyncorrwg Ponds with plans for a centre where visitors can stay and explore the valley. This base could also be used by visiting schoolchildren for environmental studies and outdoor pursuits. At Gyfylchi farm log cabins can be rented by visitors and a number of homes and farms offer bed and breakfast. There are also plans for a Centre Parcs- style resort.

Artist's impression of the proposed resort in the Afan valley.

The recent proposal for a Centre Parcs-style resort could attract many thousands of visitors to the valley and bring hundreds of new jobs to the locality. The centre would provide a hotel and leisure centre, restaurants, holiday lodges, golf course and ski slope. The centre will be built on forestry land between Cymmer in the Afan valley and Blaenau in the Llynfi valley. Planned at a cost of £55 million the resort would occupy 500 acres of forest between Cymmer and Caerau. The holiday village will include a sub-tropical leisure centre with restaurant and shops. Also a hotel, 240 holiday lodges, golf course, ski slope and pony trekking centre. One hundred and forty luxury homes would also be built to help fund the building of the resort which will take six years to construct. Up to 500 jobs could be created if the scheme goes ahead.

Council leaders have approved the scheme, local MP Hywel Francis considered the scheme "the best news for the Afan valley for a very long time".