There are lots of fun things to do and enjoy in and around Neath Port Talbot during the summer holidays – outdoors or indoors and for FREE!
If your children prefer indoor fun, encourage them to better their reading skills by participating in the Summer Reading challenge. This year’s Reading Challenge theme is Mischief Makers, which is inspired by the popular children’s tittle Beano in celebration of its 80th Anniversary. Neath Port Talbot libraries are holding a number of activities for this year’s challenge which can be found on the What’s On section of the Council’s website, together with other activities in and around the county borough, such as the popular Lego club at Neath Library for children who love having fun creating with Lego.
[aoa id=”1″]The county borough is famous for its great outdoors, including Afan Forest Park, which hosts six world class mountain biking trails – the ‘Penhydd’, ‘Y Wâl’, ‘White’s Level’ and ‘W²‘. The trails here have been carved out of hillsides once surrounded by coal mining, but now the valley has been transformed into a biker’s haven. The low level cycle route ‘Y Rheilffordd’ is a great way to explore the countryside. This is a suitable trail for the family with picnic and refreshment stops along the trail, which is 36km in total. If you prefer walking there are plenty of trails to suit all abilities, from easy walks such as 1.25 mile Old Parish Road Walk which takes up to 45 minutes, to the challenging 5.5mile Gyfylchi Ridgetop Trail which takes approximately 3.5 hours.[/aoa]
The Port Talbot Half Marathon on 12th August at 9:00am will be running through the Afan Valley. This exciting run will leave the beautiful surroundings of Glyncorrwg Ponds and follow the former railway route down the valley to Pontrhydyfen, the birth place of Richard Burton. From here, it turns to the opposite side of the valley to return to Glyncorrwg. Without doubt this is one of Wales’ most scenic races and it is one of the cheapest half marathons around. Electronic chip timing is offered, including four water stations, bespoke event technical t-shirt and a medal, plus the all-important goody bag! Entry fee for this event is £19, but if you want to give your support and cheer your family/ friends over the line, that’s absolutely free.
The Aberavon Aquathlon – Race 2, Welsh Triathlon’s Club Event of the Year in 2017 is back this year and will be bigger than before. This event will take place on Monday 30th July 2018, with the swim starting in the sheltered cove of Aberavon Beach, followed by a run along the promenade with views over the beautiful bay. The field has been extended this year due to all three races selling out last year. The race caters for everyone from elite athletes to novices. It is fully chip timed and each competitor will receive an event technical t-shirt.
Musica Rediviva at the Visitors Centre in Gnoll Estate Country Park is a series of FREE, short concerts every Saturday and Sunday from 4th to 26th August. It will feature The Velca Ladies Choir from Rome on 4th and 5th August and local singers on the other weekends. Every concert will begin at 3pm, except the concert on Sunday 5th, which will start at 2.30pm. Each concert will last no longer than one hour. The repertoire will be a mixture of operatic arias, classical works and popular songs.
Pontardawe is the place to be on the weekend of Friday 17th to Sunday 19th August when The Pontardawe Chamber of Trade presents the Pontardawe Summerfest Weekend. There will be craft stalls, folk dancing and more than 70 bands, in ten venues, with six outdoor stages over the three days and a parade at 1.30pm on Saturday. All entertainment at this great event is FREE, with a charge of £1 per child for a Circus skills workshop on Saturday 18th August.
The Aberavon Aqua Splash will also be open every day from 10am – 7mp throughout the summer holidays for children to enjoy. Keep up to date with what’s going on at Aberavon Aqua Splash’ Facebook page.
For more information about things to do in Neath Port Talbot visit www.npt.gov.uk/whatson
