Pwll-Du Waterfall

The walk down to Pwll-Du Waterfall is tougher than the car park signs suggest. You'll find yourself picking your way through dense woodland on a path that gets genuinely muddy after rain, dropping steeply into a gorge where the water crashes down into a proper black pool - hence the name, Pwll-Du. It's an arresting sight, especially when the water's high and the mist rises up from the basin below.

This one's for walkers with decent knees and a bit of grit rather than casual visitors. If you're after a gentle stroll through the park, save your energy. But if you like scrambling through woods and don't mind getting your boots wet, the payoff is real. The sheer rock faces either side of the falls and the enclosed canyon feel properly wild - you could forget you're half an hour from Neath entirely.

Allow a good hour for the walk there and back, maybe more if you fancy sitting by the pool. It's best visited when water levels are decent, so winter or early spring beats summer drought. Free to access, obviously. If you're camping at nearby Willow Springs Campsite, this makes a cracking morning out before the day gets too warm. It's the sort of place that rewards the effort - not Instagram-friendly from the car park, but genuinely special once you've earned it.