26 Cardiff – Caerphilly – Blackwood – Abertillery – Ebbw Vale

The Stagecoach South Wales 26 is one of the great cross-Valleys routes, threading a single bus ride from the heart of Cardiff up through Caerphilly and the Sirhowy Valley into Blackwood, then onward through the old mining towns of Newbridge, Crumlin, Abertillery, Cwm and Ebbw Vale. It is a long ride, but a rewarding one: a slow climb out of the Welsh capital and deep into the head-of-the-valleys country, with a different character at every turn of the road.

Leaving Greyfriars Road in central Cardiff, the bus slips past the civic grandeur of Cathays Park, the white Portland stone of the City Hall, the National Museum and the Law Courts framed by lawns and trees. The route then runs past Blackweir and the edge of Bute Park, where the River Taff carves its green corridor through the city, before climbing through Maindy and Gabalfa towards Whitchurch. A long suburban stretch through Whitchurch and Coryton follows, the bus pausing at the University Hospital of Wales, a vast complex on Heath Park, then resuming its northbound run.

At Tongwynlais the city falls away and the scenery shifts. Taff's Well, with its little railway station and the bulk of the Garth mountain rising to the west, marks the start of the Valleys proper. The road threads through Nantgarw, past the showcase cinema and college campus, before climbing to Aber and into Caerphilly. Here the view from the bus is unmissable: the long curtain walls and leaning south-east tower of Caerphilly Castle, the second largest in Britain, sit moated and mighty right beside the road. The bus calls at Caerphilly Interchange in the shadow of the castle before pressing north.

From Pwllypant onward the route follows the Rhymney Valley through Llanbradach and Ystrad Mynach, terraces of grey-rendered cottages stepping up the hillsides above the railway. Maesycwmmer, with its handsome viaduct over the Sirhowy, leads into Pontllanfraith and Blackwood, the bustling market town that acts as the hinge of the journey.

North of Blackwood the bus dives east through Newbridge, where the restored Memo Hall recalls the town's miners' institute heritage, then up through Crumlin and Aberbeeg into Abertillery. The final leg climbs through Cwm and Waunllwyd to Ebbw Vale, the head of the valley, where the old steelworks site has been remade as the Works heritage area, learning zone and parkway station. Few single bus routes pack in so much of South Wales in one ride.

The 26 makes a brilliant all-day exploration of South Wales by bus, with Cardiff at one end and the head-of-the-valleys towns at the other. Start at Blackwood Bus Station, where the indoor market and the lively high street give a flavour of a busy Valleys town before you board.

Heading north first, the bus runs out through Pontllanfraith and Newbridge. Newbridge is worth a stop for The Memo, the beautifully restored Newbridge Memorial Hall, an Edwardian miners' institute now reborn as a community arts and heritage venue. From Newbridge the route climbs through Crumlin and Aberbeeg into Abertillery, a town tucked tightly between green hillsides. Take time in Abertillery to walk up to the Six Bells Guardian, the towering steel statue commemorating the 1960 mining disaster, and to look in on Abertillery Museum on Market Street for its mining and local-history collections.

Back on the bus, the route continues through Cwm and Waunllwyd to Ebbw Vale. Here the old steelworks site has been transformed into The Works, with a lake, parkland and the General Offices building housing local heritage exhibits. Ebbw Vale also has the Ebbw Fawr Learning Community and a parkway station with trains back to Cardiff if you fancy varying your return.

Picking the southbound 26 back up at Blackwood, the journey towards Cardiff offers a completely different day in itself. Alight at Caerphilly Interchange for Caerphilly Castle, with its enormous moat, working trebuchets and the famous leaning tower. The town centre nearby has plenty of cafes and bakeries where you can try a slice of Caerphilly cheese on its home ground.

Continuing south, you might break the journey at Tongwynlais to walk up to Castell Coch, the fairytale Gothic Revival castle designed by William Burges, hidden in beech woods above the village. From there it is a short bus hop on into Cardiff.

Finish your day in the capital with a stroll through Bute Park to Cardiff Castle, a wander around the Victorian arcades, or an hour in the National Museum Cardiff at Cathays Park, right next to where the 26 sets you down on Greyfriars Road. Few single routes give you castles, coalfield heritage and a capital city in one ticket.