Pentre is surrounded by wild and rugged mountain scenery, rising up from the more gentle, lush terrain of the Tawe Valley. The mountains and the river valley both provide a habitat which enables wildlife to thrive in abundance.
The area is noted for wild salmon and trout, which populate its rivers and for magnificent birds of prey, including the rare Red Kite.
In the mid eighteen hundreds many miners and quarrymen worked on the Cribarth
Mountain providing the local steel industries with limestone and silica
sand, which were used in the smelting process and for making furnace
bricks. Evidence of the old workings, tramways and inclined planes used to
transport the stone down the mountain, can still be found. At Pant-y-Ffyrch
lie the ruins of an old Drovers Inn, where a groom was murdered after a
game of cards and his skeleton was only found thirty years later.
The picture on the left shows the "Sleeping Giant", a part of the Cribarth Mountain which looks just like a large sleeping man. One of our rides actually takes us down the 'neck' of the giant! Legend has it that he will awake and come to the rescue of the local villages if they are ever threatened.
High up on Garreg Las (below) are two mountain lakes named Llyn-y-Fan Fawr and Llyn-y-Fan Fach.
We can arrange Special Rides to see these crystal clear pools which are steeped in history and legend. The old Welsh folk tale of the Lady of the Lake seems very real when you experience the timeless atmosphere of this remote upland region. If you are really brave, you can also take a dip in the magical waters! Some riding experience is an advantage for these Special Rides, which are not for the faint-hearted, but which are wonderful, long excursions into some of the most beautiful parts of our area. Full details of this and other Special Rides, including a ride to Henrhyd Waterfall, below, can be found on our Prices & Ride Times Page
The crash site of a World War
2 Wellington Bomber lies high on the
local hills. A visit to the site takes in wonderful views, sink holes,
caves and magnificent limestone outcrops.
 Henrhyd Waterfall, shown on the left,
has an uninterrupted 90ft drop, making it the highest waterfall in South Wales.
It is another impressive local feature within easy reach of Pentre Riding Stables and well worth the climb down (and back up!) a steep, wooded valley to stand at the foot of Henrhyd as the water thunders into the pool below.
As above, we can arrange Special Rides to this waterfall, as detailed on our Prices & Ride Times Page.
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