Some Good Places to Run in and Around Caerleon
Why not try one of these courses to see how you get on?
Pick somewhere on the route to start and finish. Keep a
record of how long it takes you to complete the circuit. Around and about
Caerleon its hard to avoid hills, so take care not to
push yourself too hard to begin with. After a while you can actually enjoy
running up hills, and its a good way to increase your stamina and speed.
All routes are described as starting and finishing at the
entrance to Caerleon College Campus (by the security barriers). But you could
find a different start/finish point on the course that suits you best.
Ponthir Reservoir Run
Turn left down Lodge
Road, then left just after
bus stop before turning into College
Crescent. Take care crossing the busy Ponthir Road, but
go left again and keep running on that pavement until you reach the Ponthir
House. Turn right into the countryside and progress for about half a mile until
you come to a junction. Turn right and go up the hill. There are fields on the
right and a few houses on the left. It gets quite steep. After
about half a mile the road forks. Go to the right and keep on until the
Court Farm Water Treatment Works is on your immediate right. Follow the road as
it turns to the left and goes further uphill. You will go past a right turn
(that would bring you out onto the Usk
Road) and as you turn sharp left, you will see
another lane to the right with restricted access, which you should ignore.
You should be running along a narrow lane with a concealed
reservoir above you on the left (did you know it was there?), and you will go
past some houses on the right. Beyond those houses are excellent views across
the distant countryside.
After about half a mile the road drops and you need to keep
going straight on where you will see a lane joining from the left. This stretch
continues for over a mile and much of it is uphill. Dont be tempted to turn
off right along any of the lanes that join the road you are on.
Eventually you will reach a T junction. Turn left and then
left again only about 50 yards later. This is the beginning of the lane that
goes all the way back down to the Ponthir House. Its downhill almost all of
the way. So enjoy the scenery and the on-rushing breeze if you have got this
far you deserve it!
From Ponthir House, just re-trace your steps back to the
college.
The Original Caerleon Fun Run
It might have been fun but its
still a challenging 10k course.
Go right at the college gates. Take the second right turn
(just after the bus stop) and go along Roman Way. The road veers left and goes
uphill for a short while until you reach a T junction. Turn right and follow
that road (Caesar Crescent)
as it snakes left and goes uphill again. Turn right into Eastfield Way
and cut across to where it joins
College Glade. Turn right and stay
on College Glade going downhill until it joins Ponthir Road. Turn left towards Ponthir.
Stay on the left hand side of Ponthir Road and turn left into Hafod Road
(once you have just passed Ponthir House on your right). Stick to this L
shaped road until it joins Station Road(?), where you
turn right (back towards Ponthir Road). Then turn left and go just past The
Star and go towards the cricket field, but go around the roundabout, face in
the opposite direction and go back to Ponthir
Road.
Now turn right, and head along Ponthir Road back towards Caerleon. Once
you have gone past the Ponthir House it is best to cross onto the other side of
the road (the left side). Keep going up the hill (past The Brades)
and follow the road around to the left and into Caerleon village. Take care crossing at the junction with Usk Road. You need to quickly get onto
the right hand side of Mill Street
(by the car park to the Angel) and continue along the one-way system but cross
back onto the other side before you reach The Mynd
(where there is no pavement). Keep on the narrow pavement opposite the wall to
The Mynd until the road comes out into the junction,
where you will need to cross to the right and head back towards the centre of
Caerleon village. Take care on the pavement which dips in places, and there is
a cobbled stretch near the Bull.
Stay on the right hand side of High Street and go along past
Goldcroft Common until you reach the Angel once more.
Retrace your steps along the one-way system until you go through the village
centre again, and cross the road near to the Town Hall (just before you reach
the Common.
Turn left and go up Lodge Road, back to the college gates.
Malthouse Lane
Run
Turn left down Lodge
Road, then left just
after bus stop before turning into College
Crescent. Take care crossing the busy Ponthir Road, but go
left again and keep running on that pavement until you reach the Spar. Cross
the road and keep heading towards Ponthir. Take care crossing the College Glade
junction, and then almost immediately afterwards turn left and proceed along
the full length of Malthouse Lane,
until you reach the junction with Newport
Road. From here, re-trace your steps back to the
college.
The initial hill on Malthouse Lane is quite severe. But once
it has been conquered it is fairly plain sailing from there.
Llanhennock/Wheatsheaf Run
Drive out to the Wheatsheaf public house in Llanhennock. To
get there, take the right turn to Llanhennock and Leonard Cheshire Home, about
three-quarters of a mile along the Usk Road from Caerleon.
Park in the car park and set off up the hill. Stay on this
road and complete a clockwise circuit around the countryside which brings you
back to the Wheatsheaf.
There are three main T junctions, take the immediate right
turn at each.
The final stage is a very testing hill that takes you
through Llanhennock village, back to the pub. Call in for a drink. The
hospitality is excellent and you have certainly deserved it.
Llanfrechfa Run
Turn left down Lodge
Road, then left just
after bus stop before turning into College
Crescent. Take care crossing the busy Ponthir Road, but
go left again and keep running on that pavement, but cross to the other side of
the road before you reach the Ponthir House.
Continue along this pavement, through Ponthir and onwards to
Llanfrechfa. When you reach the bus stop opposite the entrance to the Llanfrechfa Grange Hospital,
take care to take the path which goes to the left of the small housing estate
in front of you, and it crosses a minor road and footpath before reaching the
railings alongside the Croesyceiliog Bypass. Turn
around and re-trace your steps back to the college.
Estate Run
Turn left down Lodge
Road, then cross over to
the right hand side before the road bridge over the railway. Continue until the
T junction with High Street and turn right to go into the village. Cross over
at the pedestrian crossing by the museum and keep to the left side along the
one-way system until reaching the fork near the Hanbury.
Turn left and carefully cross the road to the only side of Mill Street where there is a pavement (in
front of the cottages).
Head towards the Angel, but turn off to the right and go
almost to the end cul-de-sac in Cambria Close. There is a footpath that brings
you out into Afon-Lwyd
Gardens and then out onto
the Usk Road.
Cross to the pavement on the other side immediately and go left to the
crossroads. Turn right up Ponthir
Road and go up the hill, then down past The Brades and the two garages, but cross to the other side of
the road when you reach the Spar.
Once on the opposite side of the road, take the next left
turn and go up College Glade. It becomes quite steep as it veers to the right
and becomes Eastfield
Road. When you are almost at the top of this
climb, turn left and enjoy a brief, flat stretch until you reach a T junction
with Anthony Drive.
Turn right here and follow Anthony
Drive as it bends to the left and then straightens
out.
Anthony Drive
then turns into Lodge Hill and drops downhill to the T junction with Lodge Road. Turn
right here. There are then 3 options.
Option 1 (the easiest) Cross to the left hand side of Lodge Road, go past
the hospital and Retirement Home. Turn left into Roman Reach and follow the
road in a clockwise direction, until you reach the first junction with Wentwood Road.
Turn left here and follow Wentwood Road
around in a clockwise direction through 270 degrees, until it joins Roman Reach
again at a T junction. Turn left and then carefully cross to the far side of Lodge Road. Go
right, down Lodge Road
and return to the college.
Option 2 (pretty tough!) Stay on
the right hand side of Lodge Road
and keep going until you reach the first right turn to Trinity View. Go right
around Trinity View (anti-clockwise). At the junction with Lodge Road, turn left and return to the
college.
Option 3 (very tough!) Cross to the left hand side of Lodge Road, go past the hospital and Retirement Home. Turn left into
Roman Reach and follow the road in a clockwise direction, until you reach the
first junction with Wentwood Road. Turn left here and follow Wentwood Road
around in a clockwise direction through 270 degrees, until it joins Roman Reach
again at a T junction. Turn left and then carefully cross to the far side of Lodge Road. Turn
right and then almost immediately turn left and go up Trinity View. Complete
the Trinity View circuit in a clockwise direction. When you reach the
junction, go left along Lodge Road
and return to the college.
St Julians Run
Turn left down Lodge
Road, then cross over to
the right hand side before the road bridge over the railway. Continue until the
T junction with High Street and turn right to go into the village. Cross over
at the pedestrian crossing by the museum and keep to the left side along the
one-way system until reaching the fork near the Hanbury.
Turn right and cross the river bridge on the pavement, and cross to the right
hand side of Caerleon Road
near the Ship.
Stay on this course, heading towards Newport. At the M4 roundabout, take care, but
stay on Caerleon Road
until Bank Street
(first right turn after the M4).
Go along Bank
Street and continue into the Glebelands.
Veer left between the changing rooms and complete a full circuit of the entire
perimeter of the park area, before emerging back on Bank Street just beyond the childrens play area. Re-trace your steps back to the
college. Bask in the knowledge that you have done some road-running and
cross country training! Best not to do this in the wet.
Glen Usk Run
Turn left down Lodge
Road, and then left along college Crescent. At the
junction with Ponthir Road,
go right, towards the village. At the mini-roundabout, turn
left and go along Usk Road.
Cross to the pavement on the other side once you are past Afon Lwyd Gardens, and keep going
towards Usk for about three quarters of a mile, until you reach the turn off
(on the right) signposted towards Llanhennock and the Leonard Cheshire Home.
Go up the hill until the road bends sharply left and is
joined by a lane from the right. Take that right turn and stay on that road for
about one and a half miles (until you reach Glen Usk a property on the right
bounded by a high-boarded fence and a security gate. At this point, turn around
and re-trace your steps.
Bulmore Run
Turn left down Lodge
Road, then cross over to the
right hand side before the road bridge over the railway. Continue until the T
junction with High Street and turn right to go into the village. Cross over at
the pedestrian crossing by the museum and keep to the left side along the
one-way system until reaching the fork near the Hanbury.
Turn right and cross the river bridge on the pavement, emerging by the Ship. Go
past the pub and then turn immediately left into Lulworth Road.
Stay on this road through the old village until you reach the T junction with
Bulmore
Road.
Turn left at the Bell
and head towards Newbridge-on-Usk. Turn around where
the road meets the road from Catsash (just beyond the
A449 dual carriageway overpass), after about 2.5 miles.
Turn back and retrace your steps to the College.
Caerleon Running Club
October 2005