A Refreshing Change For Afan Forest Park Café

Walkers and mountain bikers continue to enjoy the refreshments available at Afan Forest Park. The café at the park centre is now under new management, having been leased to Cedars Tearoom Ltd. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The Cedars team have plenty of experience, having run a tearoom at Bryngarw Country Park, Bridgend for several years now, and they look forward to bringing a new look and fresh approach to the facilities available at Afan Forest. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The focus at Cedars has always been on healthy, good quality food using local ingredients, and the menu at Afan is being revamped to reflect these values. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Hollie Williams, one of the management team from Cedars said: “The potential is tremendous. This is a wonderful area for people to enjoy the magnificent countryside all around us. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“We have only been running the café for five weeks but we have several possible plans for development of the site in the future. Visitors are already pleased to see the café continuing, and they are also looking forward to the future.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

This is a real family affair, with the rest of the management team being made up of Hollie’s mum, Jill Williams; her fiancé, Adrian Moses; and her sister-in-law Nicola. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“The café area will expand, as will the menu, and hopefully we’ll also be extending the opening hours to offer a much wider service to visitors.” said Adrian. “We are talking to a number of people, including Ben who runs the bike shop and cycle hire centre. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“He is also planning to expand his business at the centre and provide even better facilities for those who come here for the fantastic trails available, and we are hoping to work together with him, and a number of other interested parties, to make Afan Forest an even better site to visit in the future.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Hollie added: “We hope a lot of our plans will be in place by the end of the year, though we are taking the development one step at a time as we try to get a feel for what visitors to the site are really looking for. We are really excited by this venture. There is a great deal of hard work ahead but we are confident we can provide a top class facility for everyone,” she said. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Neath Port Talbot Council Leader Cllr Ali Thomas OBE said: “I am delighted to see the café facilities continuing and even more pleased to hear there are plans to introduce even better facilities in the coming months. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“The Afan Forest Park is highly regarded by walkers and mountain bikers and it is one of a number of attractions across the county borough bringing visitors to this area. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“We want to offer the best possible facilities not just for our visitors but also for our own residents.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​