On Thursday 29 March, hikers gathered at Llandrindod Wells train station for the official opening of a brand new fully-waymarked trail across Wales.

The Heart of Wales Line Trail runs for 141 miles from Swansea on the south Wales coast, through to Shrewsbury on the English border.

It follows along a 150-year-old scenic railway route that meanders through the hills of mid Wales, halting at various market towns and villages along the way, including Llandeilo, Llandovery and Knighton.

29 stations line the route in total giving those who don’t want to take on the whole 7-10-day hike the option to hop on and hop off and walk particular sections.

Despite the railway line sticking mostly to the valleys, those hiking the trail can still expect plenty of ascent – 5930m in total according the LDWA. The route crosses a diverse range of landscapes from pastoral farming through to remote uplands, and from ancient woodlands to the saltmarshes of the Loughor valley.

The Heart of Wales Line Trail is the latest in a number of long distance paths to be waymarked in Wales over the last few years. The 870-mile Wales Coast Path was opened in 2012, while last year saw the unveiling of the Snowdonia Slate Trail, an 83-mile circular route through the mountains of north Wales.

Waymarking of the notoriously challenging north to south route of Wales called the Cambrian Way, a trail OM Editor Will Renwick once walked, is also underway by Ramblers Cymru and its volunteers.

For more information about the route, including sights and accomodation along the way, visit the Heart of Wales Line Trail website.