The Taff Trail is a popular walking

Walking in the United Kingdom

Walking is claimed to be the most popular outdoor recreational activity in the United Kingdom. The country has a comprehensive network of rights of way, which permit easy access to the countryside as well as wilderness areas....

 and cycle path that runs for 55 miles (88.5 km) between Cardiff Bay

Cardiff Bay

Cardiff Bay is the area created by the Cardiff Barrage in South Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The regeneration of Cardiff Bay is now widely regarded as one of the most successful regeneration projects in the United Kingdom. The Bay is supplied by two rivers to form a freshwater lake round the...

 and Brecon

Brecon

Brecon is a long-established market town and community in southern Powys, Mid Wales, with a population of 7,901. It was the county town of the historic county of Brecknockshire; although its role as such was eclipsed with the formation of Powys, it remains an important local centre...

 in Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

. It is named so because it follows the course of the River Taff

River Taff

The River Taff is a large river in Wales. It rises as two rivers in the Brecon Beacons — the Taf Fechan and the Taf Fawr — before joining to form the Taff north of Merthyr Tydfil...

. Along much of its length, it follows the National Cycle Network

National Cycle Network

The National Cycle Network is a network of cycle routes in the United Kingdom.The National Cycle Network was created by the charity Sustrans , and aided by a £42.5 million National Lottery grant. In 2005 it was used for over 230 million trips.Many routes hope to minimise contact with motor...

 Route 8 (Lon Las Cymru) that continues to Holyhead

Holyhead

Holyhead is the largest town in the county of Anglesey in the North Wales. It is also a major port adjacent to the Irish Sea serving Ireland....

, and is substantially off-road.
The trail was launched in September 1988 by Sir Wyn Roberts, Minister of State

Minister of State

Minister of State is a title borne by politicians or officials in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a "minister of state" is a junior minister, who is assigned to assist a specific cabinet minister...

 for the Welsh Office

Welsh Office

The Welsh Office was a department in the Government of the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Wales. It was established in April 1965 to execute government policy in Wales, and was headed by the Secretary of State for Wales, a post which had been created in October 1964...

. The project was initiated and co-ordinated by the Merthyr and Cynon Groundwork Trust, with the co-operation of the local council

Local government in the United Kingdom

The pattern of local government in England is complex, with the distribution of functions varying according to the local arrangements. Legislation concerning local government in England is decided by the Parliament and Government of the United Kingdom, because England does not have a devolved...

s that the trail passes through.