This area comprises the four Preserved Counties of Gwent, Mid Glamorgan, West Glamorgan and South Glamorgan, which were created by the Local Government Act 1972. In surface area terms Mid, West and South Glamorgan are both relatively small although densely populated, so I have included them with Gwent.
In fact, centring on Cardiff, Swansea and Newport, virtually the whole of the southern coastal area is densely populated spreading up the valleys as far as Merthyr Tydfil and the Heads of the Valleys road (the A465). North of there, the countryside changes completely to the remote beauty of the Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons).
Pipe bridges are generally amongst of the dullest structures to be seen along our rivers and canals.
The Abertaf Feeder Pipe Footbridge near Abercynon is something of an exception, and even warrants its own rather handsome memorial.
The memorial, in the shape of the prow of a canal boat, commemorates the restoration and reopening of the bridge in 1997.
The bridge was originally built in 1857 to supply the Glamorganshire Canal with water. It carried a feeder from a weir at Fiddler's Elbow (about 200m north of here, where the current A472 bridge now stands) across the river.
From there the feeder ran roughly parallel to the Pen-y-darren Tramway (now the Taff Trail) down to join the canal at Navigation (now known as Abercynon).
Not being a Gavin & Stacey fan, before visiting Barry Island I only knew two things about it. It was home to:
Barry Island Pleasure Park (making it, in my mind, a sort of Welsh Blackpool), and
Dai Woodham's scrapyard, where virtually all the restored steam locomotives came from.
I hadn't realised it could be so beautiful.
External Links and References
External Links
Reasons to love Barry
More from the Visit Wales site https://www.visitwales.com/destinations/south-wales/glamorgan-heritage-coast/things-do-barry-and-barry-island
Cyfarthfa Park, of course, has nothing at all to do with Richard Harris's 1968 hit MacArthur Park but once that song got stuck in my head, I couldn't help finding myself singing, "Cyfarthfa Park is melting in the dark. Oh, the sweet green icing running down. Someone left the cake out in the rain …", much to the confusion of my granddaughter.
Cyfarthfa Castle (Castell Cyfarthfais) was designed in 1824 by the architect Robert Lugar for William Crawshay II, and was the home of the Crawshay family, the ironmasters of Cyfarthfa Ironworks in Merthyr Tydfil. In 1908 it was sold to the local council, and is now a museum and art gallery.
In front of the museum is a full-size (or near enough) model of Richard Trevithick's Penydarren locomotive. This pulled the first ever steam hauled railway journey, and is commemorated on a memorial outside Abercynon fire station (see below).
Two working replicas of the locomotive have been built: one is at Blists Hill in Shropshire, and the other in the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea.
External Links and References
External Links
Discover Cyfarthfa Park & Castle
The official site, with museum opening times, etc. https://www.visitmerthyr.co.uk/things-to-do/attractions/cyfarthfa-park-and-castle/
Cyfarthfa Castle
Wikipedia article https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyfarthfa_Castle
The transporter bridges are very rare, whatever way you count them. Wikipedia lists 26 in all; of which 13 have been demolished. Out of the survivors only eight remain in use, two of which are recently installed small human-powered footbridges.
It was designed by French engineer Ferdinand Arnodin, and opened by Godfrey Charles Morgan, 1st Viscount Tredegar on 12 September 1906.
For details of opening times, admission prices, etc. please see the Visitor Centre's official site, detailed below. N.B. The bridge is closed until Summer 2024 as they are building a new visitor centre.
Transporter Bridge
The Visitor Centre's official site with details of opening times,admission prices, etc. http://www.newport.gov.uk/heritage/en/Transporter-Bridge/Transporter-Bridge.aspx
Outside the fire station in Abercynon stands a memorial to the first ever steam hauled railway journey.
It was on the 21 February 1804 that a locomotive built and driven by Richard Trevithick successfully carried ten tons of iron, five wagons and seventy men along the 9.75 miles (15.69 km) Merthyr Tram road from the Penydarren Ironworks to the basin of the Glamorganshire Canal which once occupied this spot.
Admittedly it took over four hours, but everything has to start somewhere.
Richard Trevithick's steam locomotive
Information on the line and the replica of the locomotive from the Amgueddfa Cymru — National Museum Wales https://museum.wales/articles/1012/Richard-Trevithicks-steam-locomotive/
Waterfall Country, Pontneddfechan offers plenty of good walking (detailed on the Brecon Beacons National Park site) including the Four Falls Trail which is definitely more than a stroll.
With little ones in tow, we just limited ourselves to walking up to the magnificent Sgwd Gwladus.
As with all waterfalls, it is best visited when the river is in spate.
External Links and References
External Links
Waterfall Country
The Bannau Brycheiniog National Park official site https://www.breconbeacons.org/things-to-do/attractions/natural/visiting-waterfall-country
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