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This close-knit town near
Merthyr Tydfil owes its prosperity to the many
coalmines that once surrounded it. It offers
stunning views towards the Brecon Beacons. Its
most famous son is the Second World War poet Allun
Lewis who died fighting in Burma. Standing in the
centre of the town is a statue of Griffith Rhys
Jones, conductor of the award-winning South Wales
Choral Union in the late 19th century.
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A picturesque hamlet,
Aberkenfig lies on the Celtic Trail cycle route.
Nearby, the beautiful Bryngarw Country Park
consists of 113 acres of woodlands and meadows and
contains 18th century Bryngarw House.
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Abregavenny Castle - Photo:
Nigel Davies
CCL |
An important
market town on the banks of the River Usk,
Abergavenny is a mixture of new development
and old buildings set among narrow streets.
The town is surrounded by tall, mysterious
mountains and is regarded as the gateway to
the Brecon Beacons National Park. Some of its
houses date to the Tudor period.
The Romans called the place Gobannium and
mined iron ore. In the 11th century the
conquering Normans built a castle in an
attempt to drive out their Welsh foes, though
only a few walls have survived. In 1176 a
number of Welsh lords were massacred after
being invited to the castle for peace talks.
During the Second World War, Hitler’s deputy,
Rudolf Hess, was held for a time in
Abergavenny’s mental asylum and allowed weekly
walks in the Welsh countryside. |
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This seaport on the Vale of
Glamorgan coastline owes its modern prosperity
to a decision in the 19th century
to build docks to rival those at Cardiff. It
is more famous, however, as a place of seaside
fun thanks to Barry ‘island’, a chunk of land
jutting out into the sea. With sandy beaches,
fairground rides and an American-style
amusement park, it has long been a major
holiday hot spot.
The town takes its name from St Baruc, who
is buried on the ‘island’, and has Bronze Age
burial mounds and the ruin of a Norman castle
dating to the 12th century.
Porthkerry Country Park, with over 200 acres
of open space, lies close to the town centre.
The Barry Island Railway Heritage Centre is a
haven for loco-spotters while the Welsh
Hawking Centre is a ‘must see’ for visitors. |
Whitmore Bay, Barry Island - Photo:
Darius Khan
CCL |
Flatholm Island - Photo:
Martin Southwood
CCL
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Just
off the coast are the islands of Flatholm and
Steepholm from where Vikings launched attacks
on the mainland. Flatholm, which can be
reached by boat, is a nature reserve of
national importance. |
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Set amid thrilling
countryside, Blaenavon bears the scars of Wales’
own industrial revolution and its landscape has
been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In
fact, the area is a giant, open-air heritage
museum.
Blaenavon Iron Works - Photo:
Cedwyn Davies
CCL |
The area was
blessed with an ironworks established as long
ago as 1757. Then coalmining started a few
years later. Much of the sprawling iron
factory can still be visited. Alternatively,
there are tours of the coalface, some 300 feet
below ground, at the nearby Big Pit Museum.
The pit itself existed for a century before
closing in 1980.
The writer Alexander Cordell set his famous
20th century novel ‘Rape of the Fair Country’
around Blaenavon and his life is celebrated at
Blaenavon’s Heritage and Cordell Museum. |
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| A bustling
market town, Bridgend may well have taken its
name from a 15th century bridge spanning the
River Ogmore. The structure had to be rebuilt
in the 18th century and is now a listed
building. The town developed in the Middle
Ages as a river crossing for pilgrims but had
earlier been singled out by the Normans who
built two castles either side of the Ogmore.
Only one remains and casts an eerie shadow
over the area. One of Bridgend’s most
interesting buildings is the Hospice of the
Knights of St. John, a 15th century church
house used by the pilgrims. |
River Ogmore - Photo: Bridgend County Borough
Council
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Bridgend Canoe Club on the River Ogmore at
Brynmenyn - Photo:
Tim Morris
CCL |
This small,
largely unspoiled village lies at the entrance
to the remarkable Garw Valley. The picturesque
valleys of the rivers Ogmore and Llynfi are
nearby. |
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| Historic and
atmospheric, this Welsh town is most famous
for the manufacture of crumbly cheese, yet its
most impressive attraction is a huge moated
castle dating to the 13th century; it covers
no less than 30 acres and has a ‘leaning’
tower caused by an ill-fated attempt to blow
it to smithereens during the Civil War. |
Caerphilly Castle - Photo:
Roger Cornfoot
CCL |
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Cardiff City Hall - Photo:
Philip Halling
CCL |
The capital of Wales since
1955 – and home to the National Assembly of
Wales - this splendid city is a shopper’s
paradise, replete with Victorian and Edwardian
arcades as well as an intriguing blend of old
and new architecture. Lying on the banks of
the rivers Taff, Rhymney and Ely where they
join the mighty Bristol Channel, Cardiff has
been an important port for centuries and has a
galaxy of attractions that include museums,
art galleries, public buildings, theatres and
sporting stadia.
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The Romans recognised the
area’s strategic significance and built a fort
here while the Normans erected Cardiff Castle
on the same site in the 11th
century. Its fabulous interior was remodelled
by William Burges and eventually gifted to the
city in 1947.
Cardiff’s modern
history began during the Industrial Revolution
when the aristocratic Bute family created vast
docks to export coal mined in the Welsh
valleys. They became inordinately rich and
turned Cardiff into one of the world’s most
important ports. |
Cardiff Castle grounds and keep - Photo:
Nick Smith
CCL |
Abernodwydd farmhouse at the Welsh Folk Museum
- Phtoto:
Colin Smith
CCL |
Since then the waterfront
has undergone a radical transformation to
become one of the city’s most important
tourist sites.
Stone-built Llandaff
Cathedral lies beyond Cardiff city centre and
dates from the Norman period. It had to be
partly rebuilt following the Second World War.
On the outskirts of
Cardiff at St Fagan’s – a village of thatched
cottages - is the imaginative Welsh Folk
Museum, which charts the history of Wales
through a series of splendid historic
buildings. |
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A beautiful old-world town
with steep medieval streets, Chepstow lies on the
banks of the River Wye close to the English border
in Monmouthshire. During the 19th century it was
an important regional port but for many centuries
before that had been a fortified town.
Its
now-ruined stone castle, built on a rock
outcrop overlooking the river, was the first
one erected in Wales by the Normans. The man
who signed King Charles 1’s death warrant,
Henry Marten, was imprisoned in the castle and
died there in 1680.
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Chepstow Castle - Photo:
Roy Parkhouse
CCL |
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A quaint
village, Coity is overshadowed by the remains of a
huge castle built towards the end of the 12th
century by the knight Payn de Turberville who, so
the story goes, married the daughter of a Welsh
chieftain rather than go to war with her father.
Coity Castle - Photo:
Kenneth Rees
CCL |
In 1404 it was
besieged by the great Owain Glyndwr. Although
later additions were made to the castle, it
was effectively abandoned in the 16th
century and is now a picturesque ruin. The
local 14th century church contains
effigies of the Turberville family. |
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Secluded Cowbridge is often
described as the capital of the Vale of Glamorgan,
an elegant market town with a wealth of historic
buildings. It dates back to Romans times and
boasts the remains of a 14th century
castle and a museum contained within a cellblock
at the town hall. The 12th century
Church of the Holy Cross has an embattled tower.
Nearby is the site of a famous
victory by Owain Glyndwr while Llanerch Vineyard
at Hensol is the largest vineyard in Wales.
At Llanblethian is the
restored gatehouse of medieval St Quentin’s Castle
while on a hill are the remains of an Iron Age
fort. Beaupre Castle is a manor house dating to
the 14th century.
Dyffryn Gardens lie on the
edge of Cowbridge and contain the Edwardian
Dyffryn House.
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| This village
near Bridgend boasts the ‘cathedral of the
Vale,’ the beautiful Church of St Crallo,
which was built in the 13th century on the
site of an 8th century building. With a high
roof and lofty interior it contains effigies
and a monument to Arthur Williams, founder of
the National Liberal Club. In the churchyard
is the grave of Thomas Richards, the local
curate and compiler of an English-Welsh
dictionary. |
St. Crallos Church, Coychurch - Photo:
Kenneth Rees
CCL |
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Brecon and Monmouth Canal at Cwmbran - Photo:
Roger Cornfoot
CCL |
The
administrative headquarters of Monmouthshire,
this was created as a ‘new’ town in 1949 to
provide employment for part of the South Wales
coalfield. It takes in a number of older
villages and is surrounded by hills that rise
to more than 1,000 feet. South of the town
stands a modern abbey on the site of a 12th
century predecessor. |
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In modern times this
industrial town on the banks of the River Ebbw was
dependent on coal and steel, but both industries
have long gone. Aneurin Bevan was the Labour MP
for the town for 31 years until 1960, although he
was born in nearby Tredegar. The large 19th
century parish church is known as the Cathedral of
the Hills.
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This village lies on the banks
of the Ewenny River. The Church of St. Michael was
built in 1141 and led to the foundation of a
remarkable Benedictine priory built by the Norman
Maurice de Londres. It has many defensive features
designed to thwart attack from local people who
regarded the monks as foreign intruders. The
village is home to 17th century Ewenny Pottery -
the oldest working pottery in Wales.
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| A fascinating
old town sitting on a hill, Grosmont is noted
for the quality of its fishing in the River
Monnow and for the remains of its ruined
Norman castle, the most northern of three
built to guard against Welsh raiders. Owen
Glendower and Llewellyn the Great both failed
to take it.
The ruins of Skenfrith Castle and White
Castle are close by. The local church dates to
the 13th century and is associated with John
Kent, reputed to have been a magician who
lived to 120. |
Grosmont Church - Photo:
Philip Halling
CCL |
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Kenfig Burrows - Photo:
Chris Shaw
CCL |
Medieval
Kenfig was once a thriving walled town with a
powerful castle, though only the ruin of its
keep has survived after the building was
destroyed by the great Owain Glyndwr. The
sands of romantic Kenfig National Nature
Reserve include Glamorgan's largest natural
lake. Dating from around 1605, the Prince of
Wales Inn was originally built as a town hall
while the Church of St Mary Magdalen dates to
the mid-13th century. |
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| One of the
smallest villages in the Vale of Glamorgan,
Llancarfan is mostly unspoiled and witnessed
the founding of a Celtic monastery in the 6th
century by St Cattwg. The present 13th century
church was built on the site and has many
historic features, including an embattled
tower. A hill fort known as Castle Ditches
lies close to the village. The area has
numerous legends associated with nearby caves
and forests. |
Ford at Llancarfan - Photo:
Peter Wasp
CCL |
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This pretty village lies on a
mountainside in the majestic Garw Valley. It was
here at Tynton Farm that the 18th century
philosopher and financial genius Richard Price was
born. He called for freedom to worship and freedom
of speech, inspiring America colonists to declare
independence. The legends of the Garw Valley
include that of The Red Goblins, a notorious gang
of criminals believed to have lived in local
caves. The site of St. Ceinwyr’s Church dates back
to the 6th century.
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Darren Valley near Llangynwyd - Photo:
David Lewis
CCL |
A pretty
hilltop village in the Llynfi Valley,
Llangynwyd has an imposing tall-towered church
and an ancient thatched inn - Yr Hen Dy (The
Old House) - reputed to be the oldest in South
Wales. It was the birthplace of the poet and
bard Will Hopcyn whose ill-fated love of local
girl, Ann Thomas, is said to be the basis of
the old Welsh legend ‘The Maid of Cefn Ydfa’.
The pair are buried in the local churchyard. A
cross stands as a memorial to Will. On New
Year’s Eve villagers still conduct the ancient
Mari Llwyd (Grey Mare) custom, which includes
men and boys carrying flaming wooden brands,
knocking on doors and requesting hospitality. |
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With ancient origins, tiny
Llanmihangel lies between Cowbridge and the
Glamorgan Heritage Coast. Its main attraction is
Plas Llanmihangel, a 15th century manor house, now
a guesthouse. A local legend recalls that an
heiress declared a witch once inhabited the
property. One night she drowned in the village
pond and since that day 'The Lady of the Ring' is
said to rise from the water at twilight.
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| Draped in
history, Llantwit Major lies near the coast
and was an ancient seat of learning for Welsh
saints. It was St. Illtud who founded a church
and religious school here around 500 AD,
tutoring both St. David, patron saint of
Wales, and St. Patrick, patron saint of
Ireland. The remarkable ‘double’ church of St
Illtud dates from the 12th century and
contains a collection of Celtic crosses and
stones carved with Latin inscriptions.
Nearby, the valley of the Col Huw River offers
interesting walks and a few miles along the
coast is St Donat’s Bay with its ‘Gothic’ St
Donat’s Castle, once the home of the Amercian
newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst.
Beyond Llantwit Major is a Roman villa and
Iron Age hill forts. |
Dimlands Lodge, Llantwit Major - Photo:
Peter Wasp
CCL |
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A major coal-mining town near
Bridgend, Maesteg stands on the banks of the River
Lynfi and owed its initial prosperity to iron
working before the discovery of ‘black gold’.
Since then it has been transformed and is now one
of the most important shopping centres in the
region. It was the birthplace of the 20th
century poet Vernon Watkins.
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Thatched Cottage in Merthyr Mawr - Photo:
Bridgend County Borough Council |
An idyllic
village with thatched buildings and a village
green, Merthyr Mawr boasts the mysterious 15th
century fortified mansion of Candleston Castle
near the dunes of Merthyr Mawr Warren, once
the largest sand dune complex in Britain and
now an important wildlife habitat. Parts of
the Hollywood blockbuster ‘Lawrence of Arabia’
were filmed here.
At the entrance to the village is the 15th
century 'Dipping Bridge' containing holes in
the parapets where farmers once pushed sheep
into the River Ogmore for a cleansing dip. |
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A busy town standing at the
head of the Taff Valley, Merthyr was the largest
iron-producing town on the globe in the 19th
century and played a pivotal role in the history
of modern Wales.
The Richard Trevithick Monument in Merthyr
Tydfil - Photo:
Ray Jones
CCL |
It was here
in 1804 that Richard Trevithick tested the
world’s first steam railway, the Merthyr
Tramway.
In the 1830s Merthyr’s population exceeded
that of Cardiff, Swansea and Newport added
together, giving rise to poverty, radicalism
and the popularity of one of Wales’ most
famous figures, Keir Hardy, Britain’s first
socialist MP. The ‘red flag’ was created here
in 1831 when rioters dipped their flag in the
blood of a calf.
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One of the town’s old iron
foundries is now a heritage centre while
Merthyr’s official museum and art gallery can
be found at Cyfarthfa Castle, one-time home of
ironmaster William Crawshay.
Another historic memento is the old cottage of
the composer Joseph Parry. For railway
enthusiasts the narrow-gauge Brecon Mountain
Railway based at nearby Dowlais will prove
irresistible.
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Cyfarthfa Castle - Photo:
Ray Jones
CCL |
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Nash Point Lighthouse - Photo:
Peter Wasp
CCL |
The villages
of Monknash and Marcross lie close to the
heritage coast. In the 12th century Monknash
was an annex of Neath Abbey, helping to keep
the monks supplied with grain and produce.
Nearby are the imposing cliffs of Marcross. A
lighthouse stands on the headland at Nash
Point. |
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A medieval
market town, Monmouth stands on the
Wales-England border at the confluence of the
rivers Wye and Monnow and is packed with
history and character, not to mention a few
Tudor houses and the only surviving fortified
Norman bridge gate in Britain, built in 1262.
Henry V was born in its ruined 12th century
castle in 1388. It now contains a regimental
museum. The Great Castle House was built in
1673 by the third marquis of Worcester. |
Monnow Bridge, Monmouth - Photo:
Stephen Nunney
CCL |
The Great Castle House - Photo:
David Wright
CCL |
The king’s statue can be seen in Agincourt
Square alongside that of Charles Rolls, one of
the founders of the Rolls-Royce motor company,
who was born nearby at Hendre. Charles’ father
was Lord Llangattock.
It was in the Shire Hall, built in 1724, that
some of the Chartists were tried in 1839. A
death sentence was later reduced to
transportation.
Other attractions include several old churches
and a museum dedicated to local history and
the life of Admiral Lord Nelson, one of the
town’s most famous visitors.
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