A4107 | |
---|---|
Route information | |
Length | 15.4 mi [1] (24.8 km) |
Major junctions | |
Southeast end | Port Talbot |
A48 M4 A4063 A4061 | |
Northwest end | A4061 near Cwmparc |
Location | |
Country | United Kingdom |
Constituent country | Wales |
Primary destinations | Port Talbot |
Road network | |
The A4107 road is an A road in Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. It begins in Port Talbot and heads up the Afan Valley in a north easterly direction. It then continues over the moors eastwards until it connects with the A4061 road south west of Treorchy in the Rhondda Valley.
The A4107 starts at Port Talbot at traffic lights on the A48 road, the main route from Cardiff to Swansea before the M4 motorway was opened. The A4107 passes under the motorway and then continues in a roughly northeasterly direction up the valley of the River Afan, with the river on its left. It leaves Cwmavon to its left before passing a junction with the B4287, Neath road, which branches off to the left. After this the road swings round to the right and passes through wooded country. The road is climbing more steeply now and passes the Afan Forest Park to the right, before emerging onto grassy hillsides with boulders and rocky outcrops. Turning towards the east, it passes through the hamlets of Pontrhydyfen and Duffryn to Cymmer. Here the A4063 road to Bridgend branches off to the right. Continuing over the tops of the moors, the road passes the hamlets of Croeserw, Abergwynfi and Blaengwynfi, and the summits of Mynydd Caerau 536 m (1,759 ft) and Mynydd Llangeinwyr 571 m (1,873 ft) on the right. The road begins to descend now, there are a couple of hairpin bends and it terminates at the junction with the A4061 Treorchy to Bridgend road. [2] [3]
The A4107 was given that number on 1 April 1925, when the B4284 was upgraded. At the time it was not a through route as it terminated at Abergywnfi. However, there were plans to extend it to provide opportunities for employment in a depressed area, and the Bwlch y Clawdd extension road was duly opened in February 1928. [4] [ better source needed ]
Port Talbot is a town and community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, situated on the east side of Swansea Bay, approximately eight miles from Swansea. The town has been described by valleys culture druid and Welsh football influencer Evan Powell as "the gateway to Swansea" and "a proper working class town". The Port Talbot Steelworks covers a large area of land which dominates the south east of the town and is one of the biggest steelworks in the world but has been under threat of closure since the 1980s. The population was 37,276 in 2011.
The River Afan is a river in Wales whose valley formed the territory of the medieval Lords of Afan. The Afan Valley encompasses the upper reaches of the river. The valley is traversed by the A4107 road. Settlements in the area include Cwmafan, Pontrhydyfen and Cymmer. The town of Aberavon, whose name in Welsh Aberafan means 'mouth of the Afan', grew up on the banks of the river and was later subsumed by the town of Port Talbot.
Neath Port Talbot is a county borough in the south-west of Wales. Its principal towns are Neath, Port Talbot, Briton Ferry and Pontardawe. The county borough borders Bridgend County Borough and Rhondda Cynon Taf to the east, Powys and Carmarthenshire to the north; and Swansea to the west.
The A48 is a trunk road in Great Britain running from the A40 at Highnam, 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Gloucester, England, to the A40 at Carmarthen, Wales. Before the Severn Bridge opened on 8 September 1966, it was a major route between England and South Wales. For most of its route, it runs almost parallel to the M4 motorway. During times of high winds at the Severn Bridge, the A48 is used as part of the diversion route and is still marked as a Holiday Route.
Aberavon is a town and community in Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. The town derived its name from being near the mouth of the river Afan, which also gave its name to a medieval lordship. Today it is essentially a district of Port Talbot, covering the central and south western part of the town. Aberavon is also the name of the nearby Blue Flag beach and the parish covering the same area.
The Afan Forest Park is a 48-square-mile (120 km2) forest park in Britain. It is set in the Afan Valley in Neath Port Talbot, in south Wales. It is well known for its mountain biking and hiking or hillwalking trails. It is situated seven miles (11 km) from Junction 40 of the M4.
Blaengwynfi is a village in the Afan Valley, in the Neath Port Talbot area of South Wales. It is in the community of Gwynfi and Croeserw,
Transport in Wales is heavily influenced by the country's geography. Wales is predominantly hilly or mountainous, and the main settlements lie on the coasts of north and south Wales, while mid Wales and west Wales are lightly populated. The main transport corridors are east–west routes, many continuing eastwards into England.
Cwmafan, sometimes known as Cwmavon in English, is a large village and community in the Afan valley in Wales, lying within Neath Port Talbot County Borough. It had a population of 5,603 in 2001, increasing slightly to 5,615 at the 2011 Census. Cwmafan is known for having a high percentage of Welsh speakers. In many ways it is a suburb of the nearby town of Port Talbot which is less than 2 miles (3 km) to the south. The literal translation of Cwmafan from Welsh to English is complex, Cwm means valley with Afan as the name of the river flowing through, hence the village residing within the Afan Valley. It could be a version of Afon which means river, so literally the "River Valley", this is common in Wales and the UK with many rivers being called Afon or Avon. There is also a Saint Afan, which it is possible the river was named after. There have been other suggestions but none accepted locally.
Sandfields is a mainly residential district of Port Talbot, Wales. The area is located in South Wales on a narrow coastal plain between Mynydd Dinas and the sea. The M4 motorway, A48 trunk road and South Wales Main Line run nearby. The area includes a council estate, industrial areas and a seaside resort at Aberavon Beach.
Cymmer is a small village in the community of Clymer and Glyncorrwg, in Neath Port Talbot in Wales, set on a hillside in the Afan Valley near the confluence of the River Afan and the River Corrwg. In 2001, Cymmer had a population of 2,883.
In 1861 the Llynvi Valley Railway was opened in Glamorganshire, Wales, to convey mineral products to the Bristol Channel at Porthcawl. It adopted an earlier tramroad, the Duffryn Llynvi and Porthcawl Railway. The Llynvi and Ogmore Railway was opened in 1865, and the two companies amalgamated to form the Llynvi and Ogmore Railway in 1866. At first Porthcawl harbour was an important destination for onward transport, but this soon declined.
The A473 is a main road linking Pontypridd with Bridgend in Wales.
The A4061 is the main road linking Bridgend with Hirwaun via the Ogmore and Rhondda Valleys in South Wales. It is a mix of streets connecting former mining communities, and mountain passes built as relief work for unemployed miners.
The Rhondda and Swansea Bay Railway was a Welsh railway company formed to connect the upper end of the Rhondda Fawr with Swansea, with the chief objective of transporting coal and other minerals to Swansea docks. It was incorporated in 1882, but at first the connection to Swansea from Briton Ferry was refused.
Croeserw is a village of approximately 1,380 inhabitants in Gwynfi and Croeserw, Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales.
The A4241 Port Talbot Peripheral Distributor Road is a distributor road serving Port Talbot, Wales.
Rail transport in Cardiff has developed to provide connections to many other major cities in the United Kingdom, and to provide an urban rail network for the city and its commuter towns in southeast Wales. Today, there are three train operating companies in Cardiff: Great Western Railway, CrossCountry and Transport for Wales.
Saint Illtyd's Walk is a 64-mile-long (103 km) waymarked long-distance footpath in South Wales. It runs from Pembrey Country Park, west of Burry Port, through rural eastern Carmarthenshire and Neath Port Talbot to end at Margam Country Park, south of Port Talbot.