Merthyr Tydfil is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about 23 miles (37 km) north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydfil, daughter of King Brychan of Brycheiniog, who according to legend was slain at Merthyr by pagans about 480 CE. Merthyr generally means "martyr" in modern Welsh, but here closer to the Latin martyrium: a place of worship built over a martyr's relics. Similar place names in south Wales are Merthyr Cynog, Merthyr Dyfan and Merthyr Mawr.
South Wales is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards to include Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire. In the western extent, from Swansea westwards, local people would probably recognise that they lived in both south Wales and west Wales. The Brecon Beacons National Park covers about a third of south Wales, containing Pen y Fan, the highest British mountain south of Cadair Idris in Snowdonia.
Trethomas is a small village 2+1⁄2 miles (4 km) northeast of Caerphilly, southeast Wales, situated in the Caerphilly county borough, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire.
The South Wales Valleys are a group of industrialised peri-urban valleys in South Wales. Most of the valleys run north–south, roughly parallel to each other. Commonly referred to as "The Valleys", they stretch from Carmarthenshire in the west to Monmouthshire in the east; to the edge of the pastoral country of the Vale of Glamorgan and the coastal plain near the cities of Swansea, Cardiff, and Newport.
Hirwaun is a village and community at the north end of the Cynon Valley in the County Borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales. It is 4 miles (6 km) NW of the town of Aberdare, and comes under the Aberdare post town. At the 2001 census, Hirwaun had a population of 4,851. increasing at the 2011 census to 4,990. The village is on the Heads of the Valleys Road and at the southern edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park.
Abernant is a small village north-east of the town of Aberdare, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Like many in the South Wales Valleys, it was once a coal-mining village.
The South Wales Coalfield extends across Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, Bridgend, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Merthyr Tydfil, Caerphilly, Blaenau Gwent and Torfaen. It is rich in coal deposits, especially in the South Wales Valleys.
Ystrad Mynach railway station is a railway station serving the town of Ystrad Mynach, south Wales. It is a stop on the Rhymney Line of the Valley Lines network.
Tower Colliery was the oldest continuously working deep-coal mine in the United Kingdom, and possibly the world, until its closure in 2008. It was the last mine of its kind to remain in the South Wales Valleys. It was located near the villages of Hirwaun and Rhigos, north of the town of Aberdare in the Cynon Valley of South Wales.
Aberthaw Power Station refers to two decommissioned coal-fired and co-fired biomass power stations on the coast of South Wales, near Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan. They were located at Limpert Bay, near the villages of Gileston and West Aberthaw. The most recent power station on the site, Aberthaw B Power Station, co-fired biomass and as of 2008 had a generating capacity of 1,560 megawatts (MW). The power station closed on 31 March 2020.
Nelson is a village and community in the County Borough of Caerphilly, Wales. It sits five miles north of Caerphilly and ten miles north of Cardiff, at the lower end of the Taff Bargoed Valley, and lies adjacent to Treharris, Trelewis and Quakers Yard.
Mining in Wales provided a significant source of income to the economy of Wales throughout the nineteenth century and early to mid twentieth century. It was key to the Industrial Revolution in Wales, and to the whole of Great Britain.
Parc Slip Colliery was a coal mine near situated at Aberkenfig, near Tondu in Bridgend County Borough, Wales.
Trelewis is a small village in the Taff Bargoed Valley of south-east Wales, currently located in the southern part of Merthyr Tydfil County Borough. It is a former mining village and together with nearby Bedlinog was until 1974 part of the Gelligaer Urban District Council area of the county of Glamorgan. The villages name means 'Lewis Town' and was named after the Lewis family who owned a farm on the area where the village is now built.
The Taff Bargoed is a river and valley near Pontypridd in South Wales, and lies off the Abercynon roundabout on the A470 road, and is approximately 14 miles from Cardiff. The main settlements are Nelson, Edwardsville, Quakers Yard, Treharris, Trelewis, and Bedlinog. The valley is situated where the three County Boroughs of Caerphilly, Rhondda Cynon Taff, and Merthyr Tydfil meet.
Open-pit coal mining in the United Kingdom is in decline, and is planned to end in November 2023. Output has fallen every year since 2010. In 2010, the United Kingdom was forecast to produce about ten million tonnes of coal a year from open-pit mines. Most came from Scotland, with the largest operator there being the Scottish Coal subsidiary of Scottish Resources Group. Actual production in 2010 was over 13 million tonnes but this has declined to less than 8 million tonnes in 2014.
Rising Tide UK is the United Kingdom part of the International Rising Tide Network, both of which were created in 2000 to carry out direct action against the root causes of climate change, and to work towards a fossil fuel free future. RTUK takes a no-compromise position and believes that only the complete dismantling of the fossil fuel industry and a shift to low consumption lifestyles will be sufficient to halt climate change.
Deep Navigation Colliery was a coal mine in South Wales, that operated from 1872 until 1991.
Merthyr Tydfil County Borough is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. In mid 2018, it had an estimated population of 60,183 making it the smallest local authority in Wales by both population and land area. It is located in the historic county of Glamorgan and takes its name from the town with the same name. The county borough consists of the northern part of the Taff Valley and the smaller neighbouring Taff Bargoed Valley. It borders the counties of Rhondda Cynon Taf to the west, Caerphilly County Borough to the east, and Powys to the north.
Cwm Bargoed railway station served the village of Fochriw, in the Taff Bargoed valley of Caerphilly County Borough, Wales, from 1876 to 1964 on the Rhymney Railway. The station was 4 km (2.5 mi) east of Merthyr Tydfil, but was in a parallel valley.
