The Vale of Glamorgan, often referred to as The Vale, is a county borough in Wales, bordering Bridgend, Cardiff, and Rhondda Cynon Taf. With an economy based largely on agriculture and chemicals, it is the southernmost unitary authority in Wales. Attractions include Barry Island Pleasure Park, the Barry Tourist Railway, Medieval wall paintings in St Cadoc's Church, Llancarfan, Porthkerry Park, St Donat's Castle, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park and Cosmeston Medieval Village.
Glamorgan, or sometimes Glamorganshire, is one of the thirteen historic counties of Wales and a former administrative county of Wales. Originally an early medieval petty kingdom of varying boundaries known as Glywysing. Then taken over by the Normans as a lordship. The area that became known as Glamorgan was both a rural, pastoral area, and a conflict point between the Norman lords and the Welsh princes. It was defined by a large concentration of castles.
The Bristol Channel is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Severn to the North Atlantic Ocean. It takes its name from the English city of Bristol, and is over 30 miles (50 km) wide at its western limit.
Wick is a small village and community in the Vale of Glamorgan in Wales, situated approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from the coast. The closest towns are Llantwit Major, Cowbridge and Bridgend. The community includes Broughton.
Penarth is a town and community in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) south of Cardiff city centre on the north shore of the Severn Estuary at the southern end of Cardiff Bay.
Rhoose is a village and community near the sea in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, near Barry. The wider community includes villages and settlements such as Font-y-Gary, Penmark, East Aberthaw and Porthkerry. The population of the community in 2011 was 6,160.
Barry is a town in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, on the north coast of the Bristol Channel approximately 9 miles (14 km) south-southwest of Cardiff. Barry is a seaside resort, with attractions including several beaches and the resurrected Barry Island Pleasure Park. According to Office for National Statistics 2016 estimate data, the population of Barry was 54,673.
Ogmore-by-Sea is a seaside village in St Brides Major community in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. It lies on the western limit of the Glamorgan Heritage Coast of south Wales. The population in 2011 was 878.
The hamlet of Porthkerry lies on the Bristol Channel coast of South Wales within the community of Rhoose between that village and the town of Barry to the east. It is very close to the end of the runway of Cardiff International Airport. To the east of the hamlet is Porthkerry Country Park which occupies the valley leading down to the coast.
Aberthaw is an area containing the villages of East Aberthaw and West Aberthaw, on the coast of South Wales about 5 miles (8 km) west of Barry. It is home to Aberthaw Cement Works, Aberthaw Lime Works, and Aberthaw Power Station, a coal power station that is linked to the South Wales Valleys via the Vale of Glamorgan Railway. The area is historically within the parish of Penmark in the Vale of Glamorgan. The two villages of West and East Aberthaw are separated by the River Thaw. The village of East Aberthaw, near Rhoose, has a 13th century pub. The village Baptist Chapel and Mission Room, no longer exist as such and have been converted for other uses.
Haven Holidays is a chain of holiday parks in the United Kingdom. It operates caravan, touring and camping facilities across 40 sites in the UK in predominantly coastal locations.
Park Resorts was a holiday park operator with 48 holiday parks located across the UK.
The geology of Wales is complex and varied; its study has been of considerable historical significance in the development of geology as a science. All geological periods from the Cryogenian to the Jurassic are represented at outcrop, whilst younger sedimentary rocks occur beneath the seas immediately off the Welsh coast. The effects of two mountain-building episodes have left their mark in the faulting and folding of much of the Palaeozoic rock sequence. Superficial deposits and landforms created during the present Quaternary period by water and ice are also plentiful and contribute to a remarkably diverse landscape of mountains, hills and coastal plains.
Nash Point is a headland and beach in the Monknash Coast of the Vale of Glamorgan in south Wales, about a mile from Marcross. It is a popular location for ramblers and hiking along the cliffs to Llantwit Major beach. The lighthouse meadow is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, containing rare plants such as the tuberous thistle, and other wildlife such as choughs can be seen.
Gwbert, also known as Gwbert-on-Sea, is a cliff-top coastal village in Y Ferwig community, Ceredigion, Wales. It lies at the most southerly coastal point of Ceredigion, on the eastern shore of the Teifi estuary, from where there are views westwards over Cardigan Bay, and south-westwards to Poppit Sands and the headland of Cemaes Head, in neighbouring Pembrokeshire. It is reached by the B4548 road from the town of Cardigan, 2.8 miles (4.5 km) away.
Caerfai Bay near St Davids in Pembrokeshire, West Wales has cliffs of purple sandstone and a sandy beach at low tide reached by steep steps. The beach is situated in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park and on the Pembrokeshire Coast Path and has rugged coastal scenery with the path winding up and down the cliffs. There is free parking above the beach with picnic benches and views of the islands of Penpleidiau, Skomer and Skokholm.
Tresilian Bay, also Tresillian Bay, is a bay in southeast Wales, west of Llantwit Major's Collugh beach and east of St Donats, on the Bristol Channel. The beach at the bay lies in front of a valley in which the Nant Tresilian flows and empties in the sea. It lies along a stretch of coast and cliff path under protection by the Glamorgan Heritage Coast, characterised by limestone cliffs with many caves and several bays/valleys. There is a distinctive white house, Tresilian House, located at Tresilian Bay at the end of the valley in front of the pebble beach and a pill box on the cliff nearby. The cove of Col Huw is located nearby.
Fonmon is a hamlet in the Vale of Glamorgan in south Wales. It lies just off the B4265 road to the northwest of Font-y-Gary and Rhoose on the western side of Cardiff Airport. The hamlet is best known for its central duck pond and Fonmon Castle, a historical house located on the otherside of the B4265 road to the north. The largest house in the hamlet is called The Gables, accessed off a drive on the left approaching Fonmon from the north. A number of the houses in the area are thatched roofed.
The Bulwarks, Porthkerry is a promontory fort in Rhoose, Vale of Glamorgan, on the southern coast of Wales overlooking the Bristol Channel. It probably dates to the Iron Age and continued to be occupied during the Roman period in Britain. The ramparts and ditches along the west side are well preserved, but the fortifications are heavily overgrown.
Font-y-Gary Holiday Home Park.
The coast at the Font-Y-Gary Beach looking east/southeast nearing high-tide.
Font-Y-Gary beach looking west.
Railway Bridge at Font-y-Gary
