The Rhymney Valley (Welsh : Cwm Rhymni) is one of the South Wales valleys, with the Rhymney River forming the border between the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire. Between 1974 and 1996 a Rhymney Valley local government district also existed (one of six of Mid Glamorgan). [1] The valley encompasses the villages of Abertysswg, Fochriw, Pontlottyn, Tir-Phil, New Tredegar, Nelson, Aberbargoed, Rhymney, Ystrad Mynach and Llanbradach, and the towns of Bargoed and Caerphilly.
Created as a glacial valley, now the Rhymney River flows largely south to Rumney, a district of Cardiff. The river is the ancient boundary between Glamorgan and Monmouthshire.
Groesfaen, Deri, Pentwyn and Fochriw are located in the Darran Valley and not the Rhymney Valley. This valley joins the Rhymney Valley at Bargoed
Llanbradach is a large village in the Rhymney Valley between Ystrad Mynach and Caerphilly,
This valley is one of the South Wales Valleys, and its history largely follows theirs: sparsely populated until the nineteenth century; industrialised for iron, steel and coal; industrial decline in the 1980s and 1990s. The Rhymney Valley produced a miner poet, Idris Davies of Rhymney, famous for his poems associated with the locality and the struggles of its people.
The 1990s brought improved road connections to the valley—a dual carriageway running north from Caerphilly—increasing access to and from Cardiff and the M4 motorway, and increasing the numbers of commuters from the valley to Cardiff. The area is now one of the most populous in Wales.
The Rhymney Valley hosted the National Eisteddfod in 1990.
There is a legend to explain how coal first came to be found in the Rhymney Valley. It is said that the local fairies were being pestered by a giant. They asked help from an owl, who slew the giant. As the fairies burnt the giant's body, the ground burned away, exposing the coal. [2]
The Rhymney Valley Gorsedd Stones are located above Bryn Bach park, Tredegar on the site of the 1990 National Eisteddfod of Wales hosted by the Rhymney Valley. [3]
The stone circle consists of 12 standing stones arranged in a circle approximately 25m across with the tallest being 1.8m high a thirteenth stone marks the entrance to the circle. In the center is a flat stone known as the Logan stone. Stone circles of this type were erected on all sites of the National Eisteddfod until 2005 when as a cost-cutting exercise fibre-glass stone circles were used for the first time. 51°46'35.6"N 3°16'46.1"W
Davies, John; Jenkins, Nigel; Menna, Baines; Lynch, Peredur I., eds. (2008). The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. ISBN 978-0-7083-1953-6.
Caerphilly is a town and community in Wales. It is situated at the southern end of the Rhymney Valley.
The Welsh Football League Division Two, was a football league and forms the fourth level of the Welsh football league system in South Wales.
Caerphilly County Borough is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It is governed by Caerphilly County Borough Council.
Rhymney is a town and a community in the county borough of Caerphilly, South Wales. It is within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. With the villages of Pontlottyn, Fochriw, Abertysswg, Deri and New Tredegar, Rhymney is designated as the 'Upper Rhymney Valley' by the local Unitary Authority, Caerphilly County Borough Council. As a community, Rhymney includes the town of Rhymney, Pontlottyn, Abertysswg, Butetown and Twyncarno.
The Rhymney Railway (RR) was a railway company in South Wales, founded to transport minerals and materials to and from collieries and ironworks in the Rhymney Valley of South Wales, and to docks in Cardiff. It opened a main line in 1858, and a limited passenger service was operated in addition.
Ystrad Mynach is a town in the Caerphilly County Borough, within the ancient county of Glamorgan, Wales, and is 5 mi (8.0 km) north of the town of Caerphilly. The urban area has a population of 19,204, and stands in the Rhymney Valley. Before the Industrial Revolution and the coming of coal mining in the South Wales Coalfield the valley was rural and farmed. It lies in the community of Gelligaer.
The Rhymney River is a river in the Rhymney Valley, South Wales, flowing through Cardiff into the Severn Estuary. The river formed the boundary between the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire until in 1887, the parishes east of the river, Rumney and St Mellons, were transferred from the jurisdiction of Newport, to Cardiff in Glamorgan.
Abertysswg is a village in the county borough of Caerphilly, Wales, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire.
Hengoed is a village on the west side of the Rhymney Valley - between Ystrad Mynach to the south and Cefn Hengoed to the north. Across the valley it looks towards Maesycwmmer. The village is in the county borough of Caerphilly, in the traditional county of Glamorgan, Wales.
Rhymney railway station serves the town of Rhymney in Wales. Situated on the Valley Lines network 23 miles (37 km) north of Cardiff Central, it is the terminus of the Rhymney Line. The station has sidings to the west of its single platform which are used for the overnight stabling of the diesel multiple unit trains
Caerphilly railway station is a railway station serving the town of Caerphilly, south Wales. It is a stop on the Rhymney Line of the Valley Lines network. The station is located at Station Road in the south of the town. Facilities include a small shop and a ticket kiosk. A self-service ticket machine was installed near the entrance to the station on 22 December 2008. Several advertising murals depicting holiday travel in various parts of South Wales have been placed on the northbound side of the station in order to improve the 'look' of the station.
Lisvane and Thornhill railway station is a railway station serving the Lisvane and Thornhill areas of north Cardiff, Wales. It is a stop on the Rhymney Line of the Valley Lines network.
Rhymney Valley was one of six local government districts in Mid Glamorgan from 1974 to 1996.
Pontlottyn is a village located in the county borough of Caerphilly, within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales. It is sited just to the south of Rhymney, and to the west of the Rhymney River.
Gelligaer is a community in the County Borough of Caerphilly, Wales, in the Rhymney River valley. As well as the village of Gelligaer, the community also includes the small towns of Hengoed and Ystrad Mynach. The population of the community at the 2011 census was 18,408.
Fochriw is a village in Caerphilly County Borough, Wales. It was well known for its neighbouring collieries, which employed nearly the entire local population in the early 20th century. It lies within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. The village appears as the backdrop on the BBC Wales sitcom High Hopes credits. The village's population was 1,250 in 2011.
Marion Evans is a Welsh historian and writer. She has written extensively about the town of Rhymney and its neighbouring villages and supporting forewords to her publications have been written by Ted Rowlands, Baron Rowlands; George Thomas, 1st Viscount Tonypandy; Eirene White, Baroness White of Rhymney; Roy Noble, BBC Wales; Edwina Hart, Welsh Assembly Minister and Sir Roddy Llewellyn.