The Rhymney Valley Ridgeway Walk is a waymarked long distance footpath in the UK forming a circular walk in the Rhymney Valley area of South Wales. [1] [2]
The Rhymney Valley Ridgeway Walk is approximately 45 kilometres (~28 miles) long. [1]
The walk route starts at Rhymney and heads south down the Rhymney Valley where it becomes a circular loop and runs around the Caerphilly basin linking the three main upland ridges of Mynydd-y-Grug, Thornhill/ Y Ddraenen and Eglwysilan and passes through Caerphilly, Bedwas, Hengoed, Rudry and Machen, the highest point on the route is at Cefn y Brithdir at 446 metres.
The South Wales Valleys offer a post-industrial landscape full of industrial archaeology, reclaimed industrial sites and new light industry to replace the heavy coal industry of old. The area also has castles such as Caerphilly Castle and Ruperra Castle, prehistoric and Roman age sites and offers the day walker and the whole route walker a mix of demanding upland walking, panoramic views and, varied sites to visit and places to stay.
Caerphilly is a town and community in South Wales, at the southern end of the Rhymney Valley. It is the largest town in Caerphilly County Borough, within the historic borders of Glamorgan, on the border with Monmouthshire. At the 2011 Census, the town had a population of 41,402 while the wider Caerphilly Local Authority area has a population of 178,806.
Caerphilly is a county borough in southern Wales, straddling the ancient county boundary between Glamorgan and Monmouthshire. It is governed by Caerphilly County Borough Council.
The Rhymney Railway 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.
The Rhymney Valley 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. The valley encompasses the villages of Abertysswg, Fochriw, Pontlottyn, Tir-Phil, New Tredegar, Aberbargoed, Rhymney, Ystrad Mynach and Llanbradach, and the towns of Bargoed and Caerphilly.
Machen is a large village three miles east of Caerphilly, south Wales. It is situated in the Caerphilly borough within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. It neighbours Bedwas and Trethomas, and forms a council ward in conjunction with those communities. It lies on the Rhymney River. Mynydd Machen provides a view over the village. It is possible to walk up to and along the top of the mountain, where a number of large boulders are present.
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 western Carmarthenshire to eastern Monmouthshire; to the edge of the pastoral country of the Vale of Glamorgan and the coastal plain near the cities of Swansea, Cardiff, and Newport.
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. The name literally means 'old wood' in the Welsh language. The electoral ward of Hengoed includes the villages of Hengoed and Cefn Hengoed and a part of Tir-y-Berth in the north west. The ward population was recorded at 5,548 in the 2011 census, an increase of 10% over the previous 10 years, due in part to several new-build housing developments in the ward between 2001 and 2011.
Fochriw is a village located 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 villages population was recorded as 1,250 in 2011.
Llanbradach is a village within the historic boundaries of Glamorgan, South Wales less than three miles north of the town of Caerphilly. It is part of the community of Llanbradach and Pwll-y-Pant.
The Cambrian Way, initially an unofficial long distance footpath in Wales running from Cardiff to Conwy, was officially recognised in 2019. Primarily a mountain walk, it runs over many of the highest and most scenically beautiful areas of Wales. It was pioneered in the 1960s and 1970s by walker Tony Drake, who later produced a guidebook of the walk.
The Celtic Way is a long-distance walk from West Wales, through South Wales and into Wessex and the West of England in the United Kingdom. The route is 725-mile-long (1,167 km) and visits more than one hundred pre-historic sites through its route.
Mynydd Machen is a 362-metre-high (1,188 ft) hill lying between the town of Risca and the village of Machen in Caerphilly County Borough in south Wales. Its summit is crowned by a trig point and a mast.
Cefn Manmoel is the name given to the broad ridge of high ground between the Sirhowy Valley and Ebbw Vale in the Valleys region of South Wales. It straddles the boundary between the unitary areas of Caerphilly and Blaenau Gwent.
Cefn y Brithdir is the name given to the broad ridge of high ground between the Rhymney Valley and Cwm Darran in the Valleys region of South Wales. It lies within the unitary area of Caerphilly.
Hengoed Viaduct is a Grade II* listed railway viaduct, located above the village of Maesycwmmer, in Caerphilly county borough, South Wales. Originally built to carry the Taff Vale Extension of the Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway (NA&HR) across the Rhymney River, it is now part of National Cycle Route 47
Draethen is a village in the county borough of Caerphilly, South Wales, and the community of Rudry. The village is located some 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Caerphilly, and 6 miles (9.7 km) northeast of Cardiff.
Mynydd Meio is a 322-metre-high hill in the county borough of Caerphilly in South Wales. Parts of its western slopes fall within Rhondda Cynon Taf county borough. Its eastern slopes drop away to Cwm yr Aber between Caerphilly and Abertridwr and its western slopes to the valley of the Taf. The high point is just over 200 m north of the trig point which sits at 322 metres (1,056 ft) above sea-level.
Cefn Eglwysilan is a hill in South Wales, the twin 382m summits of which lie 2 km east of Pontypridd in Rhondda Cynon Taf county borough. Its eastern side lies within the community of Aber Valley in Caerphilly county borough. Like neighbouring Mynydd Eglwysilan, the hill is named after the hamlet of Eglwysilan, the church here being dedicated to an obscure saint Ilan. A wireless transmission station is sited on the more northerly of the two summits. The southerly one is crowned by a trig point.
Mynydd y Grug is a hill lying just west of the village of Cwmfelinfach and about 4 km to the northeast of Caerphilly in Caerphilly county borough in South Wales. Its summit was formerly at a height of around 358 m, but since the top has been covered by a large spoil heap and landscaped its height has now increased to 375 m, though some authorities take other values for the summit height. A number of ancient cairns are found along its edge overlooking the Sirhowy Valley, the slopes up from which are largely wooded.
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