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 Port Talbot Steelworks covers a large area of land which dominates the south east of the town. It is one of the biggest steelworks in the world, but has been under threat of closure since the 1980s. The population was 31,550 in 2021, comprising about a fifth of the 141,931 population of Neath Port Talbot.
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.
Swansea Bay is a bay on the southern coast of Wales. The River Neath, River Tawe, River Afan, River Kenfig and Clyne River flow into the bay. Swansea Bay and the upper reaches of the Bristol Channel experience a large tidal range. The shipping ports in Swansea Bay are Swansea Docks, Port Talbot Docks and Briton Ferry wharves.
Bridgend County Borough is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. The county borough has a total population of 139,200 people, and contains the town of Bridgend, after which it is named. Its members of the Senedd are Sarah Murphy MS, representing the Bridgend Constituency, and Huw Irranca-Davies MS representing the Ogmore Constituency, and its members of the UK parliament are Chris Bryant, Chris Elmore, and Stephen Kinnock.
Kenfig is a village and former borough in Bridgend, Wales. It is situated 1 mile (1.6 km) inland on the north bank of the Bristol Channel, and just south-west of the M4 motorway. To the east is the town of Bridgend, at approximately 6 miles (10 km), and the capital city of Cardiff, at 24 miles (40 km). To the west lies Port Talbot, at approximately 7 miles, and Swansea at approximately 18 miles.
The River Ogmore is a river in South Wales that is popular with anglers. It runs generally from north to south from the Ogmore Vale and Gilfach Goch, past Bridgend and Ogmore. The River Ogmore rises at Craig Ogwr in the Ogmore Valley as the Ogwr Fawr before it links with the Ogwr Fach at Blackmill. The River Llynfi, the River Garw and finally the River Ewenny in its estuary are all tributaries of the Ogmore which flows into the sea between Ogmore-by-Sea and the Merthyr Mawr sand-dunes.
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.
Margam is a suburb and community of Port Talbot in the Welsh county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, close to junction 39 of the M4 motorway. The community had a population of 3,017 in 2011; the built up area being larger and extending into Taibach community.
Candleston Castle is a 14th-century fortified manor house, in ruins since the 19th century. It is 0.75 miles (1.2 km) southwest of Merthyr Mawr, Glamorgan, Wales, now Bridgend County Borough and just 0.75 miles (1.2 km) northwest of Ogmore Castle, separated by the River Ogmore. Candleston's original long and narrow rectangular structure lay across the western end of a low narrow promontory, suggesting a defensive position. The castle is believed to be named after the Norman family of Cantilupe, thought to be its first feudal tenants.
Pyle is a village and community in Bridgend county borough, Wales. This large village is served by the A48 road, and lies less than one mile from Junction 37 of the M4 motorway, and is therefore only a half-hour journey from the capital city of Wales, Cardiff. The nearest town is the seaside resort of Porthcawl. Within the Community, to the northeast of Pyle, is the adjoining settlement of Kenfig Hill, North Cornelly also adjoins Pyle and the built-up area had a population of 13,701 in 2011.
Neath Port Talbot College (NPTC) was a further education institution established as two campuses in Port Talbot and Neath in Wales, United Kingdom.
Crymlyn Burrows is an area in Wales to the east of Swansea city centre, and south of Crymlyn Bog. It is bounded by Jersey Marine Beach to the south and the River Neath to the east. The land west of Baldwin's Crescent falls within the City and County of Swansea and from Baldwin's Crescent eastwards falls within Neath Port Talbot. The area northwest of the Fabian Way contains a small settlement at Elba Crescent and Baldwins Crescent, and areas of industry and commerce.
North Cornelly is a moderately sized village in Bridgend County Borough, Wales. It is four miles from the seaside resort of Porthcawl and six miles from the town of Bridgend. The Kenfig nature reserve is less than a mile away.
Kenfig Pool is a national nature reserve situated near Porthcawl, Bridgend. Wild storms and huge tides between the 13th and 15th centuries are mainly responsible for creating the Kenfig dunes near Porthcawl, as they threw vast quantities of sand up over the Glamorgan coast. This buried the nearby borough of Kenfig, and its castle, of which only the ruined keep survives. At 70 acres the second largest freshwater lake in south Wales. Kenfig Pool lies at the heart of the national nature reserve and is a valuable stopping point for migrating birds. The lake's maximum depth is about 12 feet. An island, built by the aristocrats living in nearby Margam to encourage wildfowl to nest there, has long since sunk beneath the waters.
Merthyr Mawr Sand Dunes are sand dunes and a Site of Special Scientific Interest in Bridgend, south Wales. The village of Merthyr Mawr is nearby.
Cynffig/Kenfig is a Site of Special Scientific Interest which includes Kenfig Sands and its sand dunes near Kenfig in Bridgend County Borough, South Wales. The Kenfig National Nature Reserve is also situated at the site and contains the largest lake in Glamorgan, Kenfig Pool.
The South Wales Coast and Severn Estuary Coastal Path covers Region H of the larger Wales Coast Path, an 870-mile (1,400 km) long-distance walking route around the whole coast of Wales which opened on 5 May 2012. The South Wales Coast and Severn Estuary stretch is a 109-mile (176 km) in length running from Kenfig Dunes near Port Talbot, South Wales to Chepstow. With five local councils involved in its creation and maintenance, the route goes through a heritage coast, three national nature reserves and three heritage landscapes.
Kenfig is a village and former borough in Bridgend, Wales.
