Route
The meandering circular route runs through the Vale of Glamorgan by way of Peterston-super-Ely, Barry, Cowbridge, Llantwit Major, St Brides Major and Llanharry, with spurs to Ewenny Priory and St. Fagans.
Peterston-super-Ely is a village and community on the River Ely in the county borough of the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales.
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 the resurrected Barry Island Pleasure Park. According to Office for National Statistics 2016 estimate data, the population of Barry was 54,673, making it the third largest town in Wales, after Wrexham and Merthyr Tydfil.
Cowbridge is a market town in the Vale of Glamorgan in Wales, approximately 7 miles (11 km) west of Cardiff. Cowbridge is twinned with Clisson in the Loire-Atlantique department in northwestern France. Cowbridge is part of the Cowbridge with Llanblethian community which elects a Town Council.
The terrain is varied and includes coastal paths on the Heritage Coast, pasture land in the Vale, and industrial archaeology sites, as well as prehistoric sites such as Tinkinswood and the St Lythans burial chambers.
Industrial archaeology (IA) is the systematic study of material evidence associated with the industrial past. This evidence, collectively referred to as industrial heritage, includes buildings, machinery, artifacts, sites, infrastructure, documents and other items associated with the production, manufacture, extraction, transport or construction of a product or range of products. The field of industrial archaeology incorporates a range of disciplines including archaeology, architecture, construction, engineering, historic preservation, museology, technology, urban planning and other specialties, in order to piece together the history of past industrial activities. The scientific interpretation of material evidence is often necessary, as the written record of many industrial techniques is often incomplete or nonexistent. Industrial archaeology includes both the examination of standing structures and sites that must be studied by an excavation.
Tinkinswood or its full name Tinkinswood Burial Chamber, also known as Castell Carreg, Llech-y-Filiast and Maes-y-Filiast, is a megalithic burial chamber, built around 6,000 BP, during the Neolithic period, in the Vale of Glamorgan, near Cardiff, Wales.
St Lythans is an affluent hamlet and former parish in the Vale of Glamorgan, southeast Wales, just outside western Cardiff. It lies southwest of Culverhouse Cross, west of Wenvoe and southwest of Twyn-yr-Odyn and is also connected by road from Dyffryn and the Five Mile Lane in the west. It is one of the wealthiest communities in the Vale of Glamorgan, containing some notable mansions and cottages, valued on average at over £500,000 ($800,000) as of 2011. The megalithic St Lythans burial chamber, over 6000 years old, lies 1 km to the west of the village and the hamlet also contains the St.Lythans Parish Church or Church of St Bleddian, a Grade II* listed building.
The whole route is close to Cardiff.
South Glamorgan is a preserved county of Wales.
Llantwit Major is a town and community in Wales. Situated on the Bristol Channel coast, it is one of four towns in the Vale of Glamorgan, with the third largest population after Barry and Penarth, and ahead of Cowbridge. Llantwit Major is 4 1⁄2 miles (7.2 km) from Cowbridge, 9 miles (14 km) from Bridgend, 10 miles (16 km) from Barry, and 15 miles (24 km) from Cardiff.
Vale of Glamorgan is a county constituency in South Wales, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP), using the first-past-the-post voting system.
The Barry Tourist Railway is a railway developed to attract visitors to Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales. It is a key element of the Barry Rail Centre which also includes engineering and training facilities.
Cogan railway station is a railway station serving Cogan in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. It is on the Vale of Glamorgan Line 2 3⁄4 miles (4.4 km) south of Cardiff Central on the way to Barry Island and Bridgend.
Llantwit Major railway station is a railway station serving the small town of Llantwit Major, South Wales. It is located on the Vale of Glamorgan Line, 18 1⁄4 miles (29.4 km) west of Cardiff Central towards Bridgend via Barry and Rhoose. The present station opened on 12 June 2005, when passenger services were restored on the section of line between Barry and Bridgend.
St. Brides Major is a village within the community also called St Brides Major in the Vale of Glamorgan in Wales.
Llansannor is a small hamlet in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, United Kingdom.
The A4232, which is also known either as the Peripheral Distributor Road (PDR) or the Cardiff Link Road, is a distributor road in Cardiff, the capital of Wales.
The A4119 links Tonypandy with Cardiff in South Wales.
The A4055 is the main road link between Cardiff Bay and Barry.
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.
The Cardiff Centenary Walk is a tourist walkway through Cardiff city centre in Wales. Established as part of Cardiff's centennial celebrations to mark 100 years of city status in 2005, it has 41 points of interest, either Cardiff landmarks or significant historic sites. The route is marked by waymarkers on the pavement, which also direct pedestrians to the next waymarker. The whole walk is 3.6 kilometres (2.2 mi) long running around Cardiff in a clockwise direction, starting and finishing at the Cardiff Visitor Centre at the Old Library.
Aberthaw High Level railway station was the Barry Railway station which served Aberthaw, located near the north shore of the Bristol Channel in the former Welsh county of South Glamorgan, and in the current county of Vale of Glamorgan.
Dunraven Castle was a mansion on the South Wales coast near Southerndown. The existing manor house was rebuilt as a castellated hunting lodge in the early 19th century and was extensively remodelled later in the century. The surviving parts of the house and its lands are Grade II listed buildings.
The B4265 road is a main road in the Vale of Glamorgan, southeastern Wales, running in a northwesterly direction along near the coast. It links Cardiff Airport to Bridgend, lasting for 15.9 miles (25.6 km). The road begins at the roundabout near the airport and the village of Penmark at 51°24′21″N 3°20′39″W as a continuation of the A4226 road leading from Barry. Passing the junction turnoff to Gileston and St Athan, at Llantwit Major, the B4270 road branches off to the northwest to Llandow Industrial Estate. The road then moves progressively in northwesterly direction until St Brides Major, where the B4524 road to the south connects it to Southerndown and Ogmore-by-Sea. At St Brides Major, the road shifts to a northerly direction, where it passes Ewenny and Ogmore village leading to Bridgend, where it joins the A48 road and finally A473 road at 51°30′7″N 3°34′34″W.
St Brides Major is a community on the western edge of the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales. Its largest settlement is the village of St Brides Major, and also includes the villages of Ogmore-by-Sea and Southerndown, and the hamlets of Ogmore Village, Castle-upon-Alun, Heol-y-Mynydd, Norton and Pont-yr-Brown It is notable for coastal geology and scenery, limestone downlands and fossilised primitive mammals, sea cliffs and beaches, two Iron Age hillforts, three medieval castle sites,, two stepping stone river crossings and a clapper bridge. Three long distance paths cross the community. It is the western limit of the Vale of Glamorgan Heritage Coast, and has a visitor centre and tourist facilities.
Michaelston-le-Pit and Leckwith is a community in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. It is located immediately southwest of the city of Cardiff and to the north of the Vale of Glamorgan villages of Llandough and Dinas Powys. As its name suggests, the community includes the small villages of Michaelston-le-Pit and Leckwith. The community population comprises only just under 250 adults.
