The Rhymney Valley () is one of the South Wales valleys, with the Rhymney River forming the border between the historic counties of

Glamorgan , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Mot ...

and

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, wit ...

. Between 1974 and 1996 a Rhymney Valley local government district also existed (one of six of

Mid Glamorgan , Government= Mid Glamorgan County Council , Status= Non-metropolitan county (1974–1996) Preserved county (1996–) , Start= 1974 , End= 1996 , Arms= ''Coat of arms of Mid ...

).Davies (2008), p. 755 The valley encompasses the villages of

Abertysswg Abertysswg ( cy, Abertyswg) is a village in the county borough of Caerphilly, Wales, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. Location Situated in the South Wales Valleys, Abertysswg is a small village located to the east of Pontlotty ...

Fochriw Fochriw () is a village located in Caerphilly County Borough, Wales, United Kingdom. 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 cou ...

, Pontlottyn,

Tir-Phil Tir-Phil is a village near the town of New Tredegar in the Caerphilly county borough of south Wales. The village of Tir-Phil and New Tredegar itself are served by Tir-Phil railway station. Tir-Phil was also an electoral ward A ward is a loc ...

, New Tredegar, Nelson, Aberbargoed,

Rhymney Rhymney (; cy, Rhymni ) 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 ...

Ystrad Mynach Ystrad Mynach is a town in the Caerphilly County Borough, within the ancient county of Glamorgan, Wales, and is north of the town of Caerphilly. The urban area has a population of 19,204, and stands in the Rhymney Valley. Before the Industr ...

and

Llanbradach Llanbradach is a village within the historic boundaries of Glamorgan, South Wales less than north of the town of Caerphilly. It is part of the community of Llanbradach and Pwll-y-Pant. It is mostly residential, and contains three pubs, a primar ...

, and the towns of

Bargoed Bargoed ( cy, Bargod) is a town and community in the Rhymney Valley, Wales, one of the South Wales Valleys. It lies on the Rhymney River in the county borough of Caerphilly. It straddles the ancient boundary of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, wit ...

and

Caerphilly Caerphilly (, ; cy, Caerffili, ) is a town and community in Wales. It is situated at the southern end of the Rhymney Valley. It is north of Cardiff and northwest of Newport. It is the largest town in Caerphilly County Borough, and lies wi ...

Geography

Created as a glacial valley, now the Rhymney River flows largely south to Rumney, a district of

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

. The river is the ancient boundary between

and

. Groesfaen, Deri, Pentwyn and Fochriw are located in the

Darran Valley Darran Valley ( cy, Cwm Darran) is a community in the County Borough of Caerphilly, Wales. The Darran Valley consists of the valley of the Bargod Rhymni and contains the villages of Deri, Pentwyn and Fochriw. These settlements grew around th ...

and not the Rhymney Valley. This valley joins the Rhymney Valley at Bargoed

is a large village in the Rhymney Valley between Ystrad Mynach and Caerphilly,

History

This valley is one of the South Wales Valleys, and its history largely follows theirs: sparsely populated until the nineteenth century; industrialised for

iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in ...

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistan ...

and

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...

;

industrial decline Deindustrialization is a process of social and economic change caused by the removal or reduction of industrial capacity or activity in a country or region, especially of heavy industry or manufacturing industry. There are different interpre ...

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

—increasing access to and from Cardiff and the

M4 motorway The M4, originally the London-South Wales Motorway, is a motorway in the United Kingdom running from west London to southwest Wales. The English section to the Severn Bridge was constructed between 1961 and 1971; the Welsh element was largely ...

, and increasing the numbers of commuters from the valley to

. The area is now one of the most populous in Wales. The Rhymney Valley hosted the

National Eisteddfod The National Eisteddfod of Wales (Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competitor ...

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 A fairy (also fay, fae, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Celtic, Slavic, Germanic, English, and French folklore), a form of spirit, ...

were being pestered by a

giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fr ...

. 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.

Gorsedd Stones

The Rhymney Valley

Gorsedd Stones Gorsedd Stones ( cy, Cerrig yr Orsedd) are groups of standing stones constructed for the National Eisteddfod of Wales. They form an integral part of the druidic Gorsedd ceremonies of the Eisteddfod. The stones can be found as commemorative struc ...

are located above Bryn Bach park, Tredegar on the site of the 1990

National Eisteddfod of Wales The National Eisteddfod of Wales (Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competitor ...

hosted by the Rhymney Valley. 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

Transport

*The Rhymney Valley railway runs through the valley.

Bibliography

References