A walk along Domen Fawr tramroad South Wales

We park the car in a small dead end on the road to Festival Park, Ebbw Vale.   Our aim, to climb above Festival Shopping to the tramroad and admire the views along the valley.   Its a sunny day, but everywhere is lush and damp from the extensive rain.   As we walk we can hear hidden water running down grass banks and amongst the shrubby trees.


As we leave the car the path deceptively leads in the opposite direction.   Then we turn left and up the slope, rising quickly above the houses, and after the recent rain, everywhere is lush and green, highlighted with buttercups, bright blue birds eye and unfurling bracken.

Houses in the distance appear in miniature

Climbing above the trees and through a gateway we see the first of the industrial archaeology, a wheel and the remains of a rusting cylinder.   A steam boiler here generated power to move trams up and down the hillside.   Only a few bricks remain of the winding mill, but some have the “Ebbw Vale” stamping still visible from the Ebbw Vale brickworks.

Another rusting hulk appears behind the boiler.   The remains of a car, lying on its roof, the boot lid the only clue that it was once blue.   I hope no-one was hurt when this piece of metal arrived here.

Across the valley the terraces of Wainllwyd and the huge machinery of the Silent Valley Refuse tips resemble kiddies’ toys.   On a clear day the whole valley spreads below, northwards from the steelworks site and beyond to distant hills in the south.

The mountain still slopes steeply above, but the path continues tantalisingly along in front of us. 

Today we follow the zigzag path down to Hall Street, Festival Park and coffee and cake, but we will return to continue along the pathway towards Cwm, the birth place of the celebrity Victor Spinetti.   Sadly recently deceased, he appeared in several Beatles films, but also in a film version of Dylan Thomas’ “Under Milk Wood,” with Richard Burton, Ruth Madoc and other well known welsh actors.  Well worth watching if you can find a copy.

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