Everything in one place !

South Wales Valleys are B E A U T I F U L !!

 

Abertillery Valley from the base of Guardian

They have everything !!

Coastal and inland scenery unsurpassed anywhere.
Huge beaches and tiny coves.
Tropical temperatures (well this summer, anyway!)
Short walks, long walks, upland walks, flat walks.

The largest miners' memorial in the world.

Guardian, Six Bells, (tall as Angel of the North, 20 mtrs.)

Excellent food.
Cream cakes, fresh fruit and veg., even a chocolate factory.
Good pubs with unusual local brews.
Variety of places to stay from camping to luxury hotels.
Waterfalls
Canals
Leaning Tower (more than Pisa)

Caerphilly Castle, home of the leaning tower

Cycle paths and off-road tracks

Sheep (not that many cows, but alpacas).

 Wide roads with easy driving and narrow roads with passing places.

Cultivated parks and gardens and wild mountainsides and common land.

Steam trains.

 

Shopping in cities or in small local boutiques and markets.
Towns with free parking.
Wonderful wild flowers and exotic cultivated species.

Nantyglo Round Tower

Castles and Manor Houses (ruined and otherwise)
Friendly people willing to chat, and those who are less so, (you get them everywhere).
Industrial heritage.
National and local museums.
Underground experiences with a fully trained coal miner.

Busy places.
Quiet places to be alone to think.

All this

concentrated

within an hour or two's drive.

View of Kidwelly

 

You can travel from Kidwelly in the west to Pontypool in the east in around one and a half hours. But think of all the wonderful places you'll pass by if you do that. 

http://www.fieldsintrust.org/Default.aspx

 

Nantyglo Round Towers

View from the nearby lane

History has left us many strange monuments and follies, but in the small town of Nantyglo, near Brynmawr sits two aging stone towers.  The towers are located on privateland at Roundhouse Farm and can only be viewed from the nearby bridlepath.  They were constructed by the Bailey family to protect them and their property in case of a workers' uprising, which never happened.

The towers were never used in anger, but are now protected by a large, barking farm dog.

Second of the towers in greater disrepair

Further along, but harder to find, are the remains of the families mansion.

The site below provides information on this site in far more detail.

Nantyglo Heritage Trail