Swansea Valley

The Swansea Valley ( _cy. Cwm Tawe), one of the South Wales Valleys, encompasses the upper reaches of the River Tawe area in Wales, UK, upstream from Swansea. Today, the area is divided between the City and County of Swansea, Neath Port Talbot county borough, and Powys.

Notable towns & villages

Notable towns and villages in the area include Clydach, Pontardawe, Ystradgynlais, Ystalyfera and Abercraf.

In its September 2005 document "Towards a Valleys Strategy", Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council notes "a marked divide between the more remote communities at Ystalyfera and along the Twrch and Amman Valleys and the reasonably prosperous southern communities of Pontardawe, Alltwen, Rhos, and Trebanos." [ [http://www.npt.gov.uk/valleysstrategy/index.cfm NPT CBC - Valleys Strategy ] ] The area is served by the A4067 Swansea-Brecon road, but has had no rail connection since passenger services on the former Midland Railway line between Swansea and Brecon ceased in the 1930s.

Attractions

The valley is the site of Dan yr Ogof, claimed to be the largest show cave complex in Western Europe. [ [http://www.walesinfo.com/ Wales Tourist Information ] ] This was formerly a region of heavy industry including coal mining and iron-making and thre is plenty of the industrial heritge surviving; the Swansea Canal was built along the valley in the late 18th century to serve the nascent local industries. In 1878 Opera singer Adelina Patti made her home at Craig-y-Nos Castle. [ [http://www.craigynoscastle.com/ Craig-y-Nos Castle ] ]

ee also

*Lower Swansea valley

References