talking point - Rhondda Cynon Taf

Blaencwm
The valley is now flat and straight: on the left,
the “hanging valley” of Cwmsaerbren, its
mouth left high and dry when a moving ice
sheet gouged out the main Rhondda Valley at
the end of the last ice-age; up ahead, the
sheer walls of Pen-pych, known also as the
Sentinel, guarding the head of the valley
above the villages of Blaenrhondda and
Blaencwm, reached by taking the left fork at
the end of Treherbert’s wide main street.
Craig-y-llyn
Just before the bridge into Blaencwm a track on the right leads to a
Forestry Enterprise carpark and picnic area at the start of the Waterfall
Walk. This is a gravel track which winds gently up Cwm Lluest to a series of
cascades issuing from the summit ridge. A demanding walk suitable for more
experienced walkers climbs up to the highest of the waterfalls, and continues to the top of
Pen-pych, but even from the gravel track there are spectacular views of dramatic steep sided cliffs and
sheer mountain shoulders.
From Treherbert the A4061 climbs steadily out of the Rhondda Fawr, offering fine views at every turn. Known as the Rhigos
Mountain Road this is one of the higher A-roads in Britain, topping out at 1618 feet above sea-level. There are carparks and picnic areas,
views out over the Brecon Beacons, and waymarked trails leading off into the forestry plantations. As well as access to the Coed Morgannwg Way west
to Port Talbot, to Route 47, and to the Highland Route back to Pontypridd, to the left is the 1969-foot Craig-y-llyn, highest point in Rhondda Cynon Taf,
which drops sheer into the waters of Llyn Fawr: when the lake was drained in 1909 to create a reservoir, two Celtic cauldrons and a horde of some of
the oldest iron implements ever found in Britain were discovered. These are now displayed in the National Museum of Wales in Cardiff.
As we descend onto the saddle of high land between the Cynon and Neath valleys we pass Tower Colliery, the only working pit in South Wales, and then
turn right to head for Aberdare. In the town centre, follow A4233 for Maerdy, ascending the ridge by a series of hairpin bends from which the views out
to the north are staggering, the Carmarthen and Brecon Beacons and all the mountains in-between lined up on the northern horizon for inspection.
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