talking point - Rhondda Cynon Taf

Tour 4
VALLEYS & VALE
The Green Vale and the Ancient Home of the Longbowmen
talking point
Llantrisant was the home of the longbowmen
who served under Edward Prince of Wales. Their
skill annihilated a French army at Crecy in 1346
and so won the opening stage of the Hundred
Years War. The French King’s ally, blind King Jan
of Bohemia, was killed leading a desperate,
final charge, and in homage to his valour the
Prince of Wales adopted his three-feather
badge, later adding the motto “Ich dien”,
(Welsh “Eich dyn”) which means “Your Man”.
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www.rhondda-cynon-taf.gov.uk/visiting Tel. 01443 424085
South-west of Pontypridd lies the Vale of
Glamorgan, a broad swathe of rolling dairy country. Here the
climate is mild and soft, the grass a vivid green and the soil rich and deep,
and there are plenty of opportunities for horse riding, fishing and walking in a less
challenging environment than that offered by the airy routes across the mountain
ridges to the north. Standing sentinel over the Vale, the ancient town of Llantrisant
dreams away epochs and centuries on a high bluff, its main square presided over by the
statue of eccentric scholar Dr William Price. And on hot summer days the beaches of
the Glamorgan Heritage Coast are just a short drive away to the south.