talking point - Rhondda Cynon Taf

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Across the river from the Town Centre is a right turn leading into Cwmpennar, a side valley with a hamlet of the same name, idyllic cottages hidden away from the bustle of the valley floor with tiny gardens full of flowers and a sylvan outlook. Meanwhile the A4059 offers a fine route into Aberdare, known as the Queen of the Valleys because, unlike other valley towns, it occupies a broad vale with an open aspect. Here, film-maker William Haggar produced some of the world’s first ever feature films, beginning with The Maid of Cefn Ydfa in 1901 and followed by over forty melodramas and thrillers which, with their violence and police chases were especially popular both in Britain and America, where they influenced the Keystone Cops! 31 The town centre is crowned by the 180-foot spire of St Elvan’s Church, completed in 1852. Around the church are the main shopping areas, including Victoria Square which has a fine statue of the choral conductor Caradog, baton raised, at one end, and the Cenotaph built by Sir Edwin Lutyens as a prototype for the one in London’s Whitehall at the other. The shopping streets are packed with small shops, some of them, highly specialised, and as the focal point for the whole of the Cynon Valley, Aberdare also boasts a large number of restaurants and cafés, pubs and hotels. Much of the shopping area is pedestrianised, and no stroll through the town would be complete without a visit to the Indoor Market, which offers a fantastic range of goods and bargains – everything you always forget to remember to buy! There is also a plaque commemorating the life of William Haggar on the Market Hall wall as this was the site of his first Cinema.
At the edge of the town centre, the Church of St John the Baptist is largely unaltered since its completion in about 1189, whilst nearby the Cynon Valley Museum and Gallery is housed in the surviving buildings of the historic Gadlys Ironworks. The Museum tells the history of Aberdare and its people, and also offers the chance to watch William Haggar’s “Life of Charles Peace”. The Museum also acts as an Art Gallery, showing the work of local artists, and has an excellent restaurant. 32 The B4275 leads northwest to Trecynon and to Aberdare Park. For a few days every July, the Park is the setting for International Motorbike Racing, but the rest of the time this is a haven of peace with tree-lined walks and a lake, very much a traditional Victorian park with bands playing at the weekend in the ornamental bandstand and fine displays of roses. Close to the Park gates are the Coliseum Theatre with a year-round programme of films, concerts and shows, and the Rose and Crown Inn where the choral conductor Caradog, whose statue stands in Victoria Square, was born.
Page 1 and 2: ...TOURING COUNTRY... DISCOVER RHON
Page 3 and 4: STARTING YOUR TOUR 4 We have devise
Page 5 and 6: The A470 dual carriageway northward
Page 7 and 8: Pottery of a different sort is made
Page 9 and 10: Tour 2 HERITAGE & HILLSIDE Discover
Page 11 and 12: Our route now enters the Rhondda Fa
Page 13 and 14: The road crosses a desolate moorlan
Page 15 and 16: Taff Trail Stretching from Cardiff,
Page 17 and 18: The A4059 leads us into our second
Page 19 and 20: Tour 4 VALLEYS & VALE The Green Val
Page 21 and 22: Where the A473 meets the A4119, a r
Page 23 and 24: Royal Mint From every street corner
Page 25: Midway up the Valley, Mountain Ash

talking point - Rhondda Cynon Taf

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?