Tour of Neath-Port Talbot Banwen - Coelbren

LEG 1 - BANWEN to COELBREN - PYRDDIN, PATRICK & PRIDE - 6.4 miles - CIRCULAR FROM SARN HELEN CAFE, BANWEN - TOUR OF NEATH-PORT TALBOT

Tonight I did one of the most interesting walks in Wales and started what I hope to eventually finish, the 'Tour of Neath Port Talbot'. Starting at the Sarn Helen cafe in Banwen, a possible birthplace of St Patrick of Ireland, passing by Ton Pyrddin Ironworks, the Roman camp. Henrhyd Waterfall, the highest in south Wales and location for of Batman's cave in one of the films, the villages of Coelbren, Onllwyn & Dyffryn Cellwen before returning to Banwen & Dai's Wall where I can be seen putting up the posters 'Victory to the Miners' in the film Pride. CLICK HERE to view this on youtube - I can also be seen getting into the van after the guy shouts 'Martin come on'.


Henrhyd Waterfall	the gate near the Roman camp	the footpath across the mire (peat bog).

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For an information leaflet about Banwen please........ CLICK HERE

For an information leaflet about Onllwyn please........ CLICK HERE

The above links are from the Dulais Valley Heritage Trail website, this is a very informative website, nicely laid out and prresented. For more info please click on the link below.

http://www.dulaisvalley.org/

The above promo photograph from the film Pride was taken on the Roman Road in Banwen, the central characters are Paddy Considine and Bill Nighy. I can be seen to the right of them with an arrow hovering above my head. Several scenes from the film were shot here including the march back to work at the end of the strike, pictured above. The other main South Wales location for the film is the Welfare Hall in Onllwyn, about 1 mile away from Roman Road. Roman Road was also used extensively in the 1988 Comic Strip Present comedy 'The Strike' starring Alexi Sayle.

This flowering shrub I'm pretty sure is a wild rose, there were several of them on the walk plus I managed to pick a couple of handfuls of wild strawberries. I've no idea what the plant below with the white fluffy head is. Danny Jones, Banwen born and bred is of the opinion that the village gets its name from these plants, which at a distance when clumped together closely give the appearance of snow lying on the ground. Wen is the Welsh word for white and ban can mean a number of things including summit (to be confirmed). Before the forestry arrived the mountain he says was plastered with these plants and that's how the village got it's name.

CLICK HERE FOR THE JONES BROTHERS VISIT TO THE BANWEN IRONWORKS

It was good day so I managed to get out and complete leg 2 of my Tour of Neath-Port Talbot. A circular loop from Glynneath to the Sarn Helen cafe in Banwen and back through the Maesgwyn Wind Farm.

The majority of the walk was on bridleways and I did come across a marker for a 'Vale of Neath walk' although I've been unable to find anything about this walk on the web. I popped into the South Wales Miners' Library at the Dove Workshop in Banwen because I'd read about it and I was being nosey. More info on this below.

South Wales Miners' Library, Dove Workshops, Banwen. - Banwen Library is a branch of the South Wales Miners’ Library and is based at the DOVE Workshop, Banwen, in the Dulais Valley. This was opened in 1989 to support the pioneering Community University of the Valleys. The library was enlarged and refurbished in 1993 and 2002. The library is primarily for the use of Swansea University students studying at Banwen, but any registered student and member of staff is entitled to borrow items from the Library. Banwen Library is OPEN TO ALL on a Wednesday 9.00am - 3.00pm during term time, members of the public are most welcome to visit. For further information ring 01792 518603. or visit http://www.swansea.ac.uk/iss/banwen/

SWANSEA UNIVERSITY houses the South Wales Coalfield Collection, an extensive archive of material relating to coal mining in Wales. For more information........... CLICK HERE

The battery conked out on my Garmin so unfortunately there is no route info available yet.

The main path I wanted to follow this evening was overgrown so I ended up following my nose through a brambly wood and ended up a bit skewiff. I'd expected this to happen which is why I had one of Dan Jones' walking sticks with me. It became my best friend for quite a while. My new route for the evening was a short right of way through Nantllechau near Pont Melin Fach, where they are rebuilding the bridge. Not recommended if you don't like mud.

Included in the walk are some of the waterfalls in the area, Sgwd Gwladys, Sgwd Ddwili Uchaf, Sgwd Ddwili Isaf and the Horseshoe Falls. Unfortunately the river had dropped quite a bit in the last 48 hours (previous to this it was pumping) so the waterfalls were running as normal which is spectacular in itself but not super-duper spectacular which is how they are in flood.