What to do and see - Beth i'w wneud a gweld

There's a lot to do and see in Abertillery and the surrounding area whether you're coming for a few hours or a day.

Enjoy the superb beauty, varied wildlife and rich heritage of the area with a variety of easy and more difficult bracing walks. These include the Tyleri Valley (Cwmtillery Lakes and Reservoir area), Rose Heyworth Woodlands and the Abertillery Park - Ebbw Fach river walk.

The top end of the Tyleri Valley (Cwmtillery) is rightly considered as one of the jewels in the crown of Blaenau Gwent.

It's hard to believe these days that just over twenty years ago, Cwmtillery housed a thriving colliery employing hundreds of men.

The top end of the valley though was unchanged by the industrial revolution and offers a superb and fascinating insight into how the valleys looked before the exploitation of coal and iron. Its north-western end has one of, if not the highest beech woodland in the British mainland overlooking the reservoir (left), where licensed fishing is available, built in the early 1900s to supply the rapidly growing town of Abertillery,

The area has a rich variety of wildlife and the only habitat in the UK to the area Silurian Moth. There is an abundance of birdlife and recently Red Kites have been spotted in the area.

You can walk or mountain bike along the bridleways that take you through areas that echo with history, close to Tudor farmsteads including the remains of Ty Nest Llywelyn (right), a farmhouse that played a vital role in the roots of the early non-conformist church movement in Wales.

The pathways trail over the reputedly-haunted mountains and moorland, past the cold-water springs of Twyn Ffynhonnau Oerion to the world-heritage site at Blaenafon. Southwards further down the valley towards Abertillery is the lower lake at Cwmtillery where locals enjoy fishing and walking.

The little church of St Paul's overlooks this lake. Adjacent to its graveyard, which has some fine Victorian and Edwardian obelisks, is a small nature area, Coed Blaentyleri Bach, again alive with a variety of wildlife. Just to the south of the lake is a monument to William Williams, killed by soldiers in the Chartist uprising of 1839.
 

The lakes area is now under consideration for designation as a local nature reserve whilst a new community-led project, called CALON, is seeking to provide a new base for locals and visitors to the area so they can enjoy its heritage, tranquillity and splendour.

From the lower lakes area (left), it is now possible to take the newly-established Cwmtillery-Rose Heyworth trail around the valley with spectacular views overlooking the town of Abertillery into the parallel Ebbw Fach valley, ending up at the Rose Heyworth Woodlands, which comprise the ancient deciduous woodlands of Coedcae Tyleri and Coedcae Tyle.

These woodlands are a beautiful area, home to the Marsh Fritillary and Pearl Bordered Fritillary Butterflies and it is hard to envisage that just twenty years previously, a coal mine existing close by.

Just to the southwest of this area is a beautiful riverside walk along the Ebbw Fach (right) which will take you into Abertillery Park, home to Abertillery RFC, one of the most famous in Wales. On Saturdays in the rugby season, it is possible to see the Green & Whites play.

A scheme is currently underway to create a new trail that will span the length of the Ebbw Fach river and work has already started on the riverside walk at Six Bells, a couple of miles further south, where close by the memorial to the 45 miners killed in the 1960 colliery disaster can be found.

Other plans are afoot to establish more heritage trails in the locale including the Gelli Crug area.
 

In Abertillery town centre, an interesting trail will take you round some of the sights that offer an insight into its spectacular growth to become the second biggest town in Monmouthshire (after Newport).

A good starting place is the mosaic (left) created by Kenneth Budd which gives an overview of the history of the area from farming through to tin-making, brewing through to the coal mining as well as the religious heritage.

From here, a short walk past the last stages of the Afon (River) Tyleri before it meets the Ebbw Fach will take you up to the Victorian Church of St. Michael's, originally established in 1854 and rebuilt in 1890s. To the western side of the church, a viewing platform (Canon's View), part of the recently established Green Walk, gives vistas over the wooded slopes leading down to the Afon Tyleri and across to the forested heights of Mynydd Arael (mountain)

In July 2008, the church (right) will permanently host a series of works based on the Stations of the Cross by the highly-respected and well-renowned artist, John Selway, who lives and works in the town.

Opposite the church is the second-oldest Victorian shopping Arcade in Wales, which houses the town's oldest established shop, S. M. Ash & Sons formed in 1900.

The town's main shopping streets, Church Street and Somerset Street with some fine imposing Victorian buildings are currently undergoing much-needed regeneration and the Foundry Bridge is being renewed.

Situated right in the centre of the town within the same building in Market Street are Abertillery & District Museum and the Metropole Conference and Cultural Centre.

The excellent and newly refurbished museum, run by the highly-knowledgeable hard-working volunteers of Abertillery and District Museum Society, including curator Don Bearcroft, houses a fascinating set of collections focusing on the history of the the town and the surrounding area. So why not spend away a couple of hours there enjoying the superb exhibits (details on the museum website above) and enjoy an entertaining and informative chat over a cuppa with Don and the others.

Above the museum is The Met (above), in its hey day the social centre of Abertillery. After falling into disrepair, it has been restored through European Funding and the support of the local community to become a fantastic state-of-the-art conference and cultural centre.

The Met is once again a cultural focus for the town and stages events from jazz, blues and rock to arts and crafts exhibitions and workshops, whilst the centre is also home to Abertillery's very own professional dance company, Ffin Dance.

The town hosts an increasingly popular Blues Festival in mid-July in the magnificent setting of Abertillery Park whilst earlier in the same month, the rapidly growing community festival Aberfest comprises a wide range of community and national events.

With choirs, operatic and dramatic companies, the town boasts a wealth of cultural activities.

The town is also lucky to boast excellent sporting facilities including a new sports centre (left) with indoor swimming pool, sports hall, dance studios, fitness suites and more [01495 212206 for more details].

Just to the south of Abertillery, overlooking the town is the ancient St Illtyd Church (below), over 800 years old.

The Friends of St Illtyd run out a series of events at the church throughout the year as shown on their website.

Close to Abertillery are other excellent attractions:

Blaenafon World Heritage Site


The World Heritage site at Blaenafon is close by just over the mountainside. Go underground and experience a real coal mine at first hand at Big Pit, where many of the guides are former miners from the Abertillery collieries, or visit the new visitors centre, the ironworks or the Workmen's Hall.

Nantyglo Roundhouses

See how ironmaster Crawshay Bailey planned to defend himself in case of workers' insurrection with the Roundhouses at nearby Nantyglo.