Does anyone know the Cwmgwrach area?

[krhall]

I know there are plenty of peeps from Wales on here, so do you know anything about the area of:
Cwmgwrach

If so what can you tell me about it?


My mum has decided she is going home to Wales and has found a place here she likes, but she isn't the most practical person in the world so I want to find out as much as possible about the place.


Thanks,
Kev

[cod_king]

I grew up in the next village (Glynneath) and went to school in Cwmgwrach, I haven't lived there for 20+ years but used to go back regularly until my parents passed away a few years ago.

Like most villages in the area its a old mining village, when I was growing up there were two mines - both those have closed but a few years ago a new mine opened just on the edge of the village (Unity mine). There is an open cast mine on the mountain above Cwmgwrach but neither impact that much on the village. Unity coal goes out by train and the opencast coal goes out by road via Rhigos. Thats the only industry left in the area so its pretty depressed in terms of employment - but the other side of that is that it makes for relatively cheap housing.

Cwmgrach itself is small so relies on Glynneath for a lot of services - not that Glynneath is particularly large. Not a lot of shops left in the Cwmgwrach just a newsagent now I think, but a Co-op in Glynneath, or Tescos in Neath. One pub left in Cwmgwrach plus the rugby club, lots more in Glynneath though. My mother used to be in the Womens Institute which is based in Glynneath, if thats of interest to her. There is an Anglican church and a chapel in Cwm if religion is important.

Its about 3 miles from the edge of the Brecon Beacons national park and in particular the waterfalls area of Pont Nedd Fechan (or Pont Neath Vaughan to the anglophiles). Beautiful area if you like walking (or caving or climbing - not sure if that would apply to your mother!).

Travel is pretty good there is a dual carriageway down the valley which gets you to the M4 at Llandarcy in about 20 minutes. In the opposite direction it takes you via the Heads of the Valley road to the M50, midlands and north. There is main line train station at Neath with direct trains to London which is about 20 minutes away by car. Public transport used to be so-so - buses down the valley to Neath (~40 mins) and Swansea (~1 hour) - they used to be every half an hour but nowadays I wouldn't be so sure.

All in all a quiet, fairly rural setting but with relatively good travel connections.