Taff Bargoed Valley

The Taff Bargoed (Welsh: Afon Taf Bargoed) is a river and valley near Pontypridd in South Wales, and lies off the Abercynon roundabout on the A470 road, and is approximately 14 miles from Cardiff. The main settlements are Nelson, Edwardsville, Quakers Yard, Treharris, Trelewis, and Bedlinog. The valley is situated where the three County Boroughs of Caerphilly, Rhondda Cynon Taff, and Merthyr Tydfil meet.

Originally a collection of farms, from the early 1800s the valley was industrialised through coal mining, developing a rich Industrial heritage. During the Industrial Revolution the area was home to the Trelewis Drift Mine, the Taff Merthyr Colliery and the Deep Navigation collieries.

The coal mines closed in the 1980s, and since then the valley has been extensively redeveloped. The culvert through which the river used to run has been blocked off and the river allowed to flow naturally. Two lakes were built and areas were set aside with weirs for canoeing. Paths and bridleways were made linking Treharris and Trelewis and the site of the former Trelewis Drift Mine was converted into the Taff Bargoed Centre with the help of a grant from the Millennium Commission, and became the Welsh International Indoor Climbing Centre. This has one of the biggest climbing walls in the United Kingdom.

...
Wikipedia