Rhymney Valley

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The Rhymney Valley (Welsh: Cwm Rhymni) is a valley encompassing the villages of Fochriw, Pontlottyn and the town of Rhymney in south-east Wales, formerly famous for its coal mining and iron industries.

[edit] Geography

Created as a glacial valley, now the Rhymney River flows largely south to Rumney, a district of Cardiff. The river is the ancient boundary between Glamorgan and Monmouthshire.

[edit] History

This valley is one of the South Wales Valleys, and its history largely follows theirs: sparsely populated until the nineteenth century; industrialised for iron, steel and coal; industrial decline in the 1980s and 1990s. The Rhymney Valley produced a miner poet, Idris Davies famous for his poems associated with the locality and the stuggles of its people.

The 1990s brought improved road connections to the valley - a dual carriageway running north from Caerphilly - increasing access to and from Cardiff and the M4 motorway, and increasing the numbers of commuters from the valley to Cardiff. The area is now one of the most populous in Wales.

The Rhymney Valley hosted the National Eisteddfod in 1990.

[edit] Transport

• The Rhymney Valley railway runs through the valley.