| Clydach | |
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Clydach
Clydach shown within Monmouthshire |
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| Population | <2000 |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | SO225128 |
| Principal area | Monmouthshire |
| Ceremonial county | Gwent |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Postcode district | NP7 |
| Dialling code | 01873 |
| Police | Gwent |
| Fire | South Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| EU Parliament | Wales |
| UK Parliament | Monmouth |
| List of places: UK • Wales • Monmouthshire | |
Clydach is a village in Monmouthshire, Wales. Its nearest neighbours are the towns of Gilwern and Abergavenny.
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It is split by the A465 road (the 'Heads of the Valleys') into North Clydach and South Clydach.
Historically its main industry was based around the ironworks on the south side of the valley which have long since closed.
The community's only school, Clydach County primary school, closed its gates for the final time in July 2006 after a controversial decision by Monmouthshire County Council to shut it, despite the protests of local residents. The reasons for the school's closure appear to have been primarily financial with the Council seeing the school as having too few pupils to justify its funding, at the time of closure there were less than 30 pupils, with no pupils in years 5 or 6. Local residents claimed however that the closure would force the children affected to travel significant distances to attend other schools. However these children now attend schools in nearby villages and towns, Gilwern and Brynmawr. The school now is not used for any purpose, it has been left as a shell for the past 3 years. The ex headteacher is now headteacher of another local school, Llanover Primary.
The area around the village is popular for hillwalking with many routes tracing the beauty of the nearby Clydach Gorge [1] or Cwm Clydach, and the old trackbed of the Merthyr, Tredegar and Abergavenny Railway is a cycleway and walkway and the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal can be walked or travelled by narrow boat.
There is a picnic site and caravan park alongside the River Clydach, easily reached from the A465 Heads of the Valleys road. The ironworks are some 300 metres away, across the river. The ironworks were built during the late 18th century and are a Scheduled Ancient Monument. There are also limeworks.
The area is within the Brecon Beacons National Park close to the Blaenavon Industrial Landscape World Heritage Site and not far from Big Pit National Coal Museum. Clydach Gorge or Cwm Clydach has been designated a SSSI.