93) Footbridge along the Afan, between Velindre and Cwmavon

A little further down the path which runs between Ynys y Gored and the river, you come to this metal footbridge. I have seen anglers fishing from the bridge, and from the sides, but none were there when I made this sketch. In the summer it can be a very pleasant walk along the path as far as Cwmavon, although a few days of rain can render it very muddy. When my children were young, I used to take them just past the bridge where there was the most fantastic place for skimming stones across the river – not when anyone was fishing, mind you.

92) Ynys Y Gored - The House on the Hill

Here’s a question for you. Which is the oldest house in this picture? Answer – the one on the hill. I’ll come back to that in a minute. The other houses were built on what used to be the depot of Scott’s the builders. It’s a good location, right by the River Afan, and the houses themselves look very pleasant – far nicer than Scott’s yard used to be. I used to live in Velindre, and I fancy these were being built when we moved away to another part of town. As for the house on the hill, well that was there when I arrived in 1986. In fact, judging by the architectural style, I’d say it was probably built in the late 60s or the 70s. My wife and I nicknamed it Tracy Island after the very similar house on the eponymous island in Thunderbirds. The kids had no idea what we meant. . . until the Thunderbirds revival in the 90s, that is.

86) St. John The Baptist Church, Glyncorrwg

Glyncorrwg is a small community in the valley of the River Corrwg, quite close to  Cymmer. Up until the 1970s it was very much a coal mining community, but since the decline of the industry, and a lot of people left the area to seek work elsewhere. Since the 1990s when the local community decided to take advantage of the local scenery and complemented it with a series of ponds along the narrow valley, and there’s a growing leisure industry based around mountain biking, canoeing and fishing.

As for St. John the Baptist, well, I haven’t been able to find out when the current church was built, but there’s been a church in the community for centuries. One suggestion for the derivation o the name Glyncorrwg suggests that it may be derived from St. Curig.

I like this building, and I was surprised to learn that it isn’t a listed building at all.

80) British Lion Pub, Cwmavon

I really have no other reason to include this one - other than that it is a nice looking building too - other than the only time I have ever been in it was to play in a quiz, more than 2 decades ago. My team and I were well beaten, where we actually expected to win. From which I learned a valuable lesson - if you can't deal with losing in a quiz, then learn a lot of stuff and become a better quizzer. This is one of the last buildings before Cwmavon melts into Pontrhydyfen. 

79) Duffryn Rhondda Post Office

Duffryn Rhondda is a small community in the Afan Valley, between Pontrhydyfen and Cymmer. There's not a lot to see of it from the main Afan Road, apart from this rather impressive post office and convenience store. It has a magnificent backdrop with the forested hills, against which its freshly painted white walls stand out proudly. 

74) Pontrhydyfen Aqueduct

This is the other piece of monumental engineering for which Pontrhydyfen is justly famous. While it doesn’t have as many arches as the old railway viaduct (Number 66) Pontrhydyfen Viaduct)Pontrhydyfen Viaduct) and it’s a mottled grey, which I find less appealing than the viaduct’s red brick, this structure really bestrides the village. Add to that the fact that it’s an aqueduct, and you’ve got a very imposing and interesting structure. Researching this post I found a post written in the mid 80s for the schools’ Domesday Project – which explained that it was

“built in 1825 to supply water to the Blast Furnaces in Oakwood. It has 4 arches,is 459ft in length,75ft in height and 14ft wide. The bridge cost £16,000 pounds to build. Now it is used for cars and pedestrians. In February 1985 cracks were discovered on the Aqueduct and it was closed, thus cutting off a pedestrian access to Oakwood.”

I didn’t know that cars were ever allowed across – it is very narrow, and I wouldn’t have enjoyed driving across it. I’m delighted to say that the aqueduct seems pretty secure now, and I’ve walked across it many times.

67) The Refresh - former Cymmer Railway Station

This building is both another connection with railways, and also another example of a good building being repurposed. Like the former Cynonville Station (Number 45 of my 100 Faces of Port Talbot - Former Cynonville Station) Cymmer Station was closed, and the tracks ripped up. Several miles along the same cycle track that passes through Cynonville, the Station found a new lease of life as the “Refresh”, short for the Refreshment Rooms. It’s a great place, and I’m particularly fond of it since twenty years ago, my father in law and I used to run from the car park in Pontrhydyfen all the way to Cymmer, and the Refresh was always a welcome sign that we’d be turning round and heading back, and the incline is very gently downhill on the way back. 

With this photo I had to ‘cheat’ a bit to make the sketch from the vantage point I wanted. From the main road to Port Talbot, you get a view down to the Refresh, but it’s so far away that I couldn’t see it well enough to make the sketch. So I took a photo using the zoom lens of my camera, and the sketch is based on the photo that I took.

66) Pontrhydyfen Viaduct

Some villages have all the luck. Pontrhydyfen isn’t very big, but it is one of my favourite corners of Port Talbot. Most people who have heard of the village could tell you that it’s the birthplace of Richard Burton – true – and some could even tell you that it’s also the birthplace of Ivor ‘Zulu’ Emmanuel. While I respect this, it’s not the reason why I like it so much. The main reasons are two large scale pieces of civil engineering, the Aqueduct, and this Viaduct. The single track railway line which used to cross its ten arches was still working when I was born in 1964, but only just, closing for good in December of that year. As it should be, it is Grade II listed, and I’ve taken many pleasant walks across it in my time.

61) Former St. John's Church, Pontrhydyfen

Any urban sketching expedition can turn out to be a voyage of discovery. Or, to put it another way, I never set out intending to sketch this building. Pontrhydyfen, probably most famous for being the birthplace of Richard Burton, has two remarkably picturesque structures in the shape of its aqueduct, and its viaduct. Those were actually what I set out to sketch on the day that I made this one. There is a road, accessible to pedestrians, which goes across the Aqueduct, and I followed this one away from the centre of Pontrhydyfen, and round the corner, and lo and behold, I came upon this. It was previously St. John’s Church, but now it’s a charming looking residence, and I take my hat off to the people who have converted it. I couldn’t resist sketching it there and then.

48) The Rolling Mill Public House, Cwmavon

Here’s an old Port Talbot quiz question. Which was the first pub in Port Talbot opened after the end of World War II? Answer – this one, the Rolling Mill in Cwmavon. It takes its name from part of the steelworks.

45) Afan Argoed Country Park- Former Cynonville Station

In the Afan Valley, between Pontrhydyfen and Cymmer, Port Talbot can boast the idyllic Afan Argoed Country Park. Back in my running days this was a great venue, and it’s very much a mecca for mountain bikers. Amongst the trails which pass through the park is one which is based on an old railway line. The track has long since been removed – during the 1960s Beeching reforms, I believe – but the platforms of the old Cynonville Station still remain, with a stone barbecue shelter having been obligingly built since. They are charmingly overgrown too, which all adds to the atmosphere of the place. Lovely.

44) Former Bryn Siriol Senior Citizens' Centre, Cymmer

I knew nothing about this building when I made this sketch other than the fact that I recalled passing it as I drove through Cymmer a couple of years ago, and thought it would be a good subject for a sketch. What it is, is the former Bryn Siriol Senior Citizen’s Centre which closed several years ago. It began life, I believe, as rural council offices, and has always served the community of Cymmer in one civic role or another. From the sketch it looks in quite decent nick, but sadly seems quite dilapidated when you get up closer to it.