Vale of Neath

Blaengwrach ( blyne-GRAHKH, Welsh: [ˌblainˈɡwraːχ]) is a community near Glynneath and Resolven in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales. It is also the name of an electoral ward of Neath Port Talbot county borough, which is a larger area than the Community. The principal settlement is Cwmgwrach, a village on the south side of the Neath valley, of which the eastern end is called Blaengwrach, which sometimes causes confusion.

Glyn Neath railway station served the town of Glynneath, in the historical county of Glamorganshire, Wales, from 1851 to 1964 on the Vale of Neath Railway.

Aberpergwm House (Welsh: Aberpergwm) is an abandoned and ruinous country house located in Glynneath, Wales. Within the grounds of the house sits the church of St. Cadoc, which is possibly of late medieval origin.

St. Cadoc's Church is a Church in Wales church in Glynneath, Wales. It is located in the grounds of the now derelict Aberpergwm House for which it was an estate church.

Aberpergwm is the site of a colliery in the Vale of Neath near Glynneath in south Wales.

Cwmrhyd-y-Gau railway station served the area of Cwm Rhyd-y-Gau, in the historical county of Glamorganshire, Wales, from 1935 to 1945 on the Vale of Neath Railway.

Coed Hills Rural Artspace is a sustainable community close to the village of St Hilary in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, approximately 8 miles (13 km) west of Cardiff. Set in 180 acres (0.73 km2) of woodland and pasture, the Artspace was established in 1997 and is designed following principles of low impact development, aiming to combine creativity with sustainability. There is an 8-acre market garden and a 2-acre forest garden, and the site is a venue for conferences, courses, weddings and events. The site is seasonally open to visitors and guided tours, and provides an educational resource via workshops that are run for schools, colleges and groups.

Rheola House is a Grade II* listed country house between Glynneath and Resolven, in the Neath valley, South Wales. Designed by John Nash, it was built between 1812 and 1814 for Nash's cousin, John Edwards. It passed through inheritance to members of the Edwards, Vaughan, and Lee families, until in 1939, with the house becoming run down, it was bought by an aluminium company for use as offices, and part of the land was put to industrial uses. In 2012 an application was made for housing on the industrialised area, to enable restoration of the house and a leisure complex to sustain the estate. The application was granted in 2014. The gardens and park around the house are designated Grade II on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.

Rheola is a small settlement in the county of Neath Port Talbot. It is situated between Resolven and Glynneath, on the B4242. The Neath Canal, A465 and River Neath all pass nearby. The settlement consists of Rheola House and its ancillary buildings, and stables, sited alongside Rheola Brook, which joins the River Neath 500 yards (metres) to the south. The Rheola Estate was the site of an aluminium factory from 1939 to 1981, although mainly used for coal screening in later years. The Rheola factory buildings were then used as a weekly market. In 2014, permission was granted for building 46 houses on the factory site, as an enabling development to renovate and secure the Grade II* listed Rheola House. The forest to the north of the Vale of Neath, Rheola Forest, is named after Rheola, and was the locations for the 2007 British National Mountain Biking Championships Downhill events. It was chosen as a special stage in the British Rally from 2006 to 2008.

Glynneath is the name of an electoral ward in Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. The electoral ward of Glynneath consists of some or all of the following settlements: Glynneath, Morfa Glas, Rheola, Crugau, Pont-walby, Bryn-awel, Pentreclwydau and Aber-pergwym in the parliamentary constituency of Neath. Most of the ward consists of woodland. The floor of the Vale of Neath crosses the ward on its south eastern edge. The biggest settlement in the ward is in the town of Glynneath near the northeast. The far north eastern areas of the ward consists of open farmland. Glynneath is bounded by the wards of Onllwyn to the north; Tawe Uchaf (in Powys) to the north-east; Rhigos (in Rhondda Cynon Taf) to the east; Blaengwrach to the south-east; Resolven to the south; Crynant to the south-west; and Seven Sisters to the west.

Glynneath (Welsh: Glyn-nedd "valley of the River Neath"), also spelt Glyn-neath and Glyn Neath, is a town, community and electoral ward lying on the River Neath in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales. It was formerly in the historic county of Glamorgan. Glynneath ward covers only part of the community, with some 840 electors included in the neighbouring ward of Blaengwrach. Industrialisation reached Glynneath when coal mining started in 1793, and rapidly expanded when the Neath Canal came to the town in 1775. Many features of the old canal still survive to the present time. There are waterfalls to the north east at Pontneddfechan near the Brecon Beacons and large parts of the rural area are heavily forested.

Hirfynydd is a 481-metre-high hill in Neath Port Talbot county borough in South Wales. A Roman road, Sarn Helen, runs along its entire northeast–southwest ridge-line, a route followed by a modern-day byway. To its west is Cwm Dulais and to its southeast is the Vale of Neath. The northern end of the ridge falls away to a broad upland vale containing the Afon Pyrddin and beyond which is the Brecon Beacons National Park. The larger part of the hill is afforested with conifers. In between the plantations are areas of past or present opencasting for coal.