Pont-y-gwaith

Pontygwaith (Welsh,"Bridge to work" or "Bridge of the Ironworks") is a village in the Taff Valley, 9 km (6 miles) south of Merthyr Tydfil in Wales. A Sussex Ironmaster named Anthony Morley set up a small ironworks here in 1583.On 21 February 1804 Richard Trevithick ran the first ever steam locomotive along tracks, now known as the Merthyr Tramroad, carrying both iron ore and passengers, from Penydarren near Merthyr Tydfil, via Pontygwaith, south to Abercynon. There is little of the original village remaining today, which was inhabited and existed until approx 1977 as a terrace of ten houses and a farm. The site of the original village is accessible from the Taff Trail National cycle route 8. This leads down a heavily tree lined slope to the area that was the original village site.The bridge over the River Taff at Pontygwaith is a Grade II listed structure. and was featured in the Beauty and the Beast episode of the BBC's Merlin, where a girl has a picnic with a troll beneath the bridge.Pontygwaith today lacks many dwellings, but one notable exception is Pontygwaith Farm, located on the hill near the bridge, which offers tea room facilities. The gardens have occasionally been opened, for charity days, by the owners. The National Cycle Route 477 Taith Trevithick Trail heads up the east side of the valley from Pontygwaith to Trevithick's Tunnel - just south of Merthyr Tydfil, old stone sleepers can still be seen all around these trails on the east side of the valley where the famous tramroad ran. Cycle route 8 (the Taff Trail) passes through the village.

Mount Pleasant is a small village in the south of Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales. It lies about 1 km (2⁄3 mi) south of Merthyr Vale, along the A4054 road (the former route of the A470 to Cardiff) and between that road and the River Taff. The village is also known as "The Black Lion" after the old signal box, controlling passenger and coal lines from Merthyr Vale Colliery to Cardiff on the Taff Vale Railway.

Quakers Yard railway station serves the village of Edwardsville in the community of Treharris, Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. It is located on the Merthyr Tydfil branch of the Merthyr Line. Passenger services are provided by Transport for Wales.

Pontcynon is a small village of around 200 households within the Cynon Valley in the County Borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, near Abercynon. Most of the village consists of terraced housing fronting the B4275 Abercynon Road; but also consists of the adjoining streets of Pontcynon Terrace, Vale View and Cemetery Road.

Ynysboeth (or Ynys-boeth, translated as either 'hot island' or 'burnt river meadow' in Welsh) is a local community within the Mountain Ash (Aberpennar) postal district of the Cynon Valley (Cwm Cynon) in the County Borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, South East Wales. The community comprises the village of Ynysboeth itself, as well as the smaller neighbouring associated village of Tyntetown (or 'Tynte') to the north.Ynysboeth is located along the B4275 between Penrhiwceiber (around 1.5 miles (2 km) to the northwest), and Abercynon (around 1.5 miles (2 km) to the southeast), and is adjoined by the small village of Pontcynon to the south. Collectively the population of the area according to the 2011 Census was 2,036.

Merthyr Vale railway station is a railway station serving the villages of Merthyr Vale and Aberfan in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. It is located on the Merthyr branch of the Merthyr Line. Passenger services are provided by Transport for Wales.

Matthewstown Halt railway station served the community of Ynysboeth, in the historical county of Glamorgan, Wales, from 1914 to 1964 on the Aberdare line.

Treharris is a small town and community (and electoral ward) in the Taff Bargoed Valley in the south of Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, South Wales. It is located about 0.6 miles (1.0 km) west of Trelewis, from which it is separated by the Taff Bargoed river, and 0.9 miles (1.4 km) from Nelson in Caerphilly county borough and has a population of 6,356 from the 2011 Census. As a community, Treharris includes the villages of Quakers Yard and Edwardsville. Due to steepness and narrowness of both the Taff and Taff Bargoed valleys at Treharris several notable bridges and viaducts have been built in the area.

Bethania, Abercynon was an Independent chapel in Mountain Ash Road, Abercynon, Glamorgan, Wales. Services at Bethania were conducted in the Welsh language.

Quakers Yard or Quaker's Yard (Welsh: Mynwent y Crynwyr) is a village in the Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, situated where the Taff Bargoed Valley joins the Taff Valley. The settlement is part of the community of Treharris.

Incline Top railway station, later Top of the Incline was a short-lived early railway station on the Taff Vale Railway in South Wales, located at Penlocks, Treharris. The station was on the original section of the line between Abercynon and Quakers Yard, which was to the left of the present-day line. The eponymous Incline was a steep gradient of 1 in 22, and trains required a stationary winding engine (installed by Brunel) to surmount it. The station was accessible only by a steep flight of steps leading to the bottom of a deep cutting in the incline. The station's life was brief and it closed after 12 years. The original line was eventually abandoned completely and replaced in 1864.After the station closed, it was left to decay until being largely destroyed by a violent cyclone on 27 October 1913, a storm, which caused considerable damage across the district, including destroying the spire of St. Mary's Church, Glyntaff. The site of the station is now overgrown with trees and is not easily noticeable.

Merthyr Vale (Welsh: Ynysowen or Ynyswen) is a linear village and community in the Welsh county borough of Merthyr Tydfil. Lying on the A4054 road it is on the east bank of the River Taff. The community includes the villages of Aberfan on the opposite side of the Taff, Mount Pleasant and the village of Merthyr Vale itself.