River Garw

Brynmenyn is a small village located at the confluence of the Garw and Ogmore rivers in south Wales, around 4 miles north of Bridgend, and it also in the Bridgend County Borough council area. The village has its own primary school.

Bryngarw Country Park is made up of 48 hectares (120 acres) and is situated on the west bank of the Afon Garw, at the mouth of the Garw Valley in the Bridgend County Borough, Wales. The western boundary is marked by the Brynmenyn-Bettws road and the River Garw is its eastern boundary. 18 hectares of open meadowlands, subjects of grazing tenancy agreements and hence not open to the public, surrounds the Country Park. The Country Park and Bryngarw House occupies the remaining 30 hectares of the estate. Bryngarw House and its associated formal gardens (including the lawn, shrubbery, lake and oriental gardens) account for 1.5 hectares of the park. The rest of the park is predominantly wooded (broadleaf, coniferous and mixed woodland) with areas of meadow, wetland and freshwater, formal garden and areas for amenity use.Bryngarw Country Park's mission statement is “Through the provision and maintenance of a mosaic of habitats, rich natural environments and historic formal gardens, with targeted access and interpretation; to provide a ‘Bridge’ for visitors, linking people and nature, past and present, urban and countryside, heritage and natural history And so to give access to the full range of physical, mental and social health benefits which that connection brings.”In 2010, the park won its first Green Flag award for providing outstanding levels of conservation, preservation, sustainability and provision of public amenities and services. The park then received the award again in 2011. Bryngarw Park is a Grade II listed park and garden on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales. The house is a Grade II listed building and lies within the Strategic Coalfield Plateau, Landscape Conservation Area, described in local legislation (Ogwr Borough Local Plan and emerging Urban Development Plan). This designation refers to the wooded, gently sloping agricultural and parkland landscape that characterizes the park. In 2010, the park was designated as a Key Strategic Site under the Valleys Partnership Initiative Action Program and is subsequently receiving funding from the Wales Assembly Government (WAG) Environmental Improvement Grant and Bridgend County Borough Council's Strategic Regeneration Fund. The park has also been awarded grant money from ‘One Historic Garden’ Centre of Excellence Scheme and has been designated one of eight ‘Visit Wales Sustainable Tourism, Historic Gardens Centre of Excellence’ sites. This money from both funds will be used in autumn of 2011 to update and expand the existing visitor center, refurbish the café and toilets, improve the existing car park and to significantly enhance the oriental gardens.

Brynmenyn railway station served the village of Brynmenyn, in the historic county of Glamorgan, Wales, from 1873 to 1958 on the Garw Valley Railway.

Abergarw is a village in Bridgend county. It lies at the confluence of the River Garw (Rough River) and River Ogwr river valleys, about 4 miles (6.4 km) to the north of the town of Bridgend itself, between the villages of Brynmenyn and Bryncethin.

Ynysawdre Comprehensive School was a public secondary school located in Tondu in Bridgend County Borough which catered for ages between 11 and 18. Beginning in Autumn Term 2011, Ynysawdre Comprehensive officially closed and its former students merged with those of Ogmore School to become Coleg Cymunedol Y Dderwen (translated to The Oak Community College).

Coleg Cymunedol Y Dderwen is a large English-medium comprehensive school serving the Garw and Ogmore valleys. The school was formed as a result of a merger of Ogmore Comprehensive School and Ynysawdre Comprehensive School in 2011. The school initially operated as a split site school, with students being taught on the campus of both of the previous schools, but in 2013 the school moved to its new building located next to the old Ynysawdre site. The new building, designed by Scott Brownrigg and constructed by Leadbitter won the BREEAM Outstanding award in 2013.The school was the first in Wales to issue all of its students with an iPad Mini as educational tools, designed to inspire creativity and aid hands on learning. Estyn has given Coleg Cymunedol Y Dderwen an overall performance rating of Unsatisfactory.For 2017, Coleg Cymunedol Y Dderwen was placed in the Amber support category by the Welsh Government.

Ogmore Comprehensive school, formerly known as Ogmore Grammar School, was a secondary school located in the Bridgend County Borough in Wales, UK. Ogmore Comprehensive School's mottos was “Preparing Pupils for life". The school was established in 1972 and covered Year 7 to Year 13, ages 11 to 18 in the UK. The school colors were Navy Blue and Red, with coordinating navy blue colored uniforms. It closed in 2011.

Ynysawdre is a small community in Bridgend County Borough, south Wales. It is located to the east of Aberkenfig in Wales, and comprises the two villages of Tondu and Brynmenyn. The name Ynysawdre is also usually used for a small section of Tondu. At the 2001 census, the population of the community was 3,698, reducing to 3,367 at the 2011 Census.

Bryncethin (which means dark hill or dun hill) is a small village and electoral ward in the County Borough of Bridgend, South Wales, located just north of Junction 36 of the M4 Motorway and approximately 3 miles north of the county town of Bridgend. The population of the ward was 1,319 in 2011.Bryncethin is surrounded by the villages of Aberkenfig, Sarn, Tondu, Ynysawdre, and Abergarw, Brynmenyn the last of which stands at the confluence of the River Garw (Afon Garw) with the larger River Ogmore (Ogmore River).

Sarn is a village (and electoral ward) in Bridgend County Borough, Wales, about three miles (five kilometres) north of Bridgend and which lies just east of the confluence of the Ogmore and Llynfi rivers. It is located to the east of Aberkenfig, south of Brynmenyn, and south-east of Tondu. It is around 15 minutes' walk from the M4 and the McArthurGlen Group Bridgend Designer Outlet.

The River Llynfi (Welsh: Afon Llynfi), is one of three main tributaries of the River Ogmore (Welsh: Afon Ogwr). It runs for around 10 miles from its source north of Maesteg and flows generally southwards through the Llynfi Valley to the confluence with the River Ogmore and the River Garw at Aberkenfig. Its main tributaries are Nant Cwm-du and Nant Cedfyw which enter on its left bank and Nant Crynwydd, Nant Sychbant and Nant y Gadlys on its right bank.The Llynfi has endured a long period of industrialisation and coal mining especially around Maesteg. There was an ironworks and brick works at Tondu. Industrialisation and poor provision of sewerage led to severe water pollution of the river. In the second half of the 20th century, whilst the impact of coal mining diminished, new industries such as cosmetics and toiletries, paper making and sewage disposal continued to maintain the Llynfi in an almost abiotic condition. Strong enforcement action against a number of industries helped to ensure a steady improvement in quality into the 21st century. Map sources for: the source on Mynydd Caerau and confluence with the Ogmore.

Tondu railway station is a railway station serving the village of Tondu, Bridgend county borough, South Wales. It is located on the Maesteg Line from Cardiff via Bridgend. Passenger services are operated by Transport for Wales Rail as part of the Valley Lines network for local services.