Pontyberem railway station

Pentremawr Colliery was a coal mine, located in the Gwendraeth valley in Carmarthenshire, South Wales. Due to the angle and depth of the anthracite in this part of Wales, Pentremawr was a slant mine, and hence access and extraction of the coal did not need a shaft. However, the commercial extraction of coal is limited by geological faults in the area. The first two attempts were aborted in 1870, after a huge fault was encountered. But eventually three slants known as Capel Ifan No's 1, 2 and 3 were opened to the Gwendraeth, Braslyd, Gras and Trichwart seams. By 1896, there were 160 men working at the colliery, and it was during this time of operation that Colliery Chief Mechanic Jones Jones (1879–1976), invented the renowned Pontyberem safety lamp.In 1913, a fourth slant was driven to work the Pumquart seam, and so by 1923 there were 956 men working at the colliery. In 1927, Pentremawr Colliery Company Ltd. was absorbed into the Amalgamated Anthracite Combine, with records showing that 1,007 men employed. The company ploughed in money to fix problems associated with the initial local geological fault, resulting in the discovery of the 8-foot-thick (2.4 m) Big Vein seam in 1939. Post World War II, in 1956 900 men produced 226,273 tons. Due to the geological faults in the area, the mine was susceptible to incursion from methane gas. Two miners were killed from explosions caused by methane gas and coal dust explosions in 1945, and one in 1965. But on 1 September 1966, Pentremawr was the site of the largest outburst of methane and fine coal dust in the UK, when 1,000 tons of coal dust erupted from the Big Vein: no one was killed on that occasion. However, on 6 April 1971, six men were killed and 69 others suffered varying degrees of asphyxia.Developing geological problems brought about the closure of the No.4 Pumquart slant in 1968. In 1974, the National Coal Board amalgamated Pentremawr with the Cynheidre Colliery, which itself closed in 1989.

Pontyberem () is a village and community situated in the Gwendraeth Valley halfway between Carmarthen and Llanelli in Carmarthenshire, Wales. As of the 2001 Census, the population was recorded as 2,829, reducing to 2,768 at the 2011 Census.The community is bordered by the communities of: Llanddarog; Gorslas; Llannon; Llanelli Rural; and Llangyndeyrn, all being in Carmarthenshire.

Mynyddcerrig is a village in Carmarthenshire, Wales. Mynyddcerrig once had a primary school, Ysgol Mynyddcerrig, which closed in 2007, however, it still has a working men's club and a public park.

Waunfawr is an enclosed pasture that is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in Carmarthen & Dinefwr, Wales.

Coedydd y Garn is an outcrop of limestone that is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in Carmarthen & Dinefwr, Wales.

Cwmmawr for Tumble railway station, Cwm Mawr railway station or Cwmmawr railway station was opened in 1913 to timetabled passenger services. It continued to serve the inhabitants of the Cwmmawr area and hinterland between 1913 and 1953; it was one of several basic stations opened on the Burry Port and Gwendraeth Valley Railway in Carmarthenshire, Wales.

Ysgol y Gwendraeth was a secondary comprehensive school for pupils aged 11 to 18 in the Gwendraeth Valley, Carmarthenshire, Wales. Situated in the village of Drefach, it had 312 pupils in 2012. The School was effectively closed in 2013 when it was merged with Ysgol Maes Yr Yrfa and teaching at the Ysgol y Gwendraeth site in Drefach ceased. This merger eventually led to Ysgol Maes Y Gwendraeth. The school was originally a Grammar School known as Gwendraeth Grammar School, or Gwendraeth Valley Grammar School. The original school building was built in 1927.The school promoted the Welsh language, Welsh history, and Welsh culture. Some subjects were available to be taught in the Welsh language if requested; otherwise the lessons were taught in the English language only. There was also a Sixth Form College and the school additionally housed the Garreglwyd Autistic Unit and Annex. The majority of the pupils and staff could speak Welsh. Many staff members lived in or near the valley and were thus naturally immersed in all aspects of the life of the community. Ysgol Y Gwendraeth earned the 2001-2002 Schools Curriculum Award. The feeder primary schools were Category A schools, where Welsh is the language spoken and taught up to the age of seven and where Welsh culture is actively promoted with the assistance of Menter Cwm Gwendraeth, which promotes Welsh and Welsh culture and history.

Cynheidre Colliery was a coal mine located in the Gwendraeth valley, in Carmarthenshire, South Wales. Opened in 1954, it closed in 1989. Cynheidre was developed by the National Coal Board as one of the West Wales "super pits" alongside Abernant Colliery in the River Amman valley, a post-World War II investment intended to keep economic coal mining a viable industry in the area. Created to exploit 196 square miles (510 km2) of deep lying anthracite seams, it was envisaged to eventually encompass the working of the drift mines at the Great Mountain Colliery and Pentremawr.Between 1954 and 1956, shafts No.1 (upcast 798 yards (730 m)) and No.2 (downcast 786 yards (719 m)) were sunk 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Pentremawr, to give economic access to the deeper lying extents of the anthracite seams which couldn't be worked economically by slant mining.In 1955, shaft No.3 was created. Originally sunk for ventilating Glynhebog drift mine, it was extended to a depth of 760 yards (690 m) to meet the workings at Cynheidre, providing an upcast. By 1960, the colliery employed 650 men producing 30,757 tons of coal.In 1962, shaft No.4 downcast was created next to shaft No.3, to a depth of 700 yards (640 m). After these developments, Pentremawr was integrated under Cynheidre in 1973, connected both underground as well as overground by the Llanelly and Mynydd Mawr Railway.From both the structure of local geology and knowledge from workings at Pentremawr, it was known that the coal field suffered from methane gas intrusion. On 6 April 1971 six miners lost their lives in an explosion of methane gas and fine coal dust. In 1972, Cynheidre produced 472,000 tons of coal employing 1,430 men.Cynheidre was to be the site of the proposed Carway Fawr Drift Mine. Development work started in 1986, but along with the residual Cynheidre underground workings, closed in January 1989 while employing 1,043 men.In 2006, the site was proposed as the location of a human waste-to-compost plant, but was turned down on planning permission. In 2009 Gwendraeth Valley Recycling Ltd established a Waste Transfer Station / Recycling Yard at the site of the former Carway Fawr winding shed/ control room and yard, within Cynheidre Colliery to the North of shafts 1 and 2.

Mynydd Llangyndeyrn is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Carmarthen & Dinefwr, Wales, and a hill reaching 263 metres (863 feet), which is a Marilyn. Mynydd Llangyndeyrn and the SSSI are located west of Drefach and north of Pontyberem. The SSSI is approximately 1.3 miles (2.1 km) east-west and 0.3 miles (0.48 km) north-south, taking the approximate shape of a horns downwards shallow crescent.The SSSI citation for Mynydd Llangyndeyrn specifies that it is "notable as one of the larger upland semi-natural areas left in south-west Wales which, unlike most others, remains lightly grazed." The site features marshy grassland, wet heath, and dry heath, and hosts the marsh fritillary butterfly (Euphydryas aurinia).

This article describes the current heritage railway. For the historical railway, see Llanelly and Mynydd Mawr Railway.The Llanelli and Mynydd Mawr Railway is a heritage railway whose stated aims are to re-instate as much as possible of the former Llanelly and Mynydd Mawr Railway which closed in 1989.

Ynys Uchaf is a section of floodplain of the River Gwendraeth that is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in Carmarthen & Dinefwr, Wales.

Pont Henri (or Ponthenri) is a small rural village in Wales, located in the centre of the Gwendraeth Valley, halfway between the towns of Carmarthen and Llanelli. Most of the village comes under the Parliamentary constituency of Llanelli and the jurisdiction of Llanelli Rural Council. The rest of the village is represented by Carmarthen East and Dinefwr constituency and Llangendeirne Community Council. The electoral boundary in Pont-Henri follows the course of the Gwendraeth Fawr river. There are now no shops, although the village has one pub (The Baltic Inn) and a social club. Other facilities include a take-away, a community hall, a play area, a football pitch, a Baptist chapel and an industrial estate. Ponthenry railway station opened in 1909 and closed in 1953. Some of the village's famous residents include former Wales goalkeeper Ron Howells and former Wales Darts Captain Eric Burden. BBC Rugby correspondent Gareth Charles is also from Pont-Henri. Former Dragons professional Rugby Union player and Wales Under 20's international Nic Cudd is also from Ponthenri. In June 1989, a Westland WS-61 Sea King Helicopter encountered an issue and was forced to make an emergency landing on the village green, it then crashed onto the village green scattering debris in the vicinity and within 70 meters of the village school. One of the Rotor blades hit a nearby house, but nobody was injured in the incident.