How to get there
About Pontygwaith
Pontygwaith is owned by the Merthyr Tydfil Anglers
Association. The South East Wales Rivers Trust was invited
to restore and develop the reserve as a key part of their
GŴyl Taf project, which is focused on highlighting the
recovery of the river to local communities.
Volunteers work on the site every month tackling the
bracken and other invasive weeds, planting trees, repairing
fences and stiles and rebuilding the walls. Future plans
include installing shallow ponds to encourage amphibians
and improving the paths.
Our Supporters
Walk
Ride
Cycle
On Foot & Bike
Explore
The Taff Trail and Trevithick Trail run together through the
middle of the reserve, making it a good place to stop for
a break to explore.
By Train
The top entrance to the reserve is via the footpath that
leads downhill from the entrance to Quakers Yard station.
Take care when crossing the track into the reserve.
By Car
Leave the A470 at the roundabout and take the A472 to
the next roundabout. Take the first exit onto the A4054
and go for approximately 2 miles to Edwardsville. Take
the left turn into Windsor Rd, and then second left and
right into Taff Vale, following the signs to the station. Take
the footpath across the track into the reserve.
Merthyr Tydfil Angling
Association
Want to know more?
If you would like to find out more about the GŴyl Taf
project or the work of the South East Wales Rivers
Trust, please contact Jen Pilkington on 01443 824919 or
[email protected]
@GwylTaf
gwyltafproject
www.gwyltaf.org.uk
Pontygwaith
Nature
Reserve
Where History and Nature Meet
Nature
History
The Merthyr Tydfil Anglers Association owns Pontygwaith
Nature Reserve. The River Taff, its steep valley sides, rocky
banks and flat grassland help create and support different
habitats of ancient deciduous woodland, wildflower
meadows and wetlands. This diverse area is a perfect
location for nature lovers of all ages.
The name “Pontygwaith” means “Bridge to work” or
“Bridge of the Ironworks” and probably refers to a small
ironworks that was set up in about 1583. Little now
remains of the original village, but a terrace of ten houses
and a farm were inhabited until about 1977.
Tadpole
Wood Mouse
The river is home to fly nymphs, shrimps, small
crustaceans and small fish such as bullhead.
Anglers can find trout, salmon and eels all
along the Taff. Attracted by the abundance of
food many birds can be seen from the riverside
such as ducks, herons, dippers, cormorants
and gulls. If you are lucky you might spot a
kingfisher as well.
In
Wild Flower Meadow
Moving away from the river are the woods,
wetlands and meadows. Turn over a stone
and you might see a slow worm or a lizard
but be careful in the summer as adder have
been spotted amongst the ferns and long
grass. More likely you will see minibeasts of all
descriptions or possibly a toad. The wildflower
meadows are home to many moths and
butterflies such as Brimstones, Red Admirals,
Peacocks and Ringlets.
You will often see buzzards and kestrels as they hunt
for small mammals such as wood mice and voles.
Woodpeckers, nuthatches, wrens and other common
garden bird varieties all visit the reserve to feed.
By the late 1700s a tram road had been
constructed alongside the river to enable
horses or men to pull trucks of iron ore, coal or
wood along cast-iron rails from the ironworks
in Merthyr, through Pontygwaith, to loading
quays on the Glamorganshire Canal near
Abercynon.
February
1804,
Foxgloves
Richard
Trevithick’s
Heron
experimental steam engine, the Penydarren
Locomotive, pulled 5 wagons carrying 10 tons
of iron and about 70 men along the 9-mile
route. Unfortunately, both the engine and the
track suffered several breakdowns, so although
the principles of transportation using steam
trains on rails were proven, practical trains
didn’t become available for about 20 years.
Slow Worm
Red Admiral
From the mid 1800’s, iron and coal was largely
transported using railway links between
Merthyr and Cardiff, so the tram road gradually fell into
disuse. Today, the Trevithick Trail is marked by signs
and some display boards, outlining this historic event,
along with some unique creature sculptures by Richard
Renshaw.