A Love Letter To The Rhymney Valley
There aren’t many places on this island that get frowned on like The Valleys. Often the butt of jokes from across the border and even from our own cities and towns, the former industrial heart of Cymru and its inhabitants are seen as delinquents stuck in the last century. But despite all of that negativity, these communities put two fingers up to the rest, showing spirit like no other.
Historically like many of Cymru’s valleys, Cwm Rhymni remained sparsely populated up until the nineteenth century where industries such as coal, iron, and steel transformed this area into a key asset for Cymru alongside its neighbouring valleys. Railways connected us to docks in Cardiff, sending our produce all over the world with the coal industry especially being the major factor. Collieries were the heartbeat of every community, from Caerphilly all the way to the top in Rhymney. Most towns and villages here today quite simply wouldn’t exist if not for the pits, older generations still often point out NCB houses, sports teams formed from miners still play to this day. Industrial decline in Britain had a negative effect on communities up and down this island, arguably none were hit harder than South Wales’ miners. Closures of pits had an economic and social impact still felt to this very day, quite simply, the state left us to rot after years of reaping our exports. What were once thriving areas with a solid workforce were now stripped of their main employers, with no opportunities in replacement of the outgoing jobs, are now financially deprived and are often laughed at for this, especially from right-wingers from across the bridge who view us as nothing but cave dwellers with funny accents.
Considering how much coal played a part in this areas foundation and its past, there aren’t many reminders of this. Many of the collieries lost in time have now been totally reshaped, into housing estates, country parks etc. An anomaly to this can be found right on my doorstep. I am lucky enough to call Cefn Hengoed my home, a village created to house miners at Powell Duffryn’s flagship colliery, Penallta. Opened in 1906, it held the European record for coal winding by the 1930s. The site was modernised following nationalisation post-WW2, all the while becoming the central hub of work for many from my village, up the road in Cascade, down in Ystrad Mynach town and beyond. These workers flexed their muscles against the state, surviving the strike of 1984/85, making impressive gains on their return underground. Penallta met its maker in November 1991, the last deep mine to close in the Rhymney Valley. But unlike the majority of collieries in the country, the site is still there to this day. The derelict winding wheels still tower over, the art-deco pithead baths still stand with the Cwm Calon housing estate and Ysgol Gymraeg Penalltau now taking up the land where once train lines of coal were sent to Cardiff Bay. It is a visual reminder of the past that shaped this area, and how it was left to decay and crumble by a government that couldn’t care less for these communities.
Makes for bleak reading, doesn’t it? Those lucky to still have parents and grandparents who worked in that industry will tell you of its dangers (and there were many) but also the comradery felt by the workers, the trips down to Barry Island during miners fortnight, hundreds coming together in the bleak times of the strike. The industry is long gone from here, but that community spirit lives on. Last year’s pandemic brought hardship that many have never felt, jobs and businesses were put in a horrid position, many feeling lows like never before. But this valley pulled through, with so many doing all they could to help out in any way possible. Donations of food and clothes came to whoever needed it, neighbours checked in on each other when no one else could, every week without fail many came out to applaud key workers from their doorsteps. A positive memory I’ll hold close through all of this happened last April. I was sat out the back and out of nowhere, someone in the village was singing Three Little Birds by Bob Marley, rigged up to a karaoke setup ensuring the whole village was listening. Every Thursday onwards, people lined up on Gelligaer Road (socially distanced of course) to hear more and more songs belted out, putting smiles on faces in a time when we all needed it. This even led to the singer raising money for Valley View Care Home. I’m sure similar happened all over the country, but seeing it here just adds to why I am so proud to call it my home.
You would think after years of hard industry, the landscape here would be as grim as its social situation. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth. This valley is home to some of the country’s most beautiful areas. As previously mentioned, many industrial sites are now unrecognisable, with many such as Parc Cwm Darren (former site of Ogilvie Colliery) and Parc Penalltau (former coal waste tip) now being stunning areas of greenery and nature. The latter is home to the Sultan Pit Pony, a 600ft sculpture constructed from a spoil tip. Gelligaer Common is not only home to some outstanding views looking down the valley, it is also steeped in Celtic and Roman history. When you’ve got people from New Zealand and the USA commenting on photos of such places and expressing their jealousy in not having these landscapes in their country, it does make you appreciate what you’ve got on your doorstep just a little bit.
Our little valley has been in the news recently, it’s now home to a gold medal-winning Olympian if you haven’t already heard. Ystrad Mynach’s Lauren Price brought back the gold from Tokyo in the boxing, this is made even more impressive as she has also won a Welsh Premiership title playing for Cardiff City, capped at senior level for Cymru and becoming a four-time world champion at kickboxing. Only a girl from this valley could smash it at three different sports, there must be something in the water. Not bad at all for someone from an area where we aren’t expected to go anywhere by outsiders. Want to see a gold phonebox? There’s only one: Ystrad Mynach, in the Rhymney Valley.
It doesn’t matter how many jokes are made against us, how people look down on us when geographically we’re looking down at them, how rough it may be financially, it’ll never be gloomy here with the residents residing here. There’s no shame at all in being a valleys boy or girl, in fact, it’s something to wear like a badge of honour. We’re a different breed here, we aren’t like anyone else, and we’re all the better for it.
