Cwmtwrch is a village in the Swansea Valley, southern Wales, some 15 miles north of Swansea. The Swansea Valley (Cwm Tawe one of the South Wales Valleys, encompasses the upper reaches of the River Tawe area in Wales, UK, upstream from Swansea ( Abertawe "mouth of the Tawe " is a city and county in Wales.
The name Cwmtwrch (Valley of the Wild Boar) derives from the “twrch trwyth” (mythical wild boar) of King Arthur’s legends and the ancient tales of the Mabinogion in early Welsh literature. King Arthur is a legendary British leader who according to medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against the Saxon invaders The legend relates to one of Arthur’s tasks: to rid the western Brecon beacons of the pack of wild boars that were terrorizing the people. Arthur chased the boars from Dyfed eastward towards Powys. On the Black Mountain, he picked up a large stone (carreg fryn fras) and cast it towards the wild animals, striking dead the leader of the pack on the edge of a the valley near Craig-Y-Fran Gorge. The big boar's body rolled down the valley and into the river which is now the River Twrch. The big stone is still on the mountain. In this area also is the legend of the lady of the lake of Llyn-y-fan.
Cwmtwrch has been split into two parts, Upper Cwmtwrch (Cwm Twrch Uchaf) and Lower Cwmtwrch (Cwm Twrch Isaf), due to the traversing of the now defunct railway line and road at two points requiring an upper and lower gate. The Upper and Lower tag is something that has made Cwmtwrch a joke in Wales considering its small size.
The village lies in three counties Powys, Carmarthenshire and Neath Port Talbot. The Lowthers Restaurant (formerly the George IV Inn Public House) is built where the three counties meet, and this made it interesting in the past, due to different licensing hours between counties
Nearby villages are Ystradowen, Rhiwfawr, Ystradgynlais, and Ystalyfera. Ystradowen is a small Village in rolling Rural countryside its nearest Town is Cowbridge which is approximately 3 miles to the south Rhiwfawr is a hamlet of 40 houses in the Swansea Valley, in Neath Port Talbot County borough, Wales. Ystradgynlais is a Town on the River Tawe in south west Powys, Wales. Ystalyfera is a former industrial Village situated on the River Tawe in the unitary authority of Neath
Cwmtwrch has a school, a public hall, and a few chapels, pubs, and shops. A notable feature of Cwmtwrch is the ffynon which is a natural spring appearing at a memorial. A spring is a point where Groundwater flows out of the ground and is thus where the Aquifer surface meets the ground surface The water is highly sulphuric and smells of rotten eggs, but it is claimed by the locals that it has healing properties, and people from as far away as Argentina have been there to collect water for drinking. Sulfur or sulphur (ˈsʌlfɚ see spelling below) is the Chemical element that has the Atomic number 16
Sport
Cwmtwrch is home to the rugby union team Cwmtwrch RFC a Welsh Rugby Union affiliated club with over a hundred years of history. Overview See also Playing rugby union A rugby union match lasts for 80 minutes (plus stoppage time with a short Cwmtwrch Rugby Football Club (Welsh Clwb Rygbi Cwmtwrch is a Welsh Rugby union team officially founded in 1890
The village's most famous resident is Clive Rowlands, former Wales national rugby union team captain, who also managed both the national team and the British Lions. Clive Rowlands (born 14 May 1938 in Upper Cwmtwrch is a former Welsh Rugby union footballer and later coach The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international
External links
- grid reference SN757112 – Upper Cwmtwrch
- grid reference SN768102 – Lower Cwmtwrch
- Photo of Ffynnon Cwmtwrch
References
The British national grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references commonly used in Great Britain, different from using Latitude and Longitude The British national grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references commonly used in Great Britain, different from using Latitude and LongitudeDapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic