Portal:Vale of Glamorgan
Portal maintenance status: (October 2018)
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Introduction
The Vale of Glamorgan, often referred to as The Vale, (Welsh: Bro Morgannwg [ˈbroː mɔrˈɡanʊɡ]) is a county borough in Wales, bordering Bridgend, Cardiff, and Rhondda Cynon Taf. With an economy based largely on agriculture and chemicals, it is the southernmost unitary authority in Wales. Attractions include Barry Island Pleasure Park, the Barry Tourist Railway, Porthkerry Park, St Donat's Castle, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park and Cosmeston Medieval Village. It is also the location of Atlantic College, one of the United World Colleges.
The largest town is Barry. Other towns include Penarth, Llantwit Major and Cowbridge. There are many villages in the county borough.
Selected general articles
St Donats (Welsh: Sain Dunwyd) is a village and community in the Vale of Glamorgan in south Wales, located just west of the small town of Llantwit Major. The community includes the village of Marcross and the hamlets of Monknash and East and West Monkton. It is named after the 6th-century saint, Dunwyd, a friend of Saint Cadoc. It has a population of 686.
St Donat's church lies in a depression and is unremarkable from the exterior but contains Stradling family monuments in the Stradling chapel. It is a 12th-century Grade I listed building with a Grade I listed medieval cross in the churchyard. Read more...- Egerton Grey Country House Hotel is an AA four star listed hotel located near the Bristol Channel in Porthkerry Park, Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, south Wales. It is located near the viaduct and Cardiff International Airport, hidden away from the main park area. The house was originally built in the 17th century and functioned a rectory for some time. It opened as a luxury hotel in 1988 and retained its Edwardian bathrooms, open fireplaces, and antique furnishings including paintings and porcelain, with its original brasswork, mahogany and oak panelling. The hotel has 10 ensuite rooms, with many of the rooms containing their Victorian or Edwardian appearances with four-poster posters etc. Past owners include Anthony and Magda Pitkin, and latterly Richard Morgan-Price and Huw Thomas from 2002. The 3.5 acre garden contain croquet. Prince Charles of Wales and the Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall stayed at the hotel in June 2007 and the 14th Dalai Lama has also stayed at the hotel. The hotel is currently closed for business. Read more...
Llandough (Welsh: Llandochau) is a village located south of Cowbridge in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. Read more...
Cowbridge with Llanblethian is a community (civil parish) in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, which incorporates Llanblethian and the town of Cowbridge. It also covers the village of Aberthin to the northeast of Cowbridge.
Cowbridge was granted a Royal Charter in 1886 which allowed the population of the community to elect its own councillors and mayor. The first Mayor was Alderman Thomas Rees, in 1887. Currently (2016) the Mayor of Cowbridge and Llanblethian is Councillor David Morris. Read more...
The Wenvoe transmitting station is a facility for broadcasting and telecommunications situated close to the village of Wenvoe in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, in the UK. It comprises a 260.7-metre (855 ft) guyed mast with antennas attached at various heights. The mast (with extension completed February 2008) plus the Main UHF (TV) antenna on top gives a height of 260.7 metres (869 ft). The average height above sea level is 392 metres for the television antennas. It is owned and operated by Arqiva. The mast sways 10 feet, or 4 meters, which is quite high for a mast this size. Read more...
Llantwit Major (Welsh: Llanilltud Fawr) is a town and community in Wales. Situated on the Bristol Channel coast, it is one of four towns in the Vale of Glamorgan with the third largest population (13,366 in 2001) after Barry and Penarth, and ahead of Cowbridge. Llantwit Major is 4 1⁄2 miles (7.2 km) from Cowbridge, 9 miles (14 km) from Bridgend, 10 miles (16 km) from Barry, and 15 miles (24 km) from Cardiff.
Llanilltud Fawr is derived from the name of Saint Illtud, who came to the area from Brittany, Gaul. He founded the monastery of Illtud and the college attached to it, Cor Tewdws, which would grow into one of the most esteemed Christian colleges of the times. At its peak it attracted over 2000 students, including princes and numerous eminent clergymen, some now revered as saints. Destroyed by the Vikings in 987, the monastery was rebuilt in 1111 and continued to be a centre of learning governed by Tewkesbury Abbey until it closed in 1539 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The 13th-century St Illtyd's Church, built near the ancient monastery, is a Grade I listed building and one of the oldest parish churches in Wales. Read more...
St Mary Hill is a settlement in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. It is located approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) north west of the market town of Cowbridge. It is part of the community of Llangan along with Treoes and the village of Llangan itself. Read more...
Peterston-super-Ely (Welsh: Llanbedr-y-fro) is a village and community in the Welsh county borough of the Vale of Glamorgan on the River Ely.The community population taken at the 2011 census was 874. Read more...
Llanfair is a community in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. It is located immediately south of the town of Cowbridge and includes the settlements of St Hilary, Llandough, St Mary Church (Welsh: Llan-fair) and The Herberts.
Llanfair has a community council comprising eight councillors, who meet regularly at St Hilary Village Hall. Read more...
Colwinston (Welsh: Tregolwyn) is both a village and a community in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) southeast of the centre of Bridgend and 21 miles (34 km) west of the centre of Cardiff. The village is located within 1⁄2 mile (0.80 km) of the A48. The population in 2005 was approximately 400 but with recent building development, the population is now estimated at over 600 people.
The novelist Agatha Christie was a frequent visitor, and her descendants still live at the former manor house of Pwllywrach. Read more...
Barry Council Office and Library is a local government building and public library located in King's Square, Barry, Wales. Read more...
Penllyn (Welsh: Pen-llin) is a village and community in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. It is located north west of the market town of Cowbridge. As a community it contains the settlements of Llansannor, Pentre Meryrick, Trerhingyll, Ystradowen and Penllyn itself.
Penllyn is home to Penllyn Castle, a 12th-century fortification which, although ruinous, is now adjoined by a castellated mansion originally built in the late 16th century. Read more...
Wenvoe Quarry is a quarry between Wenvoe and Culverhouse Cross in the Vale of Glamorgan, south Wales. It is situated in an area off the A4050 road known as "The Alps", not far from Caerau and Culverhouse Cross on the outskirts of Cardiff. Operations at the quarry took off in the 1880s to supply the building of Barry Docks, and as of 1889 the quarry employed some 200 men. The quarry is operated today by CEMEX UK Materials (Aggregates) Ltd. The closed Wenvoe Tunnel begins in close proximity to the quarry. Read more...
Dinas Powys (Welsh pronunciation: [ˈdinas ˈpɔwɪs]; also spelt 'Dinas Powis' in English) is a large village and a community in the Vale of Glamorgan in South Wales which takes its name from the Dinas Powys hillfort that dates from the Iron Age. The village is 5.6 miles (9.0 km) south-west of the centre of Cardiff and conveniently situated on the A4055 Cardiff to Barry main road. It is generally regarded as a pleasant dormitory village for Cardiff's commerce and industry commuters since the city has expanded with widespread development around the Cardiff Bay area.
Despite the addition of several housing developments over the past fifty years, the old village centre of Dinas Powys still has a mostly unspoiled and almost rural feel, retaining a large village common and a traditional village centre complete with a post office and a range of small independent shops, public houses, restaurants and community facilities. In addition there are shops, garages, small supermarkets, Pharmacy and a Vets on the main Cardiff Road and a selection of shops on the Murch estate including a post office .
The Health Centre consisting of the doctors and Murch pharmacy relocated in April 2017 to the new Medical centre at the top of Murch Road , on the site of the old St Cyres , Dinas Powys site. Read more...
Cowbridge Town Hall is a public building in the South Wales market town of Cowbridge. It is the meeting place for Cowbridge with Llanblethian Town Council, and also houses the town clerk's office, administrative office, Cowbridge Museum and meeting rooms where public events are held.
Until 1830, the town council met at the Guild Hall, located in High Street. The Guild Hall was also a regular venue for the Quarter Sessions (law courts) which travelled around South Wales. The present town hall, a building dating back perhaps as far as the Elizabethan era, served as a prison or "House of Correction" until 1830, when it was converted into a town hall to replace the Guild Hall, which was demolished at that date. Read more...
Pendoylan (Welsh: Pendeulwyn pronounced [pɛnˈdəi̯lui̯n] meaning 'head of two groves') is a rural village and community (parish) in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. The village has won many awards in Best Kept Village competitions and contains 27 entries in the Council's County Treasures database, 13 of which are listed buildings. Read more...
Fonmon Castle (Welsh: Castell Ffwl-y-mwn) is a fortified medieval castle near the village of Fonmon in the Vale of Glamorgan and a Grade I listed building. With its origins rooted in the 12th century it is today seen as a great architectural rarity, as it is one of few buildings that was drastically remodeled in the 18th century, but not Gothicized. The castle is believed to have remained under the ownership of just two families throughout its history; from Norman times the St Johns and from 1656 the descendants of Colonel Philip Jones. Read more...
The Captain's Wife is a public house in the former fishing hamlet of Swanbridge in Sully, between Barry and Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan, south Wales. The pub was established in 1977 from a row of three sea houses. Notable smuggling operations once took place here and a tunnel connected the sea to what was known as Sully House. It takes its name from the wife of a sea captain who lived here and buried her in a nearby wood rather than confessing to her dying aboard his ship. The body of the wife was originally kept in a box that was mistaken for treasure and stolen. Today the Spinney Park Holiday and Leisure Park surrounds the pub. Read more...
Hensol Castle (previously Hensol House) is a castellated mansion in the gothic architecture style dating from the late 17th century or early 18th century, now a wedding and conference venue for The Vale Resort. It is located north of Clawdd Coch and Tredodridge in the community of Pendoylan in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. It is a Grade 1 listed building. Read more...
Aberthin is a small village, just outside Cowbridge in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales, on the north side of a shallow valley, less than a mile northeast of Cowbridge across the A48 road. Cowbridge Comprehensive School lies just to the southwest of the village. About 250 metres to the south is an old quarry, with a "faulted strip of grey oolite". Aberthin is also the name of a brook, the River Aberthin. The village was served by the Aberthin Platform railway station between 1905 and 1920, now a field to the west of Aberthin. Read more...- Ogmore-by-Sea (Welsh: Aberogwr, meaning "Mouth of the River Ogmore") is a seaside village in St Brides Major community in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. Ogmore river probably takes its name from the large caves on the seashore by the river mouth [according to whom?], ogof being the Welsh word for cave. It lies on the western limit of the Glamorgan Heritage Coast of south Wales. Read more...
Llangan (Welsh: Llan-gan) is a small village and community in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. It is located approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) outside the market town of Cowbridge. As a community it contains the settlements of St Mary Hill, Treoes and Llangan itself.
Llangan became an important religious site in the late 18th century due to the work and preaching of its church's Baptist minister David Jones. Read more...
Llysworney (Welsh: Llyswyrni) is a small village in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales.
Llysworney is home to about 240 people and has around 100 houses. It is situated about 2 miles away from Cowbridge in the Vale of Glamorgan.
The B4268, a major lorry route, connecting the A48 with Llandow and Llantwit Major, runs through Llysworney. The Village is home to the locally well-known Carne Arms Pub, St. Tydfils Church, a duck pond, and Llysworney Garage. Read more...
Lower Blue Lias rocks exposed at Lavernock Point
Lavernock (Welsh: Larnog) is a hamlet in the Vale of Glamorgan in Wales, lying on the coast 7 miles (11 km) south of Cardiff between Penarth and Sully, and overlooking the Bristol Channel. Read more...
Ogmore Castle (Welsh: Castell Ogwr) is a Grade I listed castle ruin located near the village of Ogmore-by-Sea, south of the town of Bridgend in Glamorgan, South Wales. It is situated on the south bank of the River Ewenny and the east bank of the River Ogmore.
Its construction might have begun in 1106. Ogmore was one of three castles built in the area in the early 12th century, the others being Coity Castle and Newcastle Castle. It was in use until the 19th century for a range of purposes, including a court of justice and a prison, but is now a substantial set of remains and a local landmark. It is managed by local authorities. Read more...
The Herberts is a hamlet in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. It is located immediately to the north of the village of St. Mary Church and southwest of Llandough, 2.2 miles by road southwest of the market town centre of Cowbridge along St Athan Road. The River Thaw flows through The Herberts. Read more...
Penarth (/pəˈnɑːrθ/, Welsh pronunciation: [pɛnˈarθ]) is a town and community in the Vale of Glamorgan (Welsh: Bro Morgannwg), Wales, approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) southwest of Cardiff city centre on the north shore of the Severn Estuary at the southern end of Cardiff Bay. Penarth is the wealthiest seaside resort in the Cardiff Urban Area, and the second largest town in the Vale of Glamorgan, next only to the administrative centre of Barry.
During the Victorian era Penarth was a highly popular holiday destination, promoted nationally as "The Garden by the Sea" and was packed by visitors from the Midlands and the West Country as well as day trippers from the South Wales valleys, mostly arriving by train. Today, the town, with its traditional seafront, continues to be a regular summer holiday destination (predominantly for older visitors), but their numbers are much lower than was common from Victorian times until the 1960s, when cheap overseas package holidays were introduced. Read more...
Wrinstone or Wrinston is a medieval hamlet, just east of Wenvoe, Vale of Glamorgan, south Wales. The Wrinstone estate was variously also known as Wrenston, Wrencheston or Wrenchester. The Barry Railway line ran past the hamlet and entered the Wenvoe Tunnel just to the north near Wenvoe Quarry. It closed after a fire in 1963. Read more...
Approach lights for Cardiff Airport runway 30 in the north section of the Bulwarks fort
The Bulwarks, Porthkerry is a promontory fort in Rhoose, Vale of Glamorgan, on the southern coast of Wales overlooking the Bristol Channel.
It probably dates to the Iron Age and continued to be occupied during the Roman period in Britain.
The ramparts and ditches along the west side are well preserved, but the fortifications are heavily overgrown. Read more...
The Afon Col-huw (Often River Colhuw, sometimes Anglicised Colhugh) is a very short river in Llantwit Major in the Vale of Glamorgan, south Wales.
It is an exceptionally short river, with a length of only 1 mile/1.6 kilometres long. It is formed when two rivers, the Ogney Brook and the Hoddnant converge south of Llantwit Major. Its valley, the Cwm Col-huw, is a Scheduled Ancient Monument - it was used in the Dig for Victory campaign in World War II. Read more...
St Donats (Welsh: Sain Dunwyd) is a village and community in the Vale of Glamorgan in south Wales, located just west of the small town of Llantwit Major. The community includes the village of Marcross and the hamlets of Monknash and East and West Monkton. It is named after the 6th-century saint, Dunwyd, a friend of Saint Cadoc. It has a population of 686.
St Donat's church lies in a depression and is unremarkable from the exterior but contains Stradling family monuments in the Stradling chapel. It is a 12th-century Grade I listed building with a Grade I listed medieval cross in the churchyard. Read more...- St Quintins Castle (also known as St Quentins Castle and Llanblethian Castle, Welsh: Castell Llanfleiddan) is a castle located in the village of Llanblethian, Cowbridge, Wales. It is a scheduled monument and a Grade II listed building and is under the care of Cadw. The site was first occupied with a defensive structure in about 1102 and the gatehouse and further building work took place around 1312. It was later used as a prison and was reported as being in a ruinous state by 1741. Virtual Tour Read more...
The Barry Tourist Railway (formerly the Barry Island Railway) is a railway developed to attract visitors to Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales. It is a key element of the Barry Rail Centre which also includes engineering and training facilities.
An unusual aspect of the railway is that for several hundred yards across the Causeway from Barry to Barry Island, the trackbed used is directly alongside the Network Rail track which uses the original up line, with the Barry Tourist Railway using the down line. This continues from Barry to cross the Causeway and 149-yard Barry Island viaduct after which the two lines diverge into separate platforms at Barry Island. The Railway does not consider itself a line but more of a network as it has two different routes. This is reflected in the map below, with Network Rail shown in red. Read more...
Cosmeston Medieval Village is a "living history" medieval village near Lavernock in the Vale of Glamorgan not far from Penarth and Cardiff in south Wales. Based upon remains discovered during a 1980s archaeological dig in the grounds of Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, it is a re-creation of 14th century peasant life in Wales in the Late Middle Ages.
The reconstructed village regularly plays host to groups of reenactors, who camp in authentic tents around the outskirts of the village, and perform displays of historical combat for the public. Read more...
The Cadoxton River (Welsh: Afon Tregatwg) is a short river in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales and with a length of about 5 miles/8 kilometres it is one of Wales's shortest rivers. Read more...
St Lythans (Welsh: Llwyneliddon) is an affluent hamlet and former parish in the Vale of Glamorgan, southeast Wales, just outside western Cardiff. It lies southwest of Culverhouse Cross, west of Wenvoe and southwest of Twyn-yr-Odyn and is also connected by road from Dyffryn and the Five Mile Lane in the west. It is one of the wealthiest communities in the Vale of Glamorgan, containing some notable mansions and cottages, valued on average at over £500,000 ($800,000) as of 2011. The megalithic St Lythans burial chamber, over 6000 years old, lies 1 km to the west of the village and the hamlet also contains the St.Lythans Parish Church or Church of St Bleddian, a Grade II* listed building. Read more...
Frampton is a hamlet in the Vale of Glamorgan in South Wales. It lies within the parish of Llantwit Major, to the north of the town off the B4265 road, 4.25 miles (6.84 km) south-southwest of Cowbridge. It is divided into Little Frampton and Great Frampton. Read more...
St Georges super Ely, also known as St Georges (Welsh: Sain Siorys), is a small village and community in the western outskirts of Cardiff, in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales. Lying to the northwest of Culverhouse Cross, between Peterston-super-Ely and Michaelston-super-Ely, it contains a medieval church and ruined manor house dated to the fifteenth century. Read more...
Tinkinswood or its full name Tinkinswood Burial Chamber (Welsh: Siambr Gladdu Tinkinswood), also known as Castell Carreg, Llech-y-Filiast and Maes-y-Filiast, is a megalithic burial chamber, built around 6,000 BP (before Present), during the Neolithic period, in the Vale of Glamorgan, near Cardiff, Wales.
The structure is called a dolmen, which was the most common megalithic structure in Europe. The dolmen is of the Severn-Cotswold tomb type, and consists of a large capstone on top, with smaller upright stones supporting it. The limestone capstone at Tinkinswood weighs approximately 40 long tons and measures 24 feet (7.3 m) x 14 ft (4.3 m); it is thought to be the largest in Britain, and also in Europe. It would have taken some 200 people to lift the stone into the correct position. It was originally all covered by a mound of soil, which has been removed over time, now the remaining mound behind the structure measures approximately 130 ft (40 m) x 59 ft (18 m) in size. Read more...
The Church of the Holy Cross is a medieval church in Cowbridge in the Vale of Glamorgan, south Wales. Initially a chapel of ease to Llanblethian, it was successively remodeled to reflect the growing importance of Cowbridge as a medieval market town. Believed to have been built in the 13th century, the church has an unusual tower design. It has undergone several restorations including one by John Prichard in 1850–52. The Church of the Holy Cross was listed as a Grade I building on 12 May 1963. Read more...
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Southerndown beach
Bmibaby launched operations from Cardiff Airport in 2002 then closed in 2011
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