Rhymney Valley Ridgeway Walk - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Rhymney Valley Ridgeway Walk http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/247819 is a waymarked long distance footpath http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/247812 in the UK forming a circular walk in the Rhymney Valley

Rhymney Valley

The Rhymney Valley is a valley encompassing the villages of Abertysswg, Fochriw, Pontlottyn, Tirphil, New Tredegar, Aberbargoed, Rhymney, and Ystrad Mynach, and the towns of Bargoed and Caerphilly, in south-east Wales, formerly famous for its coal mining and iron industries.-Geography:Created as a...

http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/119702 area of South Wales

South Wales

South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...

The route

The walk route starts at Rhymney

Rhymney

Rhymney is a town and a community located in the county borough of Caerphilly in south-east Wales, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. Along with the villages of Pontlottyn, Fochriw, Abertysswg, Deri and New Tredegar, Rhymney is designated as the 'Upper Rhymney Valley' by the local...

and heads south down the Rhymney Valley

Rhymney Valley

http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/371455 where it becomes a circular loop and runs around the Caerphilly

Caerphilly

Caerphilly is a town in the county borough of Caerphilly, south Wales, located at the southern end of the Rhymney Valley, with a population of approximately 31,000. It is a commuter town of Cardiff and Newport, which are located some 7.5 miles and 12 miles away, respectively...

basin linking the three main upland ridges of Mynydd-y-Grug, Thornhill and Eglwysilan http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/457359 and passes through Caerphilly, Bedwas

Bedwas

Bedwas is a town two miles north-east of Caerphilly, south Wales, situated in the Caerphilly county borough, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire....

http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/424595, Hengoed

Hengoed

Hengoed ) is a village on the west side of the Rhymney Valley - between Ystrad Mynach to the South and Cefn Hengoed to the North. Across the valley it looks towards Maesycwmmer...

, Rudry

Rudry

Rudry is a small village and community located to the east of Caerphilly in Wales. As a community Rudry contains not only the village of Rudry, but also the villages of Draethen, Garth and Waterloo....

http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/74371 and Machen

Machen

Machen is a large village 3 miles east of Caerphilly, south Wales, situated in the Caerphilly borough within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. It neighbours Bedwas and Trethomas, and forms a council ward in conjunction with those communities. It lies on the Rhymney River.-Mynydd...

, the highest point on the route is Mynydd Machen at 984 feet / 300 metres.

The South Wales Valleys

South Wales Valleys

The South Wales Valleys are a number of industrialised valleys in South Wales, stretching from eastern Carmarthenshire in the west to western Monmouthshire in the east and from the Heads of the Valleys in the north to the lower-lying, pastoral country of the Vale of Glamorgan and the coastal plain...

offer a post-industrial landscape http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/247801 full of industrial archaeology

Industrial archaeology

Industrial archaeology, like other branches of archaeology, is the study of material culture from the past, but with a focus on industry. Strictly speaking, industrial archaeology includes sites from the earliest times to the most recent...

, reclaimed industrial sites and new light industry to replace the heavy coal

Coal

Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...

industry of old. The area also has castles such as Caerphilly Castle

Caerphilly Castle

Caerphilly Castle is a medieval castle that dominates the centre of the town of Caerphilly in south Wales. It is the largest castle in Wales and the second largest in Britain after Windsor Castle...

and Ruperra Castle

Ruperra Castle

Ruperra Castle is a Grade II* Listed building and Scheduled Ancient Monument, situated in Lower Machen in South East Wales. It is currently in a ruined condition, and up for sale....

, prehistoric and Roman

Roman Britain

Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...

age sites and offers the day walker and the whole route walker

Thru-hiking

Thru-hiking is the process of hiking a long-distance trail from end to end. The term is most commonly associated with the Appalachian Trail, but is also used for other lengthy trails and long distance hikes, including the Pacific Crest Trail and the Continental Divide Trail. Thru-hiking is also...

a mix of demanding upland walking http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/434346, panoramic views http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/434362 and http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/571010, varied sites to visit and places to stay.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.