Taff's Well or Taffs Well is a village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 located just north of the city of Cardiff

Cardiff

Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...

 and 6 miles (9.7 km) from its city centre

Cardiff city centre

Cardiff city centre is the central business district of Cardiff, Wales. The area is tightly bounded by the River Taff to the west, the Civic centre to the north and railway lines and two railway stations - Central and Queen Street - to the south and east respectively...

. Located in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Taff's Well serves as a commuter town

Commuter town

A commuter town is an urban community that is primarily residential, from which most of the workforce commutes out to earn their livelihood. Many commuter towns act as suburbs of a nearby metropolis that workers travel to daily, and many suburbs are commuter towns...

.

Name

The name "Taff's Well" is derived from the fact that the village is situated alongside the River Taff

River Taff

The River Taff is a large river in Wales. It rises as two rivers in the Brecon Beacons — the Taf Fechan and the Taf Fawr — before joining to form the Taff north of Merthyr Tydfil...

, and that it is the site of a natural hot spring Taff's Well Thermal Spring

Taff's Well Thermal Spring

Taff's Well thermal spring is located in Taff's Well or Taffs Well north of Cardiff, South Wales, UK and an elevation of about 30m AOD. It is the only thermal spring in Wales. The spring emerges on the eastern bank of the River Taff and has been contained within a brick well structure and building...

 (of 18.9 degrees C, 66 degrees F) that has been used since Roman times

Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

.

Location

Effectively a northern suburb of Cardiff, though administratively represented by Rhondda Cynon Taff Council, most of its residents work in Cardiff. Taff's Well has different communities including Rhyw Ddar and Ty Rhiw through which the Taff Trail

Taff Trail

The Taff Trail is a popular walking and cycle path that runs for between Cardiff Bay and Brecon in Wales. It is named so because it follows the course of the River Taff...

 runs. Taff's Well is next to Castell Coch

Castell Coch

Castell Coch is a 19th-century Gothic Revival castle built on the remains of a genuine 13th-century fortification. It is situated on a steep hillside high above the village of Tongwynlais, to the north of Cardiff in Wales, and is a Grade I listed building as of 28 January 1963.Designed by William...

, which overlooks Cardiff.

Media

Taff's Well is the original location of the story that inspired the film The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain

The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain

The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain is a 1995 film written by Ivor Monger and directed by Christopher Monger. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival....

, which was written and directed by Taff's Well natives Ivor and Christopher Monger

Christopher monger

Christopher Monger is a Welsh screenwriter, director and editor, best known for writing and directing The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain and writing the HBO biopic 'Temple Grandin'. He has directed eight feature films and written over thirty screenplays.-Early life:Monger...

.

Sport

Taff's Well A.F.C.

Taff's Well A.F.C.

Taff's Well Association Football Club are a Welsh association football team founded in 1946. They are based in Taff's Well, near Cardiff, and are currently playing in the Welsh Football League Division One...

 are the local football team and Taff's Well RFC are the local Rugby union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 team.

Transport

Taffs Well railway station

Taffs Well railway station

Taffs Well railway station is a railway station serving the village of Taff's Well, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, as well as neighbouring Gwaelod-y-Garth, Cardiff. It is located on the Merthyr Line and the Rhondda Line...

, which opened in 1863, is situated on the Rhondda

Rhondda Line

The Rhondda Line is a commuter railway line in South Wales from Cardiff to Treherbert. The line follows the Merthyr Line as far as Pontypridd, where it then diverges to continue along the Rhondda Valley.The places served by the line are listed below:...

 and Merthyr Line

Merthyr Line

The Merthyr Line is a commuter railway line in South Wales from central Cardiff to Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare. The line is part of the Cardiff urban rail network, known as the Valley Lines...

s. Services are provided by Arriva Trains Wales

Arriva Trains Wales

Arriva Trains Wales is a train operating company, owned by Arriva, that operates urban and inter urban passenger services in Wales and the Welsh Marches...

 northbound to Treherbert

Treherbert

Treherbert is a village and community situated at the head of the Rhondda Fawr valley in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Treherbert is a former industrial coal mining village which was at its economic peak between 1850 and 1920...

, Aberdare

Aberdare

Aberdare is an industrial town in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Dare and Cynon. The population at the census was 31,705...

, Merthyr Tydfil

Merthyr Tydfil

Merthyr Tydfil is a town in Wales, with a population of about 30,000. Although once the largest town in Wales, it is now ranked as the 15th largest urban area in Wales. It also gives its name to a county borough, which has a population of around 55,000. It is located in the historic county of...

 via Pontypridd

Pontypridd

Pontypridd is both a community and a principal town of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales and is situated 12 miles/19 km north of the Welsh capital city of Cardiff...

 and southbound to Cardiff Queen Street and Cardiff Central

Cardiff Central railway station

Cardiff Central railway station is a major railway station on the South Wales Main Line in Cardiff, Wales.It is the largest and busiest station in Wales and one of the major stations of the British rail network, the tenth busiest station in the United Kingdom outside of London , based on 2007/08...

. The average journey time to Cardiff Central is 20 minutes at a frequency of 6 trains per hour.

Stagecoach bus service 132 between Maerdy

Maerdy

Maerdy is a village and community in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, and within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales, lying at the head of the Rhondda Fach Valley.- History :...

 and Cardiff central bus station

Cardiff Central bus station

Cardiff Central bus station is the main bus transport interchange in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. With 34 stands, it is the largest bus station in the city and in Wales. It is located adjacent to Cardiff Central railway station forming a major bus-rail-cycle-taxi interchange.The station used...

 stops in the village every 15 minutes at peak times.

The A470 road

A470 road

The A470 is a major long-distance connective spine road in Wales, running from Cardiff on the south coast to Llandudno on the north coast. It covers approximately 186 miles , over a zig-zagging route through the entirety of the country's mountainous central region, including the Brecon Beacons and...

 runs through the village between Cardiff Bay

Cardiff Bay

Cardiff Bay is the area created by the Cardiff Barrage in South Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The regeneration of Cardiff Bay is now widely regarded as one of the most successful regeneration projects in the United Kingdom. The Bay is supplied by two rivers to form a freshwater lake round the...

 (9 miles (14.5 km) south) and Llandudno

Llandudno

Llandudno is a seaside resort and town in Conwy County Borough, Wales. In the 2001 UK census it had a population of 20,090 including that of Penrhyn Bay and Penrhynside, which are within the Llandudno Community...

 (179 miles (288.1 km) north). Taff's Well is situated 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Junction 32 (Cardiff North) of the M4 motorway

M4 motorway

The M4 motorway links London with South Wales. It is part of the unsigned European route E30. Other major places directly accessible from M4 junctions are Reading, Swindon, Bristol, Newport, Cardiff and Swansea...

.