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Swansea Valley
The Swansea Valley (; ) is one of the South Wales Valleys. It is the valley from the Brecon Beacons National Park to the sea at Swansea of the River Tawe in Wales. Administration of the area is divided between the City and County of Swansea, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, and Powys. A distinction may be drawn between the Lower Swansea valley and the Upper Swansea valley; the former was more heavily industrialised during the 19th and 20th centuries. Settlements and transport Towns and villages include Clydach, Pontardawe, Ystradgynlais, Ystalyfera and Abercraf. In its September 2005 document ''Towards a Valleys Strategy'', Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council noted that a marked divide between the more remote communities at Ystalyfera and along the Twrch and Amman valleys and the reasonably prosperous southern communities of Pontardawe, Alltwen, Rhos, and Trebanos. The area has had no rail connection since passenger services on the Swansea Vale Railway line be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South Wales Valleys
The South Wales Valleys () are a group of industrialised peri-urban valleys in South Wales. Most of the valleys run northsouth, roughly parallel to each other. Commonly referred to as "The Valleys" (), they stretch from Carmarthenshire in the west to Monmouthshire in the east; to the edge of the pastoral country of the Vale of Glamorgan and the coastal plain near the cities of Swansea, Cardiff, and Newport. History Until the mid-19th century, the South Wales valleys were sparsely inhabited. The industrialisation of the Valleys occurred in two phases. First, in the second half of the 18th century, the iron industry was established on the northern edge of the Valleys, mainly by English entrepreneurs. This made South Wales the most important part of Britain for ironmaking until the middle of the 19th century. Second, from 1850 until the outbreak of the First World War, the South Wales Coalfield was developed to supply steam coal and anthracite. The South Wales Valleys hosted B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alltwen
Alltwen (or Allt-wen; translates to "white wooded slope") is a village in the Swansea Valley (Welsh: ''Cwmtawe'') in Wales. Alltwen forms part of the community of Cilybebyll and is administered separately from adjoining Pontardawe on the opposite bank of the River Tawe. Alltwen is served by Alltwen Primary School and the village has a rugby union club, Alltwen RFC (Welsh: ''Clwb Rygbi Alltwen''). Government and politics Allt-wen is an electoral ward of Neath Port Talbot county borough and is a part of the community of Cilybebyll. The ward is bounded by Trebanos and Pontardawe to the northwest; Rhos to the northeast; Bryn-côch North to the southeast; Dyffryn to the south; and Clydach (in Swansea) to the southwest. Most of Allt-wen consists of farmland and woods. Occupying a strip of land in the northwest of the ward is Alltwen village, which is part of the built-up area surrounding Pontardawe. Notable people * Alltwen was the home of Ronnie James, British Lightweight B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Opera Singer
Opera is a form of Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librettist and incorporates a number of the performing arts, such as acting, scenery, costume, and sometimes dance or ballet. The performance is typically given in an opera house, accompanied by an orchestra or smaller musical ensemble, which since the early 19th century has been led by a conductor. Although musical theatre is closely related to opera, the two are considered to be distinct from one another. Opera is a key part of Western classical music, and Italian tradition in particular. Originally understood as an entirely sung piece, in contrast to a play with songs, opera has come to include numerous genres, including some that include spoken dialogue such as ''Singspiel'' and ''Opéra comique''. In traditional number opera, singers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swansea Canal
The Swansea Canal (Welsh language, Welsh: ''Camlas Abertawe'') was a canal constructed by the Swansea Canal Navigation Company between 1794 and 1798, running for from Swansea to Hen Neuadd, Abercraf in South Wales. It was steeply graded, and 36 locks were needed to enable it to rise over its length. The main cargos were coal, iron and steel, and the enterprise was profitable. Sold to the Great Western Railway in 1873, it continued to make a profit until 1895. A period of decline followed, with the last commercial traffic using the waterway in 1931. Subsequently, parts of it were closed and filled in under a succession of owners, but around remain in water. The Swansea Canal Society, formed in 1981, is actively involved in plans for its restoration. Background The canal was constructed to transport coal from the upper Swansea Valley to Swansea docks for export, or for use in the early metallurgical industries in the Lower Swansea Valley. The period 1830-1840 saw the developmen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iron
Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most abundant element in the Earth's crust, being mainly deposited by meteorites in its metallic state. Extracting usable metal from iron ores requires kilns or furnaces capable of reaching , about 500 °C (900 °F) higher than that required to smelt copper. Humans started to master that process in Eurasia during the 2nd millennium BC and the use of iron tools and weapons began to displace copper alloys – in some regions, only around 1200 BC. That event is considered the transition from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age. In the modern world, iron alloys, such as steel, stainless steel, cast iron and special steels, are by far the most common industrial metals, due to their mechan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coal Mining
Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United Kingdom and South Africa, a coal mine and its structures are a colliery, a coal mine is called a "pit", and above-ground mining structures are referred to as a "pit head". In Australia, "colliery" generally refers to an underground coal mine. Coal mining has had many developments in recent years, from the early days of men tunneling, digging, and manually extracting the coal on carts to large Open-pit mining, open-cut and Longwall mining, longwall mines. Mining at this scale requires the use of Dragline excavator, draglines, trucks, conveyors, hydraulic jacks, and shearers. The coal mining industry has a long ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Western Europe
Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean world, the Latin West of the Roman Empire, and "Western Christendom". Beginning with the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery, roughly from the 15th century, the concept of ''Europe'' as "the Western world, West" slowly became distinguished from and eventually replaced the dominant use of "Christendom" as the preferred endonym within the area. By the Age of Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution, the concepts of "Eastern Europe" and "Western Europe" were more regularly used. The distinctiveness of Western Europe became most apparent during the Cold War, when Europe was divided for 40 years by the Iron Curtain into the Western Bloc and Eastern Bloc, each characterised by distinct political and economical systems. Historical divisions ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Show Cave
A show cave—also called tourist cave, public cave, and, in the United States, commercial cave—is a cave which has been made accessible to the public for guided visits. Definition A show cave is a cave that has been made accessible to the public for guided visits, where a cave is defined as a natural occurring void beneath the surface of the earth, per the International Show Caves Association. A show cave may be managed by a government or commercial organization and made accessible to the general public, usually for an entrance fee. Unlike wild caves, they may possess regular opening hours, guided group tours, constructed trails and stairs, color artificial illumination and other lighting, musical/video/laser shows and concerts, elevators, small trains, and boats if they contain underground water features. Some caves (mainly in Asia) open to the public have temples, monasteries and religious statues or monuments. Some caves are visited by millions of tourists annually ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dan Yr Ogof
Dan yr Ogof (), at the National Showcaves Centre for Wales, is a long cave system in south Wales, about north of Ystradgynlais and southwest of Brecon, in the Brecon Beacons National Park. It is the main feature of a show cave complex, which is claimed to be the largest in the United Kingdom and is a tourist attraction in Wales. The first section of the cave system is open to the public, but the extensive cave system beyond is scheduled as a national nature reserve and is open only to ''bona fide'' cavers. The bones of some 42 humans, as well as numerous animal bones, have been found in one of the nearby chambers of this cave system. In a 2005 poll of ''Radio Times'' readers, Dan yr Ogof was named as Britain's greatest natural wonder. Exploration The cave was first explored in 1912 by two local brothers, Edwin and Jeff Morgan, using candles and primitive equipment. Completely unsure of what they would discover, they armed themselves with a revolver. Edwin was the first t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brecon
Brecon (; ; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the county town of Brecknockshire (Breconshire); although its role as such was eclipsed with the formation of the County of Powys, it remains an important local centre. Brecon is the third-largest town in Powys, after Newtown, Powys, Newtown and Ystradgynlais. It lies north of the Brecon Beacons mountain range, but is just within the Brecon Beacons National Park. History Early history The Welsh language, Welsh name, Aberhonddu, means "mouth of the Honddu". It is derived from the River Honddu (Powys), River Honddu, which meets the River Usk near the town centre, a short distance away from the River Tarell which enters the Usk a few hundred metres upstream. After the Dark Ages (historiography), Dark Ages the original Welsh name of the kingdom in whose territory Br ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A4067 Road
List of A roads in zone 4 in Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ... starting north of the A4 and south/west of the A5 (roads beginning with 4). __TOC__ Single- and double-digit roads Triple-digit roads Only roads that have individual articles have been linked in the "Road" column below. Four-digit roads (40xx) Four-digit roads (41xx) Four-digit roads (42xx and higher) References {{UK road lists 4 4 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brynamman
Brynamman () is a village on the south side of the Black Mountain (range), Black Mountain (''Y Mynydd Du''), part of the Brecon Beacons National Park (''Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog''). The village is split into Upper Brynamman and Lower Brynamman by the River Amman, which is also the boundary between the counties of Carmarthenshire and Neath Port Talbot (in the old county of Glamorganshire). Ruins of stone dwellings (possibly prehistoric), an early type of lime kiln and rectangular medieval buildings found on the mountain show that people have lived in this area for a long time. The population of Brynamman was 2,608 as of 2011; the urban area including Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen was 5,692. Brynamman was previously known as Y Gwter Fawr (); The name was changed when the railway from Ammanford reached the village. George Borrow describes aspects of Gwter Fawr in the mid-19th century in his book ''Wild Wales'' published 1862. The current name is derived from "Brynamman House", the ho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
