Pontsticill is a village within the

county borough County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent ter ...

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil (; cy, Merthyr Tudful ) is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydf ...

South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...

. It lies within the valley of the

Taf Fechan The River Taff ( cy, Afon Taf) is a river in Wales. It rises as two rivers in the Brecon Beacons; the Taf Fechan (''little Taff'') and the Taf Fawr (''great Taff'') before becoming one just north of Merthyr Tydfil. Its confluence with the R ...

on the southern edge of the

Brecon Beacons National Park The Brecon Beacons National Park ( cy, Parc Cenedlaethol Bannau Brycheiniog) is one of three national parks in Wales, and is centred on the Brecon Beacons range of hills in southern Wales. It includes the Black Mountain (range), Black Mountain ...

. The village lies within the

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...

Vaynor Vaynor ( Welsh: ''Y Faenor'', meaning "The Manor") is a village and community (formerly a parish) in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough in Wales, United Kingdom. The population of the community at the 2011 census was 3,551. Location It is about f ...

in an area that was, until the local government re-organisation of 1974, within the historic county of

Brecknockshire , image_flag= , HQ= Brecon , Government= Brecknockshire County Council (1889-1974) , Origin= Brycheiniog , Status= , Start= 1535 , End= ...

Pontsticll Junction geograph-2539314-by-Ben-Brooksbank

Pontsticill is closely associated with the

Brecon Mountain Railway The Brecon Mountain Railway (Welsh: ''Rheilffordd Mynydd Brycheiniog'') is a narrow gauge tourist railway on the south side of the Brecon Beacons. It climbs northwards from Pant along the full length of the Pontsticill Reservoir (also called ...

, a tourist railway which runs along the former Brecon and Merthyr Railway line. Immediately to the north of the village is the

Pontsticill Reservoir Pontsticill Reservoir () or Taf Fechan Reservoir is a large reservoir on the Taf Fechan lying partly in the county of Powys and partly within the county borough of Merthyr Tydfil in south Wales. It lies within the Brecon Beacons National Park a ...

which was completed in 1927. The village name originates from the

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

words ''pont'' and ''sticill'' and signifies a 'bridge near a stile'.

Ponsticill Reservoir

, originally Taff Fechan Reservoir, was opened in 1927 to supply water to much of the South Wales Valleys. The 110 ft high embankment holdings 15,400 megalitres of water. The reservoir is popular with sailors, anglers and picnickers.

Abercriban Quarries

To the north of Pontsticill, on the shore of the reservoir, lie Abercriban Quarries, a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

. Abercriban Quarries comprise two small disused quarries. The site is of special interest for the rock exposures of the Grey Grit Formation of the Upper Old Red Sandstone; these exposed rocks span the boundary between the Carboniferous and Devonian periods of geological time, approximately 360 million years ago.

References

{{authority control Villages in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Brecon Beacons