Ystradfellte is a village and

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, t ...

Powys Powys (; ) is a county and preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh successor state, petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain. Geog ...

, Wales, about north of

Hirwaun Hirwaun is a village and community at the north end of the Cynon Valley in the County Borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales. It is NW of the town of Aberdare, and comes under the Aberdare post town. At the 2001 census, Hirwaun had a popul ...

, with 556 inhabitants. It belongs to the historic county of

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

(Breconshire) and the Fforest Fawr area of the

Brecon Beacons The Brecon Beacons ( cy, Bannau Brycheiniog, ) are a mountain range in South Wales. In a narrow sense, the name refers to the range of Old Red Sandstone peaks which lie to the south of Brecon. Sometimes referred to as "the central Beacons" ...

National Park A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual ...

, beside the

Afon Mellte Afon Mellte or the River Mellte is a river in south Wales. It is formed by the confluence of the Afon Llia and the Afon Dringarth. It then flows south through the village of Ystradfellte to Pontneddfechan where it joins with the Nedd Fechan ...

river. The village is linked by minor roads with

Heol Senni Heol Senni is a hamlet in the valley of the Afon Senni just north of the Fforest Fawr section of the Brecon Beacons National Park. It lies within the community of Maescar in the county of Powys, Wales. The Welsh name means the 'road by (the r ...

to the north and the A4059 north of Penderyn, and with

Pontneddfechan Pontneddfechan, also known as Pontneathvaughan (pronounced ) ("bridge over the Little Neath" in Welsh) is the southernmost village in the county of Brecknockshire, Wales, within the Vale of Neath, in the community of Ystradfellte and in the pri ...

, which lies in the community, at the head of the Vale of Neath to the south.

History

Ystradfellte is chiefly known in history as the place where the Welsh nobleman and rebel leader Llywelyn Bren surrendered at the end of his revolt of 1316. Llywelyn gave himself up on the condition that his men be spared, but was himself put to death in 1318 at Cardiff. The village was connected to mains electricity in 1960, as one of the last communities in the whole of England and Wales to be wired. Outlying properties in the Nedd Fechan valley had to wait until December 2005 for their connection.

Features

The village is a popular

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism ...

centre for its hillwalking,

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several ...

s and

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

s along the nearby rivers. Ystradfellte has a

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

, the ''New Inn'', which provides camping facilities for visitors, and Croydon Caving Club. It comes under

Aberdare Aberdare ( ; cy, Aberdâr) is a town in the Cynon Valley area of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, at the confluence of the Rivers Dare (Dâr) and Cynon. Aberdare has a population of 39,550 (mid-2017 estimate). Aberdare is south-west of Merthyr Tyd ...

for postal purposes. The surrounding area is renowned for its caves and

karst Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, Dolomite (rock), dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathe ...

scenery, making

caving Caving – also known as spelunking in the United States and Canada and potholing in the United Kingdom and Ireland – is the recreational pastime of exploring wild cave systems (as distinguished from show caves). In contrast, speleology i ...

a popular activity. Some of the more famous caves near the village include: * Porth yr Ogof, with the biggest cave entrance in Wales, into which the River Mellte flows. *Little Neath River Cave. The area is seen as part of Waterfall Country. A popular attraction near the village is the Waterfalls Walk, an easier walk along the

past two main falls on the river, ''Sgwd Clun-gwyn'' and ''Sgwd Isaf Clun-gwyn'', to ''Sgwd yr Eira'' on the

Afon Hepste The Afon Hepste is a river in Powys, Wales, though partly forming the county's border with Rhondda Cynon Taf. It runs wholly within the Brecon Beacons National Park. Its headwaters, the Afon y Waun, Nant y Cwrier and Nant Hepste Fechan, rise ...

, where the footpath passes behind the waterfall. Image:Sgwd_Clun-gwyn,_Afon_Mellte.jpg, ''Sgwd Clun-gwyn'', Afon Mellte Image:Sgwd Isaf Clun-gwyn, Afon Mellte.jpg, ''Sgwd Isaf Clun-gwyn'', Afon Mellte Image:Sgwd_y_Pannwr,_Afon Mellte.jpg, ''Sgwd y Pannwr'', Afon Mellte Image:Sgwd yr Eira, Afon Hepste.jpg, ''Sgwd yr Eira'', Afon Hepste

Notable people

*The Welsh-language poet

Evan Bevan Evan Bevan (1803–1866) was a Welsh writer of satirical verse in the Welsh language. Life and work Bevan was born into a poor family: his parents were William and Gwenllian Bevan of Llangynwyd, Glamorgan. As a young adult he moved to Ystradfel ...

(1803–1866) moved to Ystradfellte as a young adult.

References

External links

Village websiteSeries of local photographs by Martin Wilmore PhotographyPhotos from Swansea University Hiking Clubs Version of the Waterfalls Walkwww.geograph.co.uk ; photos of Ystradfellte and surrounding area
{{authority control Villages in Powys Fforest Fawr Tourist attractions in Powys