Cwm Gwaun (English: ''Gwaun Valley'') is a

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 ...

and valley in north

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; cy, Sir Benfro ) is a county in the south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The county is home to Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. The Park oc ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. The community is centred around Pontfaen, a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

and hamlet southeast of

Fishguard Fishguard ( cy, Abergwaun, meaning "Mouth of the River Gwaun") is a coastal town in Pembrokeshire, Wales, with a population of 3,419 in 2011; the community of Fishguard and Goodwick had a population of 5,407. Modern Fishguard consists of two p ...

, and includes the ancient parish of

Llanychaer Llanychaer (English: church on the Aer, a tributary of the River Gwaun) is a small rural village and parish in the community of Cwm Gwaun, north Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is southeast of the port of Fishguard. History Llanychaer was in the ...

. In 2011, the population was 313. The valley is known for its unspoilt nature and old-world pub, and there are numerous other

listed buildings In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

Geography

The community's area is . ''The Companion Guide to Wales'' describes Cwm Gwaun as "one of the most important meltwater channels from the last ice age to be found in the British Isles." The

River Gwaun A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of ...

rises in the

Preseli Mountains The Preseli Hills or, as they are known locally and historically, Preseli Mountains, ( Welsh: ''Mynyddoedd y Preseli / Y Preselau'' , ) is a range of hills in western Wales, mostly within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. The range stre ...

near the village and its tributaries have carved heavily-wooded steep, narrow side-valleys. To the northwest are hills such as Mynydd Dinas and Mynydd Melyn and the valley forms a notable wetland. Trees found in the valley include sessile oak,

beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engl ...

alder Alders are trees comprising the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus comprises about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few sp ...

rowan The rowans ( or ) or mountain-ashes are shrubs or trees in the genus ''Sorbus'' of the rose family, Rosaceae. They are native throughout the cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with the highest species diversity in the Himalaya ...

ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non-gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...

and

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist so ...

. The valley is a nature walk of in the

Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Pembrokeshire Coast National Park ( cy, Parc Cenedlaethol Arfordir Penfro) is a national park along the Pembrokeshire coast in west Wales. It was established as a National Park in 1952. It is one of three national parks in Wales, the others ...

. The ''Rough Guide to Wales (Cwm Gwaun and the inland hills)'' says of the community, "Cwm Gwaun, the valley of the burbling River Gwaun is one of the great surprises of Pembrokeshire – a bucolic vale of impossibly narrow lanes, surrounded by the bleak shoulders of bare mountains."

New Year celebrations

The locals continue to follow the tradition of the pre-1752

Julian calendar The Julian calendar, proposed by Roman consul Julius Caesar in 46 BC, was a reform of the Roman calendar. It took effect on , by edict. It was designed with the aid of Greek mathematicians and astronomers such as Sosigenes of Alexandri ...

and celebrate New Year ( cy, Hen Galan) on 13 January. Children walk from house to house, and sing traditional

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province, Argentina). Historically, it h ...

songs. In return, householders provide gifts, or ''calennig'', of sweets and money. In 2012, it was reported that most children from the local primary school would be absent that day to take part in the celebrations.

Notable landmarks

The community (Pontfaen) has a primary school (''Ysgol Llanchllwydog''). The village pub is the Grade II-

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

'' Dyffryn Arms'', known locally as ''Bessie's'' and run by Bessie Davies's family since 1845. The pub was originally called ''Llwyn Celyn'' (Holly Bush). In 2011 it featured in S4C's ''Straeon Tafarn'' series. In 2015 it featured in the

Good Beer Guide The ''Good Beer Guide'' is a book published annually by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) listing what it considers to be the best 4,500 real ale outlets (pubs, clubs, and off-licences) in the United Kingdom. Details The content of the guide ...

for a 40th successive year. In February 2019 it suffered a significant fire, but reopened in June. The Gwaun Valley contains a brewery at the Kilkiffeth Farm. A small hydroelectric power scheme is running at Pontfaen, whose output is sufficient to power some 70 homes. There are 21 listed buildings in the Gwaun valley, including the parish church and ''Dyffryn Arms''. Two bridges, at Llanychaer and Picton Mill, are Grade II listed.

Worship

There are two places of worship: the Grade II listed medieval church of St Brynach (

Church in Wales The Church in Wales ( cy, Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru) is an Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses. The Archbishop of Wales does not have a fixed archiepiscopal see, but serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishops. The pos ...

), which is open daily to visitors, and Jabes Baptist Chapel, one of the few remaining chapels in Wales that have an outdoor baptistry that is filled from the local river. The chapel was built in 1803 and restored in 1903.

References

External links

{{Communities of Pembrokeshire Valleys of Pembrokeshire Communities in Pembrokeshire