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, tow ...

Powys Powys (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh succession of states, successor state, petty kingdom and princi ...

, 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 populati ...

, 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 Fforest Fawr is an extensive upland area in the county of Powys, Wales. Formerly known as the Great Forest of Brecknock in English, it was a royal hunting area for several centuries but is now used primarily for sheep grazing, forestry, water cat ...

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" t ...

National Park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

, 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 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 prin ...

, which lies in the community, at the head of the

Vale of Neath The Vale of Neath (or Neath Valley, Welsh: ''Cwm Nedd''), one of the South Wales Valleys, encompasses the upper reaches of the River Neath in southwest Wales. In addition to the River Neath, it is traversed by the Neath Canal and the A465 dual ...

to the south.

History

Ystradfellte is chiefly known in history as the place where the Welsh nobleman and rebel leader

Llywelyn Bren Llywelyn Bren (), or Llywelyn ap Gruffudd ap Rhys / Llywelyn ap Rhys (also Llewelyn) or in en, Llywelyn of the Woods. He was a nobleman who led a 1316 revolt in Wales in the reign of King Edward II of England. It marked the last serious challen ...

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 Mains electricity or utility power, power grid, domestic power, and wall power, or in some parts of Canada as hydro, is a general-purpose alternating-current (AC) electric power supply. It is the form of electrical power that is delivered to h ...

in 1960, as one of the last communities in the whole of England and Wales to be wired. Outlying properties in the

Nedd Fechan The Nedd Fechan is a river almost wholly within the county of Powys, Wales, currently administered as part of the unitary authority of Powys. It rises on the eastern slopes of Fan Gyhirych in the Fforest Fawr section of the Brecon Beacons National ...

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 mo ...

centre for its

hillwalking Walking is one of the most popular outdoor recreational activities in the United Kingdom, and within England and Wales there is a comprehensive network of rights of way that permits access to the countryside. Furthermore, access to much uncultiv ...

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 wa ...

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 was ...

, 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, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...

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 Porth yr Ogof is a cave located near the village of Ystradfellte, near the southern boundary of the Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales. It lies on the course of the Afon Mellte, a river whose name translates as ‘lightning’, commonly exp ...

, with the biggest cave entrance in Wales, into which the

River 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 to ...

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