Attractions and Places To See around Llwyn-Y-Pia - Top 20

Resembling something which should be found in Iceland, Pen Pych waterfall is a series of cascades which tumble over a sheer sided sedimentary rock face. The base of waterfall is enveloped by a half amphitheatre cliffs which only adds to the waterfalls impressive appearance. Theres is no plunge pool at the base of the falls, instead the tallest section spills 21m onto number of boulders which have tumbled from the cliffs above in years gone by. The path will lead you to a large rocky viewing area to the right hand side of the falls beneath the cliffs. You can climb up to the base of the falls, if you do do that take care as the rocks can be very slippery. (https://ohwhataknight.co.uk/blog/pen-pych-mountain-and-waterfall-hike-guide)

While on the Taff Trail the viaduct suddenly looms out of the trees, another fantastic example of the amazing construction skills of our industrial past, take a moment to stop and have a proper look.

Beautiful waterfall with free parking easy trail up not to hard

An epic ride to climb one of the most scenic vistas in the Southeast Valleys of Wales. ... This route is brutal. It's long. It's hard. It can break your soul.

This viaduct, near Treharris, to the southeast of Quakers Yard Station, runs over the River Taff. Constructed as part of Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s single-track Taff Vale Railway it connected Merthyr Tydfil to Cardiff docks. It and opened in 1841. This early railway bridge is 32.3m high, and has six arches of 15.2m span each with octagonal piers. Its westernmost arch passes over the former Merthyr Tramroad (completed 1802), now part of the Taff Trail (NCN cycle route 8). The structure is Graded II* listed ‘as one of the most remarkable bridges by Brunel to survive in Wales’.

One of IK Brunels many bridges. Still very much in use carrying the Merthyr to Barry valley lines passenger train.

This is a section of the Taff Trail NCR8 that is unpaved and muddy. Long may this last as the trail has important industrial archeological history. You can still see the stone seats that held the wooden rails of the old tramway in place. For more on the significance, Google Richard "Richard Trevithick (13 April 1771 – 22 April 1833) was a British inventor and mining engineer. The son of a mining captain, and born in the mining heartland of Cornwall, Trevithick was immersed in mining and engineering from an early age. He was an early pioneer of steam-powered road and rail transport, and his most significant contributions were the development of the first high-pressure steam engine and the first working railway steam locomotive.[1] The world's first locomotive-hauled railway journey took place on 21 February 1804, when Trevithick's unnamed steam locomotive hauled a train along the tramway of the Penydarren Ironworks, in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales.[2][3] Turning his interests abroad Trevithick also worked as a mining consultant in Peru and later explored parts of Costa Rica. Throughout his professional career he went through many ups and downs and at one point faced financial ruin, also suffering from the strong rivalry of many mining and steam engineers of the day. During the prime of his career he was a well-known and highly respected figure in mining and engineering, but near the end of his life he fell out of the public eye." - from wikipedia. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Trevithick

High above the A470 to the north of Quaker’s Yard, the Giant’s Bite is a dramatic gap in the skyline quarried from the ridge top at the former Cefn Glas mine and quarry. ❤️👌 The site was intensively grazed up to the mid-1990s when a large belt of native trees were planted on the lower slopes. These trees are now maturing and have helped to heal the visible mining scares. The shales forming the upper soil horizons support a wide variety of native flowering grassland species including wild strawberry, cowslip, foxglove and wild thyme, and the site is increasingly becoming re-vegetated by scrub species. Incredibly Fine views of the Taff and Cynon valleys are afforded from the summit ridge, while the line of the former Glamorganshire Canal is also discernible.