Ghost Village near Cwmllynfell

Image: © Hywel Williams Taken: 4 Oct 2007

Most of the houses on Cefn Waun Road have been abandoned for some time with all useful materials such as the slates on the rooves removed and windows and doors boarded up. In the 1980s, the Coal Board compulsory purchased all the houses on the upper section of Cefn Waun Road mainly due to the fact that they would be subject to unacceptably loud vibrations and noises from the nearby open cast mine that was being developed. The people who lived there at the time were however allowed to stay in their houses with the proviso the coal board took over when they left. Over the last 20 years, the majority of families have left and their homes subsequently boarded up. Not all though - some people still choose to continue to live on this street - especially now that open cast mining has for the moment ceased. In late 2009, the mine's perimeter fence was extended to engulf the top of the street. Taking this photograph would now involve trespass as a gateway has been erected just where the road turns, just before the telephone kiosk.

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