IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Bryntaf, MERTHYR TYDFIL, CF48 4PJ

The course of Station Hill here bends through 180 degrees. The road on the left climbs towards Aberfan Cemetery. http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3343015 to the right side of the bend.

The road on the left descends towards a hairpin bend. www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3343014 The footpath on the right is also a cycleway, for bicycles only. Motorbikes are banned from using the path by a circular red-edged sign on the path's surface.

This location is near the site of Aberfan railway station which closed in 1951.

Since the closure of Merthyr Vale Colliery in the 1980's the appearance of parts of Aberfan has changed substantially - but not so much here, at the north end of Bryn Taf. Because Bryn Taf follows the contour along the valley side, this view gives little impression of the steepness of the terrain. Just out of the frame to the right the hillside rises steeply. The ridge visible in the distance is on the far side of this narrow valley, going south towards Quakers Yard. Behind the camera the road zigzags down Station Hill toward the village centre. The life of the valley since Victorian times is documented in a collection of old photographs to be found on Alan George's excellent website http://www.alangeorge.co.uk/old_merthyr.htm.

Two horses occupy a steep and muddy paddock on the slopes above Aberfan.

This side of Station Hill descends towards the junction of Aberfan Road and Aberfan Crescent. http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3343014 to the left side of the bend.

In common with many of the South Wales valleys, Taff Vale had two railways running through it. This over-provision was actively encouraged by Victorian colliery owners who were keen to encourage competition and thus keep freight rates low. After the Second World War, with both the railways and the coal industry nationalised, this situation was no longer tenable and wherever possible services were concentrated on one line. With the Taff Vale main line just a short distance further east, the line that passed here closed to passengers in 1951 and freight in 1954.

Station Hill climbs away from the junction with Aberfan Road and Aberfan Crescent towards a hairpin bend. This was formerly the approach road to Aberfan railway station, which closed in 1951.

Viewed from the cemetery entrance gates. http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3343064 The road past the cemetery perimeter wall connects Station Hill behind the camera with the residential street named Bryntaf, to the left in the distance beyond the wooden fence.