Forge on the Meadow

I live in South Wales, in a quiet corner of Tonyrefail, at the far Eastern edge of the village, beneath the western slope of the Glyn mountain. The hamlet of Pant-y-Brad is a few yards outside of the back gate to the South, the village of Trebonog is only a few more from the front. The whole area falls within the postal district of Porth Town in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taff. The word Tonyrefail derives from the Welsh 'Ton yr Efail' meaning the forge on the meadow. Natural resources Wales describes the geography of the South Wales valleys as: 'a landscape of contrasts. The valleys contain the extensive ribbon development, which snakes along the valley floors and lower valley sides, and sometimes with settlements precariously extending over intervening slopes and spurs. The windswept upland plateaux that separate the valleys could not be more different. Devoid of settlement, the uplands engender a strong sense of openness and remoteness, although in places compromised by proximity to industry and people, for example reclaimed spoil heaps, fly tipping, abandoned cars, ‘horsiculture’ and associated ramshackle sheds or allotments, pressure of people accessing the area for recreation in an unmanaged way.' These images describe how I feel about the environment of my surroundings and stand for comparison against the description offered by the Welsh Government sponsored body, 'Natural Resourses Wales.'