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Eco Tourism
Green, Fresh and Untouched
How Green Was My Valley needs to be consigned, once and for all, to the history books. The novel by Richard Llewellyn painted a picture that vanished from the landscape of South Wales many years ago. In place of coal mines there are now country parks - more than anywhere else in Wales, by the way. The heavy industries of old have disappeared. Forests clothe the hillsides, and above the trees there are open moors and mountains that have always been green, fresh and untouched.
Green Footprints
The Valleys are green in a forward-looking and environmentally friendly way too. Tourism, leisure and pleasure come with the lightest possible touch. The area’s exceptional walking and cycling, horse riding and mountain biking are all in tune with the times - as increasing numbers of visitors are discovering. The City of Cardiff is only ? hour away by train and you can even take a journey on the 35 mile long Monmouth & Brecon Canal starting at Cwmbran and finishing in the Brecon Beacons. And here’s another plus point: the Valleys are easy to get to know, with excellent road and rail links from most of the UK’s main centres of population. So getting here is guilt free - and as green as it comes.
A B&B with a Difference
‘‘I served my veggie sausage to a South African guest. He wouldn’t believe it wasn’t meat,” said Grace Lloyd of Awen, a B&B located high on a hillside overlooking the Ebbw Valley at Abercarn. Grace, an environmental scientist by training, is the proprietor of a friendly, forward-looking vegetarian B&B. There’s an emphasis on wholesome, healthy organic food, not just for breakfast - she’ll make you a packed lunch or cook dinner if you give her notice. Her soaps, shampoos and cleaning products are also organic wherever possible. Her cosy 16th-century Welsh longhouse is
brimming with original features. In the highly unlikely event of not finding it relaxing enough you can try one of her therapeutic Reiki treatments.
www.awenbandb.com
 Green Fingers
If you’re a fan of Jeremy Vine’s Radio 2 show then you’re probably also a fan of Terry Walton. Terry, from Tonypandy in the Rhondda, has become a star since reporting regularly on his allotment. He’s kept an allotment man and boy for 50 years so knows what he’s talking about. With our renewed interest in fresh, locally sourced food, he’s very much in fashion, along with lots of like-minded colleagues - ‘allotmenteering’ is something of a Valleys obsession. As he says, ‘More and more people are starting to put taste and freshness as the most important ingredients of the daily meals.’ The ‘Allotment Doctor’ doesn’t just dispense tips and wisdom regularly on radio (he’s usually on the show every other Friday). He’s also written a book, My Life on a Hillside Allotment. See food and drink for a list of the local markets selling fresh local produce.
Many of the hospitality venues also use locally sourced produce where available.
Country Living
That’s what you’ll enjoy in the Dare Valley Country Park, Aberdare, in the Cynon Valley. It wasn’t always the case. It’s hard to believe that a coal mine once stood on this swathe of grassland, lakeland and mountain. Come here for the walking, horse riding and birdwatching - and for the stirring views northwards into the Brecon Beacons. You can even rest over night at the modern hotel or touring caravan and camping site located at the park. That’s another surprise. The Valleys and the Brecon Beacons National Park are close neighbours. So close, in fact, that just north of Aberdare and Merthyr Tydfil the one lives in the pocket of the other. Penderyn near Aberdare stands at the gateway to ‘Waterfall Country’, a part of the National Park famous for its caves, deep wooded gorges and spectacular falls. And lakeside Pontsticill a few miles from Merthyr is in the foothills of Pen y fan, at 2,907 ft above sea level, the highest peak in South Wales.
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