Visit Pontypridd Places

Welcome to Visit Pontypridd Places
The Walkfo guide to things to do & explore in Pontypridd

  

Pontypridd Places Overview: History, Culture & Facts about Pontypridd

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Pontypridd history

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Etymology

The name Pontypridd derives from the name Pont-y-tŷ-pridd, Welsh for “bridge by the earthen house” referring to successive wooden bridges that once spanned the River Taff at this point.

Old Bridge

Pontypridd is noted for its Old Bridge, a stone construction across the River Taff built in 1756 by William Edwards. This was Edwards’ fourth attempt to build the longest single-span stone arch bridge in the world. Notable features are the three holes of differing diameters through each end.

Coal

Before their development Pontypridd was a hamlet of a few farmsteads. Sited at the junction of three valleys, it became an important location for transporting coal from the Rhondda and iron from Merthyr Tydfil. Its role in coal transport lengthened its railway platform, which is thought to have once been the longest in the world in its heyday.

Iron and steel

The Brown Lenox/Newbridge Chain & Anchor Works, Crawshay’s Forest Iron, Steel & Tin Plate Works and the Taff Vale Iron Works, both in Treforest near the now University of South Wales.

Buildings

The town has a hospital, Dewi Sant Hospital and acts as the headquarters of Transport for Wales Rail at Llys Cadwyn. The town also acts as a headquarters for Transport for Welsh Rail.

Pontypridd geography / climate

Pontypridd lies alongside the north–south dual carriageway A470 between Cardiff and Merthyr Tydfil. The town lies at the junction of the Rhondda and Taff valleys. The community recorded a population of about 32,700 in the 2011 census figures.

You can visit Pontypridd places with Walkfo Pontypridd to hear history at Pontypridd’s places whilst walking around using the free digital tour app. Walkfo Pontypridd has 43 places to visit in our interactive Pontypridd map, with amazing history, culture & travel facts you can explore the same way you would at a museum or art gallery with information audio headset. With Walkfo, you can travel by foot, bike or bus throughout Pontypridd, being in the moment, without digital distraction or limits to a specific walking route. Our historic audio walks, National Trust interactive audio experiences, digital tour guides for English Heritage locations are available at Pontypridd places, with a AI tour guide to help you get the best from a visit to Pontypridd & the surrounding areas.

“Curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 43 audio facts unique to Pontypridd places in an interactive Pontypridd map you can explore.”

Walkfo: Visit Pontypridd Places Map
43 tourist, history, culture & geography spots

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Pontypridd historic spots	Pontypridd tourist destinations	Pontypridd plaques	Pontypridd geographic features
Walkfo Pontypridd tourism map key: places to see & visit like National Trust sites, Blue Plaques, English Heritage locations & top tourist destinations in Pontypridd

  

Best Pontypridd places to visit

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Pontypridd has places to explore by foot, bike or bus. Below are a selection of the varied Pontypridd’s destinations you can visit with additional content available at the Walkfo Pontypridd’s information audio spots:

Upper Boat power station Upper Boat power station supplied electricity to Pontypridd and the wider area from 1904 to 1972. The station was decommissioned in 1972 and was demolished in 1976. It was owned and operated by the South Wales Electrical Power Distribution Company.

Dynea Halt railway station Dynea Halt was a small halt on the Pontypridd, Caerphilly and Newport Railway, and closed in 1956.

Calvert’s Engine Calvert’s Engine or the Newbridge Colliery Engine is a beam engine of 1845. It is preserved on the campus of the University of Glamorgan, South Wales.

Pontypridd RFC Pontypridd Rugby Football Club are a rugby union team. They play in the Indigo Group Premiership, which they won for four consecutive seasons between 2012 and 2015. They have won the Specsavers National Cup on 6 occasions, with the most recent being in 2014. Established in 1876, they have produced numerous players for Wales national rugby union.

Dewi Sant Hospital Dewi Sant Hospital is a small hospital in Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It is managed by the Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board.

Great Western Mine Great Western Mine, also known as Hetty Pit, was a coal mine, at Hopkinstown, near Pontypridd, Glamorgan in South Wales.

Pontypridd Cottage Hospital Pontypridd Cottage Hospital is a health facility in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It is managed by the Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board.

Rhondda Heritage Park Rhondda Heritage Park is an Anchor Point of ERIH, The European Route of Industrial Heritage. Visitors can experience the life of the coal miners on a guided tour through one of the mine shafts of the Lewis Merthyr colliery.

Cefn Eglwysilan Cefn Eglwysilan is a hill in South Wales, the twin 382m summits of which lie 2 km east of Pontypridd in Rhondda Cynon Taf. Its eastern side lies within the community of Aber Valley in Caerphilly county borough.

Jerusalem, Ynysybwl Jerusalem, Ynysybwl was a Calvinistic Methodist chapel in Glamorgan, Wales. Services at Jerusalem were conducted in the Welsh language.

Visit Pontypridd plaques