Blaengwynfi Explained

Blaengwynfi is a village in the Afan Valley, in the Neath Port Talbot area of South Wales. It is in the community of Gwynfi and Croeserw,

Location

It is a part of the Upper Afan Valley. It used to be a coal mining village, and is directly below Abergwynfi. The source of the River Afan is at the top of the nearby mountain.^[1]

Transport

Blaengwynfi is on the A4107 road that links the Afan valley to the Rhondda valley.

Blaengwynfi railway station was on the Rhondda and Swansea Bay Railway, which operated from 1890 to 1968.

The Rhondda Tunnel carried the railway to Blaencwm in the Rhondda Valley. There are proposals to reopen the tunnel to pedestrians and cyclists.

Sport

Blaengwynfi is home to a local football team, Gwynfi United.

Notable residents

• The Presbyterian minister, author and noted historian Tom Beynon (1886–1961) was Pastor of the Balengwynfi Tabernacle in 1916–1933.^[2]
• Harry Hanford (1907–1995), born in Blaengwynfi, played as a footballer over 300 times in the Football League, for Swansea Town, Sheffield Wednesday and Exeter City. He was capped seven times for Wales.^[3]

External links

• www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Blaengwynfi and surrounding area

51.6563°N -3.6046°W

Notes and References

1. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-16110557 BBC news report. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
2. https://biography.wales/article/s2-BEYN-TOM-1886?&query=Tom%20Beynon&searchType=nameSearch&lang=en&sort=sort_name&order=asc&rows=12&page=1 Welsh Biography. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
3. Book: Joyce, Michael . Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939 . SoccerData (Tony Brown) . Nottingham . 2004 . 113 . 978-1-899468-67-6.