The Inn, Railway Station, and Viaduct at Pontsarn Breconshire

Description

Photography by John Ball - 23 March 2003 (with a Fuji FinePix S602 Zoom digital camera)

Situated at Pontsarn in the Breconshire parish of Vaynor (Y Faenor) just two miles north of Merthyr Tydfil is a spectacular and beautiful gorge, cut through the limestone rocks by the Taf Fechan (Lesser Taff) river. The gorge is the site of three historic structures, related to the development of a railway which once carried passengers from Brecon to Merthyr Tydfil, and limestone from a nearby quarry to the great ironworks in Dowlais and Merthyr. 'Pontsarn' is thought to be an abbreviation of Pont y Sarn Hir, or Bridge of the Long Road. This may refer to the old road, possibly of Roman origin, which linked Cardiff with the Usk valley near Brecon via the mountain pass below Cribyn in the Brecon Beacons. Certainly the stone road-bridge crossing the Taf Fechan, just downstream from the viaduct, is an ancient bridging point.

The Pontsarn Inn and Pontsarn Station have long served travellers who flocked to this beautiful area, so close to the industrial sites of Merthyr Tydfil and Dowlais. A handbook of 1893 proudly described the area as "in the foremost rank of summer resorts in the whole of Wales". Today it is within the Brecon Beacons National Park, an official accolade of the highest landscape quality.

This Images of Wales feature is a photographic record of my visit to this area on 23rd March 2003.

Image 1:

Pontsarn Inn, viewed from the unclassified road linking Cefn-coed-y-cymmer with Vaynor and Pontsticill.

The Pontsarn Inn was originally built in the mid 19th century as a station master's house to serve the Brecon to Merthyr railway line. The building later served as a post office, shop and an inn, providing refreshment for miners and their families enjoying their Sunday School trips to the countryside. A short pathway on the opposite side of the road leads down to the railway station (Image 2)

Image 2:

The platform of Pontsarn Railway Station, looking southwestwards towards Merthyr.

The Brecon and Merthyr Railway brought many visitors from the industrial heartlands of South Wales to this beautiful location which became "...the rendezvous of thousands of tourists and pleasure seekers from all parts of the Principality, as well as the special resort to the inhabitants of Merthyr and Dowlais....". The railway also carried farmers' wives taking their produce to market in Dowlais and Merthyr. In 1873, the local rector recorded 21 trains a day; but use of the railway declined and the line was eventually closed by the "Beeching cuts" in 1963. However, one can still walk the line in either direction; the railway track-bed is now used by walkers and cyclists following the Taff Trail which links Cardiff and Brecon.

Image 3:

The view northeastwards from Pontsarn Station, towards Brecon.

To the right, alongside the stone wall, is the path which leads up to the Pontsarn Inn. Ahead is the stone bridge which carries the road to Vaynor over the railway line. Beyond the bridge, the track traversed a deep gorge by means of a magnificent stone viaduct (Image 4).

The viaduct is built entirely out of local limestone quarried from a nearby railway cutting. It is 455 ft long, 92 ft high, and is supported by seven fine stone arches. It appears the first train to use it ran in May 1863. The photograph (Image 4), taken from alongside the Pontsarn Inn, shows the steep nature of the side of the gorge. The party of walkers on the viaduct is heading for Brecon on the Taff Trail.

Image 5, 6:

The sides of the gorge are densely wooded.

Image 7:

The north side of the viaduct.

Passing under the central arch of the viaduct is the Taf Fechan. This river, which has its source below Corn Du and Pen y Fan, and supplies water to the Neuadd, Pentwyn and Pontsticill reservoirs, joins the Taf Fawr near Cefn-coed-y-cymmer. From there, the Taff flows south-eastwards, past Merthyr Tydfil, eventually emptying into the Bristol Channel at Cardiff.

Image 8:

Archive photograph by J. Spencer Gilks

Train crossing the viaduct in 1961.

This splendid archive photograph, taken from roughly the same viewpoint as my own shot, shows a freight train from Brecon crossing the Pontsarn Viaduct on its way to Merthyr Tydfil in March 1961, exactly 42 years ago. The line was then in the hands of the state-owned British Railways. The locomotive is a former Great Western Railway 0-6-0 pannier tank. In this photograph, the limestone cliffs above the viaduct are scarred by excavations of the Morlais Quarry.

Source: Great Western Branch Line Album by Ian Krause, published by Ian Allen Ltd., Shepperton, Surrey, 1969.

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