Top 8 Natural Monuments around Mountain Ash West

Ancient broadleaved woodlands, calcareous grasslands, river, and cliffs. Part of the Cwm Taff Fechan Woodlands SSSI, and a Local Nature Reserve. Taf Fechan LNR comprises about 2.5 km of river with steep valley sides of Carboniferous limestone. The river has eroded the limestone into a narrow gorge in the centre of the site. A mosaic of deciduous woodland on the slopes with a canopy of Beech, Birch and Ash, gives way to Alder and Grey Willow closer to the river, together with Hawthorn scrub, calcareous grassland, heathland, wet flushes, and tufa formations. The valley is one of the best recorded sites for bryophytes in Glamorgan. Please note that the river next to the Gurnos quarry may contain unseen hazards and as a result the Trust does not consider the site suitable for wild swimming or play.

High above the A470 to the north of Quaker’s Yard, the Giant’s Bite is a dramatic gap in the skyline quarried from the ridge top at the former Cefn Glas mine and quarry. ❤️👌 The site was intensively grazed up to the mid-1990s when a large belt of native trees were planted on the lower slopes. These trees are now maturing and have helped to heal the visible mining scares. The shales forming the upper soil horizons support a wide variety of native flowering grassland species including wild strawberry, cowslip, foxglove and wild thyme, and the site is increasingly becoming re-vegetated by scrub species. Incredibly Fine views of the Taff and Cynon valleys are afforded from the summit ridge, while the line of the former Glamorganshire Canal is also discernible.

Wow! Tarren y Bwllfa looms large over the valley below. It is one of Britain's most Southerly glacial cwms. Stunning views of the Brecon Beacons and the former industrial landscape nearby.

Cefn Eglwysilan is a hill in South Wales, the twin 1,253 feet (382 m) summits of which lie just over one mile (2 km) east of Pontypridd in Rhondda Cynon Taf county borough. Its eastern side lies within the community of Aber Valley in Caerphilly county borough. Like neighbouring Mynydd Eglwysilan, the hill is named after the hamlet of Eglwysilan, the church here being dedicated to an obscure saint Ilan. A wireless transmission station is sited on the more northerly of the two summits (at OS grid ref ST 099911). The southerly one is crowned by a trig point. It is a UK listed Marilyn.

The Rocking Stone or "Y Maen Chwyf" in Welsh is a glacial boulder remaining from the Ice Age. It formed the central point for a "Gorsedd" or "Gathering of Bards" in 1814, which was organised by stonemason, Edward Williams, known as "Iolo Morganwg". The Gorsedd Circle of smaller stones was constructed in 1849 by Evan Davies, Bardic name "Myfyr Morganwg" and has often been used for Bardic gatherings, and as a focal point for other public occasions.

The Rocking Stone ('Y Maen Chwyf' in Welsh) is a glacial boulder left over from when ice sheets covered these lands. The stone circle that surrounds the stone was constructed in 1849 by Evan Davies. The site has often been used for Bardic gatherings and public events.

The Rocking Stone or “Y Maen Chwyf” in Welsh is a glacial boulder dating back to the Ice Age. It was a focal point of the “Gathering of Bards” organised by stonemason Edward Williams in 1814.

The Rocking Stone in Pontypridd is set within the middle of a fake Druidic stone circle, it's not prehistoric.