When the words "no signal" appear on a mobile phone screen it can prompt horror and frustration in a world where everyone is always contactable. But when this happens in the peaceful and quaint village of Pontsticill there's a sense of gratitude that nobody can distract you from the view.
Located on the northern outskirts of Merthyr Tydfil with the Brecon Beacons in plain sight the community is cwtched between vast mountains which appear to go on for miles. Even while visiting on a miserable grey Monday afternoon the scenery still manages to resemble a beautiful mosaic with its various greens, oranges, and browns dotted as far as the eye can see.
Many of the houses are terraced and built in traditional grey stone, which adds to the rural feel of the village. And with no local shop, no mains gas supply, and no sign of phone signal returning for the remainder of this visit it truly felt like stepping back in time (in a good way). That’s despite the fact that Merthyr town centre is around a 15-minute drive away.
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The odd car passes by on the main road which winds through the village but other than that it’s quiet and peaceful. It's much busier at weekends and on summer evenings when walkers and cyclists flock in to enjoy the surroundings. Intrigued to know what it’s like to live in a place like this, but with nobody around to ask right now, what better place to start than one of a handful of local pubs?
The Red Cow Inn was built around 300 years ago and is still a popular watering hole for locals and tourists alike. It's now run by owners Darren and Maria Treharne. Inside the country pub is decorated with wood handcrafted by carpenter Darren as well as local artefacts which have been donated for the pub to showcase. In the colder months it is home to a roaring open fire.
“People love it up here because it’s beautiful,” 54-year-old Darren said. “A lot of people come here on holiday. I think they are people who like their walks and cycling. They come and visit Bike Park Wales and other locations near here. I think it is the location more than anything else, with the waterfalls and Pen y Fan being walkable from here. People park in Pontsticill and walk there – we are near the difficult end of Pen y Fan.”
Maria, 52, added: “In the summer especially you get people from all over the world up here using the Brecon Mountain Railway and then they stop at the pub to have food. You get all the lambs on the side of the mountain and you actually see the lambs being born from here which is amazing. You see people around the village on their horses and they come in here for some food.”
Maria points to a number of landscape paintings for sale in the corner of the pub. “We also sell artwork for an artist called Angela Lennon who lives in the village,” she said. “You would be surprised at how many prints we sell. People will come after being to one of the places she has painted and then because people have walked there and they see it they want to buy it.”
The pretty-as-a-picture area is a local of Love Island winner Liam Reardon while a number of famous faces have enjoyed stops at the pub. Maria said: “Liam Reardon from Love Island comes in here a fair bit because he lives in [nearby] Pontsarn. He brought Millie with him – it was one of the first places they came when they came back to Wales after the show. They came for food.
"Tom Hardy was filming here last year. He sat outside and to be honest with you I spoke to him but didn’t have a clue who he was until a girl passing said so.” Darren added: “We’ve also had Steffan Rhodri here from Gavin and Stacey and Roy Noble sometimes has been in and had a beer."
Looking around Pontsticill it’s obvious why it’s so popular – but its beauty isn’t just superficial. It also has a fascinating history and is home to a forgotten community on the site which is now Pontsticill reservoir.
“When the water is low enough you can see the top of the church poking out above the water,” Darren said. “The village was there until the 1920s until they flooded it to build a reservoir. We’ve got a bell in the pub that came from the old village’s school. There was a girl who lived there and her mum was the headmistress and they donated the bell to the pub.”
Local historian Christopher Parry said the land was mainly used for agriculture, which was becoming less profitable at the time. "There were a few farms in the area and a cluster of houses – it wasn't quite a village," he explains. "It was redeveloped elsewhere to make way for the waterworks. This happened over years as the reservoir was developed at different points right up until the 1940s.
"To a certain degree there was some expectation from those who lived there. Agricultural places in that neck of the woods were getting less and less profitable in the 1920s and 30s. The economic depression kicked in and there was a downturn in the economy. Many may have even seen it as a positive because they were being bought out for the land. Although I have no first-hand accounts I'm also positive that some of the people who lived there would not have been pleased about it in the slightest."
For engaged couple Michael Mochan and Emma Morris, and their excitable bulldog Mr Miyagi, today's Pontsticill is idyllic and when they're not admiring the view outside their window they're savouring the landscape of one of artist Angela's pieces of work. A combination of a community feel and the scenery is what drew them in.
Michael said: "Pontsticill is a little God’s country out of the way. We overlook the quarry here and it’s brilliant to see the views. I used to live in an apartment in Dowlais and now I look out of my window all the time – the scenery changes so much. I’m retired now so I enjoy the local community and the chats.”
Emma, 46, added: “Most people are local but it is also a massive tourist area. People come here from everywhere. People especially come from all over the world to use the Brecon Mountain Railway. We enjoy the community hall where they do St David’s Day celebrations as well as quizzes, cheese and wine nights, and bingo.”
The couple point us in the direction of Anthony Prichard who heads the local community group. Growing up on the Llyn Peninsula before moving to London for a number of decades the 63-year-old decided to move back to Wales in 2015 and made Pontsticill his home.
“It’s a very close community that looks out for each other," he says. "You can choose to be part of the community and be part of it but if you choose privacy that will also be respected. I never wake up and fail to appreciate the views, the stunning scenery, and the peace and quiet – particularly having lived in a major city for years.
“We twin with a village in Brittany and our most recent visitors from Brittany were absolutely stunned by the location and overwhelmed by the friendliness of the community. That’s most people’s experience of Pontsticill.”
Although there are benefits aplenty to living in a remote-feeling village like Pontsticill it can also come with challenges. Anthony explained: "There are challenges like not having a shop and having a limited bus service. We also don't have any schools in the village any more and we don’t have a gas supply – we are dependent on oil, wood, and coal. It means our winter or cold spell can expand more than six months of the year if we don’t have heating – the houses are old and can get damp. Everyone is feeling the pressures of the fuel crisis but more so in communities like this.”
Anthony said the community group started around eight years ago when locals thought the village had become scruffy and needed a little TLC – something hard to imagine today. He said: “We became a registered charity about three years ago. We have volunteer days where we bring anyone who wants to come along to do litter-picking and maintain the village. We do grass-cutting and plant wildflowers. We maintain some areas under a lease such as the public toilets and the old burial ground.”
The burial ground in question is called Taff Fechan Burial Ground. It was once part of the old Bethlehem Chapel which opened in 1829 before it was submerged in water at Pontsticill reservoir. The graveyard was moved into the village so people could continue to pay respects to their loved ones. Located just off a country road near the reservoir around 40 headstones dating back throughout the 1800s are visible although more are undoubtedly hidden in the foliage. It's likely the graveyard would be completely overgrown if it wasn’t for the community group’s efforts.
Jane Williams, who is also a member of the community group, has lived in the village since the 1960s when her father lost his job on the old railway and joined the water board at the reservoir. Although Pontsticill is close to her heart she said she has watched it change over the years and misses aspects of the village from her childhood.
The 71-year-old said: "There’s bound to be change over the years. As people die new people will have to move in and that’s fair enough but it used to have a much more community feel here. Everything revolved around the hall with something going on most nights of the week.
"I don't like the number of holiday houses here. It makes me sad because if my daughter wanted to buy a house here she would never be able to now. Normal working people these days wouldn't be able to afford it. There are five or six holiday homes – possibly more. It’s got worse since the pandemic."
A walk or drive through the village wouldn't be complete without a glimpse at the local bus stop, which – as Anthony and Jane explain – the community group wanted painted to brighten up the village. Located just outside the well-kept community hall the stop stands out like a jewel with a vibrant depiction of Pontsticill. It includes Brecon Mountain Railway, sheep, the nearby Pontsarn viaduct, the community hall, and mountains. It comes as no surprise to learn it was painted by Angela Lennon.
After a few attempts to catch Angela at home one final knock before being on our way was successful. She answers the door with a smile on her face and invites us in from the rain. Angela, 57, moved here from London when she was six because her parents wanted to get away from the hustle and bustle of a big city.
She said: “We came to the countryside to become self-sufficient. We arrived here and had no running water. We started from scratch. It’s the type of village where everybody knows everybody.
“It’s quite an isolated village and everyone knows who your sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, and grandparents are. We've always had a very strong sense of community.”
For the last 30 years Angela has been painting and teaching and also selling her work. She said: “I didn’t take art in school but I always enjoyed landscapes and drawing. When I was bringing up my children I decided to do a leisure class in art in the local college and it never stopped.
“I work mainly on landscapes of the local area including the south Wales valleys and Brecon Beacons, which we can see from here, and Merthyr Tydfil. I did the bus stop mural in 2016 for the community group. I did three examples of murals and they chose that particular one.”
As for what her inspires her artwork you don't have to look far. "I had an inner drive to create art because I was inspired by the valleys and mountains and the sounds and the smells of the place,” she said. “It makes me want to be creative and I felt that from a very young age. When you get brought up in the countryside it just becomes part of your soul.”
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