A view from Rhigos Veiwpoint

View from Rhigos Veiwpoint on the A4061 Rhigos Road between Rhigos and the old mining village of Treherbert

To the Left is Craig y Llyn [Hill of the Lake] is a mountain situated to the south of the village of Rhigos on the south side of the upper Vale of Neath and north of the Rhondda Valleys in South Wales

At 600m it is the highest point in the traditional county of Glamorgan, and the South Wales Valleys.

The Countryside Council for Wales states that the site has been categorised as a Site of Special Interest because it supports "...two special habitat features, and is also of special interest for a plant, the water lobelia. The first habitat feature is standing water, supporting aquatic plants typical of lakes with low nutrient content. Some of these plants are not known from anywhere further south in the UK. The second is dry heath, found on the slopes above the lakes.

The "lake visible is Llyn Fawr a lake in the Cynon Valley [Welsh: Cwm Cynon], South Wales, that is best known as the site of an important hoard of weapons and tools from the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age. Originally a smaller lake, it was converted into a reservoir in the early 20th century.

The Llyn Fawr hoard was discovered between 1909 and 1913 during the construction of the reservoir. It contains many objects from the late Bronze Age, but also a number of iron objects, notably an iron sword of the Hallstatt type. Two other iron implements were found – a spear and a socketed sickle. Bronze items included two cauldrons and axe heads. The items appear to have been placed in the lake as votive offerings. The date of these items is uncertain because of the context of the finds, but the sword is thought to date from about 650 BC. It is the earliest iron object to have been discovered in Wales.

This hoard gave its name to the Llyn Fawr Phase, which is the last phase of the Bronze Age in Britain.

To the right is The Mynydd Bwllfa wind farm capable of supplying electricity to 15,000 homes, a scar on the traditional landscape, yes, but better than the coal mines that proceeded them, which are now going back to nature.