Abercynon

Abercynon lies in the Cynon Valley and changed significantly during the industrial revolution. The town is linked to Cardiff and Merthyr by train. Significant buildings in the town include the War Memorial, Workingmen's Hall where the famous political leader Kier Hardie addressed miners' in 1906.

Abertillery

Abertillery is a former coal-mining town situated in the South Wales Valleys within the county borough of Blaenau Gwent which, together with the surrounding villages, has a population of about 20,000.

Bargoed

Bargoed was a rural town until the railway arrived and the colliery opened in 1903. Within seven years the mine employed almost 2,000 miners.

	Blackwood
	Blackwood (Coed Dduon) is a busy shopping centre, with a population of 23,300. It has an outdoor market, which opens three days a week.

	Brynmawr
	Brynmawr (Big Hill), was originally known as Gwaen Helygen (Marsh of the Willow). A mere village in 1800, it was a market town in the county of Brecknock and was formed into an ecclesiastical parish in 1875.

	Caerphilly
	Caerphilly is the principal town of the county borough with a population of approximately 30,000.

	Ebbw Vale
	Ebbw Vale (Glyn Ebwy) stands at the head of the valley of the Ebbw Fawr river and is the administrative centre of Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council. With a population of 24,422, it is also the largest town in the County Borough.

Newbridge

Newbridge, as its name implies, was the name given by the people to land around the "new bridge" built across the Ebbw (Afon Ebwy) towards the end of the eighteenth century.

Oakdale

Oakdale was built in the early 1900s to a radical new design.

Pontypridd

The market town of Pontypridd lies just 12 miles north of Cardiff. 'Ponty', as its known to locals, is famous for its old bridge,which at the time it was built (in 1750) was the longest single spanning bridge in the world.

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