Why visit Crynant
Townapedia lists 2 museums and landmarks, 3 parks and trails, 7 places to eat, 1 place to stay and 5 attractions in and around town.
Highlights include Aberdulais Falls, Melincourt Falls, Cefn Coed Colliery Museum and Penscynor Wildlife Park.
Weather in Crynant
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About Crynant
Crynant (Welsh: Y Creunant) is a village and community in the Dulais Valley in Wales. It lies 7¾ miles north-east from the town of Neath in Neath Port Talbot, situated between the mountains of Mynydd Marchywel to the west, Hirfynydd to the east and Mynydd y Drum to the north.
From the Wikipedia article Crynant (this version), under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Things to do5
Aberdulais Falls
Waterfall · 3.5 mi
Waterfall in Neath Port Talbot, Wales, UK
Melincourt Falls
Waterfall · 2.8 mi
Waterfall in Neath Port Talbot, Wales
Pontardawe Arts Centre
Cinema and theater · 4.4 mi
Multi-purpose cultural venue in Pontardawe, Neath Port Talbot, Wales
Museums and landmarks2
Cefn Coed Colliery Museum
Museum · 1.1 mi
Museum at former copper mine
Parks, trails and playgrounds3
Restaurants and cafes7
History
In the Middle Ages, there was a small monastic cell in Crynant where monks and other pilgrims would break their journeys. The village first appeared on maps as Capel Creunant (Creunant Chapel), which may have referred to the monastic outpost. Crynant remained a rural agricultural community of scattered farms until the discovery of coal in the 19th century.
The first colliery was Maes Mawr Colliery, opened in 1874. It can still be seen at the site of the old Blaenant Colliery at the top end of Brynawel Pen Pentre, a terrace of old cottages which was the first street to be built in the village. Men seeking work in the mines began arriving in Creunant, and the current village started taking shape, centred on the Square. Pen Pentre, the Square, Maes Mawr and Station Road all date from the 19th century. Station Road referred to the Neath and Brecon Railway, built in the mid-1860s, which ran through the village.
Cefn Coed Colliery opened in 1928 and was claimed to be the deepest anthracite mine in the world. It closed in 1968 and the site now houses the Cefn Coed Colliery Museum.
Read more of the history
None of the collieries are operational today, and all but one have largely been reclaimed by nature. The only colliery with some buildings remaining in good repair is Blaenant, which was the last colliery to close and was an extension of Cefn Coed. Until the late 1980s, there was another large colliery in the village, Treforgan Colliery, which has since been demolished. Part of the former site was used to establish Crynant Business Park. Scattered around the village are the remains of older collieries, such as Tynewydd and Top Jebbs.
The end of coal mining changed the face of the village, the valley and the whole of the South Wales Coalfield. The valley is beginning to develop from an economic depression brought with the end of industry, and services are limited.
From the History section of Crynant on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Notable people from Crynant
- Daral PughWelsh footballer (born 1961)
Born in Crynant, according to Wikidata (CC0). Each name links to its Wikipedia article.
Where to stay1
Churches and places of worship4
Shopping2
Schools, colleges and libraries4
Healthcare1
Map of Crynant
29 places. The map loads OpenStreetMap tiles when you open it.
Getting there and nearby towns
Swansea Airport (SWS) is the nearest airport with scheduled flights listed in OpenStreetMap, 16 miles away.
- Resolven 2 mi southeast, about 4 min by car
- Ystalyfera 3 mi northwest, about 5 min by car
- Seven Sisters 3 mi northeast, about 5 min by car
- Neath 5 mi southwest, about 8 min by car
- Glyn-neath 6 mi east, about 9 min by car
- Briton Ferry 7 mi southwest, about 12 min by car
- Clydach 7 mi southwest, about 12 min by car
- Cwmafan 8 mi south, about 13 min by car
- Maesteg 9 mi southeast, about 15 min by car
- Swansea 11 mi southwest, about 18 min by car
Drive times are estimates from straight-line distance, not routes.
Towns near Crynant
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Sources and licences
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, coordinates, regions and time zone
- OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL 1.0): places, airports, map data
- Wikidata (CC0 1.0): elevation, founding date, time zone, website, landmarks and historic places
- Wikimedia Commons (see each image): photos
- Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0): overview and history text
Photo credits
- Aberdulais Falls (4987), Nilfanion, CC BY-SA 4.0
Page built November 10, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us or suggest a place.