Local Interest

Historically, the valleys and areas around Nelson have been masses of activity with the coal industry and iron industry. With these industries having declined in this area, the areas formerly used for mining and the waste it produced have been reclaimed in many cases.
There are other places of interest that are somewhat more recent, but nevertheless, of interest. Below is a sample of some of them.

Historical

St Mabon's Church, Llanfabon -
Inside the church there is a memorial to the fallen of the Nelson area. There is also a special plaque to H.G.T. Leigh who was killed in the First World War. Read the full page of infomation about the Church by clicking the link to left.

Parc Penallta - An area of land reclaimed following the demise of the coal-mining industry. Now, it provides pleasant walks, excellent vantage points and is accessible directly from the National Cycle Network. Route 47, The Celtic Trail passes through Parc Penallta and allows access to the Sirhowy Trail to the east and The Taff Trail to the west.

 LLancaiach Fawr - A site of interest from a historical angle to the more ghostly hauntings. Guided tours are available as well as 'Ghost tours' in the Winter months. The site is now run by the Local Authority.

 Handball Court - The historic Nelson handball court is in the centre of the village. Competitions have been held here for over a hundred years and they now attract international entrants.

 The Old Police Station. - See entry below.

Nelson Police Station was opened in 1910 and was operated by the Glamorganshire Constabulary until the premises was replaced by a smaller building. The Station subsequently went into disrepair but was bought by its current owners, James Amos & Christine Phillips-Amos (both local people) in 1989.  Since that date, James & Christine have sympathetically refurbished the premises and until recently it was a popular eating place called 'Sergeants'. Though now closed as a restaurant, James still has many articles of historic interest relating to the police.

Wern Ganol Guest House

A 200 year old farm and former colliery manager's house that has been converted into the modern day guest house. It is just outside the main village and has lovely views over open countryside. The current owner, Andrew Portlock is a direct relative of two men whose names are on the village memorial.

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Wern Ganol Guest House

Several pubs in the area serve lunchtime and evening meals. There are takeaways that cater for those that like Indian, Chinese food, kebabs or Pizza.

General Interest and Sporting

Climbing Centre - About 5 miles north of Nelson, near the village of Bedlinog , there is an international indoor climbing centre. The centre can be accessed by road and ample parking is available. By bicycle, a small diversion from The Celtic Trail, Route 47 on the National Cycle Network provides a good example of land reclaimed after the closure of Deep Navigation Colliery, Treharris, Taff-Merthyr Colliery and Trelewis Drift mines. The climbing centre closed some time back but it re-opened in January, 2009. Follow a link to their web site to see the facilities available or telephone the centre on 01443 710749 to make enquiries.
Welsh International climbing centre.

Tennis courts - In the nearby village of Trelewis, there are full size tennis courts situated on land reclaimed from the former Deep Navigation Colliery, Treharris

Library - Nelson has its own public library situated in Commercial Street, Nelson. There are facilities to access the internet.

Skateboard Park and Football Field - in 2006, a skateboard park was opened on land that overlooks the Wern football field. They are at the edge of the village and accessible via Springfield Terrace. Parking is available.

A few hundred yards from the Llanfabon Inn is where the Nelson Field Target Club meets. They shoot air rifles at 40mm targets and have a membership of about forty, with ages ranging from 10yrs old and upwards. One of their members is the current European champion, so standards are high. Their website: Nelson FTC

Other facilities

While Nelson is still a small (but growing) village there are several shop businesses including a newsagents, Co-operative Store, Post Office, Barclays Bank, a cafeteria, hair salons, a tyre repair centre and a betting shop in the village.

On the outskirts is a small supermarket. Fresh vegetables and meat can also be bought at the Matthews family run stalls just 1/2 a mile away. Joyce’s home-made faggots are something else. (Buy them frozen, cook them yourself, they are delicious !)

There are a number of licensed premises in and around the village many of which serve bar meals.

There is a fuel station next to the small supermarket.

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