Vaynor Community occupies the ground between the two Taf rivers north of their confluence at  Cefn-coed-y-cymmer.  It also includes Trefechan and the villages of Pontsticill and Llwyn-onn.

The lie of the land

The community ranges in height from 180m at the confluence of the Taf Fawr and Taf Fechan to 515m at Waun Lysiog on the long broad ridge which extends south from Pen y Fan and Corn Du. The two most notable hills within the area are;

• Garn Ddu at 462m (SO 027124) and
• Cefn Cil-sanws at 461m (SO 024102).

Solid rocks

Vaynor has a varied geology which in the north comprises rocks of the Brownstones Formation, the Plateau Beds Formation and the Grey Grits all of which are of Devonian age.

To their south are the younger Lower Limestone Shales, the Abercriban Oolite, the Cil-yr-ychen Limestone and Millstone Grit, all of Carboniferous age.

All of these formations dip to the S or SE at around 5 to 10 degrees.

The rocks of the area are crossed by a series of geological faults running in the same direction as Cwm Taf.  A major fault at right angles to these is the Neath Disturbance

Legacy of the Ice Ages

Much of the area is plastered with glacial till.

Archaeology

A scatter of cairns, hut circles and enclosures are found across the upland areas.

Maps

Geology

Sheet 231 'Merthyr Tydfil' of the British Geological Survey’s 1:50,000 map series of England and Wales gives full coverage of both the bedrock geology and superficial deposits of the Community area.  It is available in two editions.  BGS publishes a 'sheet explanation' to accompany these maps.

General

The following Ordnance Survey maps cover the Community:

• Landranger sheet 160 'Brecon Beacons' (1:50,000 scale)
• Explorer sheet OL12 'Brecon Beacons National Park/Western area' (1:25,000 scale)

Public transport

Bus services operate along the road.

See Traveline Cymru for bus and train services including stops, timetables and route-planning information.