Brynamman is a former mining village at the head of the Amman valley, in the western corner of the South Wales coalfield, where the coal was anthracite, the hardest and purest kind. The village grew in the nineteenth century around collieries, ironworks and tinplate works, and it has the classic look of a Welsh valley community: terraces of stone houses climbing the hillsides, chapels with grand facades, a few shops and pubs, and the bare slopes of the Black Mountain rising behind. The mines have closed, but the community and its traditions remain.
This is a strongly Welsh-speaking area, and you will hear the language in the shops and on the streets. The chapels, the choirs and the rugby clubs were the heart of community life, and they still matter. The Amman valley also produced writers, poets and preachers, and the chapels of the area were famous for their music. If you have time, look at the details of the chapel buildings: their size and grandeur tell you how important they were.
For riders, Brynamman is the southern gateway to the Black Mountain Pass, the A4069, one of the best motorcycle roads in Wales. From the village the road climbs steeply north onto the moorland, with a series of tight hairpins and views back over the valley, before crossing the open summit and descending toward Llangadog in the Tywi valley. The road gets tight in parts, with no barriers and sheep on the road, and the weather can be wild on the summit. It is a superb ride, especially on a clear day, but it demands respect.
The valley itself has an interesting landscape, with the scars of mining slowly being healed by grass and trees, and the river running through the middle. The old railway lines have become cycle paths, and there are walks onto the hills. To the south, the valley widens toward Ammanford and the coast at Llanelli.
Brynamman has shops, a few cafes and pubs, and fuel in the area. Ammanford, a few kilometres down the valley, is the main town, with supermarkets and more services. Sort yourself out here before the climb, and come back down for a cup of tea afterwards.