An article for The Guardian
Aditya Chakrabortty’s
article (The Guardian, 22nd November) about Pontypool was very
welcome, because we sometimes feel forgotten down here. Welcome though it is,
it does paint a rather bleak picture of this part of the world, and although
the major industries that turned what is often called the Eastern Valley into a
major industrial region are now long gone, this part of the country still has a
lot to offer.
In its immediate post-war
heyday (and in an era when environmental considerations were so far down the
line that the Afon Lwyd river, which runs the whole length of the Eastern
Valley, was so full of industrial effluent that it was referred to locally as
“The River Stink”), the major employers included Pontypool Road Locomotive
Depot, Panteg Steelworks, British Nylon Spinners, Pilkington’s glassworks, and
the coal mines of the Blaenavon area. These have gone, and probably the only
major company surviving from this period is Crane in Cwmbran (formerly Saunders
Valve). But newer, lighter, industries have moved into the area, encouraged no
doubt, by the region’s excellent infrastructure. One of these is TRW, which is
located between Griffithstown and New Inn, and which makes automotive parts.
Others, such as Parke-Davis, have come and gone, leaving, in the case of
Parke-Davis, their rather splendid, and splendidly located buildings on the
Pontypool to Abergavenny road, which, sadly, are in increasing need to
renovation.
Is much more employment
needed? I’m not sure that it is. I certainly don’t think that bribing new
employers to move in is the best use of available resources. Parke-Davis was, I
seem to remember, encouraged to move here, but was eventually taken over and
closed down. Other companies may be encouraged to leave by receiving a better
offer from elsewhere, often from abroad. Besides, whereas major industry has
declined, the welfare state has burgeoned (along with the jobs and offices
needed to administer it). One respondent to the original article mentioned a
local entrepreneur with an employment idea enquiring about putting an
advertisement for staff in the window of a local newsagent, only to be
discouraged with the words: “People do not want work, I’m afraid. I’ll probably
get my window smashed.” Indeed, I think that a major reason Wales, a large
beneficiary of EU funds, voted for Brexit is because those on benefits blamed
the EU for austerity. They also believed the Brexiters’ claim that by leaving
we will have a lot of surplus money. And they thought that some of that money
would find its way into their own pockets. I hope they’re not going to be
disappointed.
Another writer suggested
that towns like Pontypool be allowed to die, with the population being
encouraged to move to places that are booming; the town in his particular
example being one in the south east, where hi-tech industries are thriving. But
what would the result of this policy actually be? Retirees would be very unlikely to move; as would those who can
manage on benefits. The only people likely to do so would be the young and ambitious,
and young families, probably causing house prices to collapse. And there would
probably be undesirable results on the town they move to.
The actual situation, of
course, is that Pontypool is doing quite well. Those of us who can use their time
as they please, such as myself, can live very comfortably here. Property costs
a fraction of what it would in a London suburb, and the town is, after all, set
within easy reach of some very beautiful countryside. Moreover, it has
excellent bus services to Cwmbran shopping centre, Newport, Abergavenny, and
Cardiff, and the HST from Newport station to get you to London in less than two
hours, allowing people to commute if they wish - as I did myself, for many
years. Then there are the pleasures that are relatively close to Pontypool.
Such as the Brecon and Monmouthshire canal, with the fourteen mile stretch
between Pontypool and Abergavenny being especially beautiful, with something to
look at around every bend, and a perfectly flat towpath generally well away
from industry, noise, and busy roads. One of my habits is to walk up the canal
bank as far as Pontypool Park, the former home of the Hanbury family, and a
major local amenity, with its sports centre, bowling green, running track, and
tennis courts, to have cup of coffee in the sports centre cafe, and then to
stroll into the town, do some shopping, and take the bus back home.
Another is to drive via
country roads to Raglan Garden Centre, which is located in a very beautiful
setting, with views of the Sugarloaf and the Skirrid mountains from its
delightful restaurant. Here, I have a leisurely cup of coffee before continuing
to Cross Ash via the country roads from Llanarth (where Thomas Dadford Junior,
the engineer of the Brecon and Monmouthshire Canal, is buried). I have four or
five different roads I regularly use, choosing the route depending on my mood,
and dodging grey squirrels, pheasants, and tractors and hedge cutters, and
monitored by the beady eyes of buzzards. I then go over the hill – what a view!
– and head down hill to Llanvihangel Crucorney. Here, I enter the Vale of
Ewyas, and drive through its narrow roads to Llanthony Priory (picking up some
free range eggs at Trout Cottage on the way) where I have a Ploughman’s Lunch
in its thousand-year old cellars, before driving back, often via an alternative
country route. If Llantony pub bar is closed, I dine at the Skirrid Mountain
Inn, in Llanvihangel Crucorney, said to be one of the oldest inns in Wales, and
haunted by the ghosts of felons hanged there by local magistrates for heinous
crimes such as chicken stealing. Another alternative is the Old Pandy Inn just
up the road.
Another favoured drive
on a sunny day is to Crickhowell via Abergavenny, and then through the Black
Mountains, the sun behind you all the way if you set out early, showing just how
beautiful this part of the world actually is, before finally turning off at
Bwlch and taking the narrow and hilly road to Llangorse Lake. Talybont on Usk,
a little further up the road, offers several very good eating-places.
This part of the world
also includes interesting ruins, such as Usk Castle, Raglan Castle, and
Grosmont Castle, as well as Llandegfedd and Grwyne Fawr reservoirs, the Big Pit
coalmine experience at Blaenavon, and the Roman ruins at Caerleon. In short, I suspect my quality of life is
superior to the one I would have if I were living in a London suburb, and at a
fraction of the cost. So, unless I win a large prize in the lottery, this is
where I shall stay.
