Darran Park

The upper Rhondda Fach is less built-up than the Fawr and the largest settlement in the valley, Ferndale, is a comparatively isolated community. Originally known by its Welsh name Glynrhedynog, it is a friendly place with a busy High Street and some particularly fine Victorian houses, though Ferndale’s greatest assets are its three extensive parks, of which Darran Park is a secret too long kept.

Darran Park

The park lies above the town in the mountain’s embrace, overshadowed by the cliffs known as Craig Rhondda Fach. At every turn there are spectacular views up through the ancient woodland, home to owls and falcons, or out across the valley to the farms on the sunny, south-facing slopes of Blaenllechau. And at the back of the Park, underneath the crags, lies the mysterious, deep Llyn-y-forwyn, the Maiden’s Lake.

The Lady or ‘Maiden’ of the Lake

The "Maiden" was an enchantress called Nelferch who left her home at the bottom of the lake to marry a young farmer, only to disappear back into the depths after a quarrel: a statue of Nelferch, bare-breasted and brooding, stands mute amidst the trees by the shore, in a place where the sun sets early behind the mountain above, and the gloom of a long twilight makes her spirit world palpable and sinister.

The Park is also the starting point for a number of steep, though relatively short paths up to the summit of Mynydd Ty’n-tyle with fine views of the Brecon Beacons and Exmoor. Meanwhile, a second park at the bottom of the valley has memorials to Ferndale’s most famous son, the actor Sir Stanley Baker, and to the 231 victims of two pit disasters which, in 1867 and 1869 ripped the heart out of this tight-knit community: both memorials can be reached from the road to Blaenllechau, which is also the starting point for walks along the river bank, up through the forests on the north side of the valley to the site of a Roman marching camp, established in the second century AD, and to Route 47 and the wilderness area around Llanwynno described in Route 3.

To find out more about Destination Rhondda Cynon Taf and to enter one of our draws, please click here.

Copyright 2008 RCTCBC - This site is best viewed in a 1024x768 resolution