St Athan Boys Village

The Boys' Village opened in 1925 as a holiday home for up to 180 boys from families of the working class in South Wales. The Boys' Club movement (now Clubs for Young People Wales) had been started in the early 1920s by Captain J Glynn-Jones and David Davies of Llandinam. Davies was the chair of the Ocean Coal Company and Glynn-Jones was its Welfare Officer. The memorial was erected as part of the construction of the camp to commemorate the youth of all nations who died in the First World War. It was located at the focal point of the village within a formal landscaped garden with the village buildings surrounding. It was later amended with the dates of World War II. The Club closed in 1990 and is badly vandalised. The memorial is a grade II listed building.

The upgraded footpath is on the left. The original, very wet path is on the right and it can be several feet under water during Spring high tides.

The lime works opened in 1888 and closed in 1926. This is now a listed building, Grade II, as a well preserved C19 structure from an important regional industry. Link

Another view of the lime works ST0366 : Lime works at Aberthaw showing its west face and the kiln openings. The area and ponds near the lime works is now Aberthaw Nature Reserve

The derelict lime works in the distance

Over the other side of the hedge is a grass-seeded ash hill, from the nearby power station.

Reinforced with wood

Aberthaw Power Station was a coal-fired power plant, it generated enough power to meet the needs of 1.5 million households. It closed in March 2020 and is now being decommissoned

A footpath runs alongside the pipe bridge over the river. This is the longest river in Glamorgan and supports a healthy population of brown trout.

From the footbridge and pipe bridge, at Breaksea Pint

Notice of toxic hazard at Aberthaw Power Plant, "please do not loiter in the vicinity of this sign"

The Aberthaw Centre for Energy and Environment (ACE2) provides a facility for schools, colleges and community groups throughout South Wales to deliver interactive educational programmes.

To the west of Aberthaw Power Station. The wide bay has a shingle and rock beach and at low tide an expanse of wet sand and mud is exposed.