Chronicles of the Berkshire Pig: Cwm Bargoed

Treharris Athletic Western v STM Sports

For the football ground connoisseur, there are two uk venues that hold god like status. The first is Victoria Park, home of Nanpean Rovers in Cornwall, and nestles at the bottom of a worked out china clay pit, with cliff paths along each touchline, and detailed concrete shelters honed into the pit sides. The other is the Athletic Ground, home of Treharris Athletic Western.
A requirement to attend an employment tribunal in Bristol meant I was back in Swindon for the weekend, and my original plan to do Stowmarket then Bury Town, curtailed because I realised it was part of an official groundhop event, instead it was chosen to finally visit the legendary Treharris.

Move was the 0938 off Swindon into the Art Deco splendour of Cardiff station.

Where a man of steel one-minute connection took me on a unit up the Taff Valley.

As you progress out of Cardiff and into Rhondda Cynon Taf, the Castell Coch overlooks from the hillside. It was part of the Bute estate and was rebuilt to a Gothic Revival style in the 1800s.

And into the less picturesque Taffs Well, so called because of its thermal spring, it lying on the same fault line as Bath.

My destination however, was the Gwaelod Y Garth Inn, for a pint of the local Violet Cottage – Shine On.

The pub was situated well up the hillside, by one of the worked out pits. The route into the main village was down the old miners track, and down across the Taff.

After a quick stop off at the Spring, it was on to Fagins Chop House for a RCH – Pitchfork.

This was my second visit to Taffs Well this year. The last time was a Friday night in early February to watch them beat Briton Ferry Llansawel in the most horrendous storm. I took this opportunity to re-visit their tidy Rhiw Dda'r ground, which looked a lot better in the spring sunshine.

The stand on the right is a typical Arena Ltd stand, but it has been placed on a vast concrete base, which makes it almost passable.

The wander back to the station was along the old ‘big hill’ railway which was the original route to Caerphilly, but closed in the early 1980s. Halfway along, someone had dumped a microwave. Surely this is more effort than taking it to a recycling centre?

Back to the station where Arriva Trains Wales 150217 was my next move.

It took me a couple of stops up the valley to the glamour of Treforest. This is a southern suburb of Pontypridd and the birth place of Tom Jones, and where Dr Who was filmed.

First stop was Rickard’s for an Otley – Original. My entrance was greeted by seemingly everyone in the establishment heckling someone who was driving the wrong way up the one way main street outside. Treforest was home to the South Wales School of Mines, but this has now morphed into the University of South Wales, and Rickard’s seem to be their student union.

Encouragingly, hipsters don’t seem to have made it to the valleys yet. So tt was a day free of those beards that make all blokes look like middle aged German sex criminals.

I moved on to the Otley Arms, which was either taking the earliest, or latest, Christmas bookings.

This is the tap for the local Otley brewery, which was on extremely good form, and my 23 minute stop saw me clear a Columbo, an Oxymoron, a Glastonbury – American Pale, and a Allendale – Forge.

Slightly light headed, it was the short walk back to the station where on the left, some pacer action to Barry Island, or my chosen Sprinter for Merthyr.

This took me through the architectural mess that is Pontypridd station. Someone actually designed this bridge?
My childhood experience of the Valleys was formed by; How Green Was My Valley, Aberfan Memorials and Loud diesels on coal trains. These days it seems that Walter Pidgeon, mining disasters and Class 37s have been replaced by racing pigeons, fashion disasters and size 37 women.

My stop was the strangely titled Quakers Yard, which is the breezeblock afflicted station for Treharris.

Treharris is just about Welsh for ‘Harris Town’. The Harris in question being Frederick W. Harris, who opened the Deep Navigation Colliery, the deepest in South Wales and supposedly, the producer of the finest coal. The Titanic ran on Deep Navigation coal.

Treharris has ~~had a few quid bunged at it as a sop for Thatcher screwing it over when she shut the mine in 1991~~ been identified as a development area and currently has a number of centrally funded schemes to maximise it’s potential.

A short walk along the hillside and the ground could be spotted beneath the town fire station.

The turnstyle looked like it hadn’t been used for a few years.

And after foregoing the opportunity for an al-fresco warm up in the car park, it was in to the main event.

Treharris Athletic Western 2 v STM Sports 0, Welsh Football League, Division 3

Treharris Athletic call themselves ‘The Pioneers’ and really were for South Wales football. They first played in 1873, winning the first two South Wales championships when the league started in 1890, regularly beating the newly formed Riverside FC, who went on to become Cardiff City. Treharris moved on to the Western League, winning that in 1910, before moving onto the Southern League. They were also providing players for the Welsh National side. During this time, the reserves played in the Rhymney Valley League, which eventually became the Welsh Football League, and it is this that the club has focussed on for the last 100 years.

STM Sports are from St Mellons in the East of Cardiff. This is their first season in the Welsh league after winning the South Wales Amateur League and the play off against the South Wales Senior League champions. They have only been in existence since 2007 and one of their founders was Darren Campbell.

Treharris have played at the Athletic Ground since 1900.

The grounds facilities are all on one side, comprising this stand…..

…..and this viewing gallery outside the decrepit changing rooms.

Next to the stand are signs of the terracing that used to hold the 2000-5000 crowds that the team used to attract.

The pitch seems to be the only flat piece of land in the area. Situated as it is, cut high into the hillside, it gives amazing views down to Abercynon and Pontypridd. If there is such a thing as an amazing view of Pontypridd.

For some reason, I was the only person watching from the bramble clad terracing, the handful of other spectators watching from the stand.

Half time was like a 1980s cricket game, with everyone piling on the pitch for a game of their own.

I escaped to the nearby Labour club.

STM were third in the league and Treharris 14th of 18. The league should be 16 teams but a couple of years ago last minute legal challenges by phoenix teams from the remains of Barry and Llanelli meant they went up to 19 teams.

This season the league is returning to it’s previous size, so the bottom five will be relegated, which is worrying for Treharris.

The match ball was mud covered from the start, making it look from afar like they were playing with the 1966 world cup final ball.

The STM keeper going safari to retrieve the ball.

My lone position on the terraces meant I became a target for the feral youth outside the ground. However, rather than rocks or knife threats, their form of abuse was to bombard me with rich tea biscuits, until they got chased away by whichever shopkeeper they had been liberated from.

Treharris were the better team and deservedly took the lead at the start of the second half, adding another near the end, which was how the game ended.

I headed down the hillside…..