Nine Arches, Nantybwch, Tredegar

"Breath is the bridge which connects life to consciousness, which unites your body to your thoughts"
"Thich Nhat Hanh
Visited R at Ebbw Vale, he’d pulled together a pile of background information for me for a story I’m writing for the family history quarterly journal. Took a couple of hours to go through everything, and while I was there I thought I’d tap into his encyclopaedic knowledge of the history of the area to pinpoint a viaduct I’d seen in the area, but couldn’t remember where. “Ah, that’ll be Nine Arches out towards Tafarnaubach way” he said, bingo! As soon as I reached there I remembered, it was as I’d left Tredegar on a previous visit, only caught a glimpse of it but it made an impression – obviously suitable for a black and white. Originally conceived by the The Merthyr Tredegar & Abergavenny Railway to serve Tredegar Ironworks, bringing raw materials in and finished products out, the four mile stretch from Brynmawr to Nantybwch was bridged in 1864. The line was closed in 1958 and is now part of the National Cycle Network’s Route 46.