News
Welcome to our latest news page.
January 2012
This is Your Heritage - FREE Event in Bridgend3rd Jan 2012
This is YOUR heritage… discover it today!
Free event: 21 st January, Bethlehem Church LIFE Centre, Cefn Cribwr 9.30am-1.30pm
Beat the January blues and find some new interests for the New Year at this one-off free event! The day will be packed with talks, exhibitions, arts...
December 2011
Need some help with trading?20th Dec 2011
Do you belong to a charity or a community group that is thinking about trading but have concerns about where to start or what it would involve?
WCVA are running a series of seminars called Charity Trading: Know the Ropes , which aim to help with concerns related to charity trading...
CTA Training, New Tredegar2nd Dec 2011
For the next installment of our Community Tourism Ambassador training we ventured to New Tredegar in the Rhymney Valley. Our kind hosts were The Winding House - the museum for Caerphilly county borough and one of the Top 10 Valleys Essentials.
Needless to say we had a...
November 2011
CTA training features on BBC...8th Nov 2011
The Community Tourism Ambassadors scheme features on BBC Online , BBC Wales Today, BBC Radio Cymru & S4C's Newyddion!
Ambassador Map, October Update!2nd Nov 2011
Community Tourism Ambassador Map Update, October 2011. Over 120 Ambassadors have now been trained in The Valleys;
October 2011
Community Tourism Conference 2011, Llanhilleth28th Oct 2011
The second Valleys Community Tourism Conference took place at Llanhilleth Institute on Monday 17th October 2011. The aim of the day was to raise awareness of community tourism projects and their importance to the contribution to tourism in The Valleys . It was also a great opportunity for...
August 2011
Valleys Regional Park Update18th Aug 2011
The latest Valleys Regional Park e-newsletter is now available for download. Click link above to be directed to the VRP website.
Welsh language and large print versions are available upon request.
Community Tourism Network Day 201115th Aug 2011
Local volunteers from Valleys communities have been awarded for undergoing training to become welcoming Ambassadors for their towns and villages.
The Community Tourism Ambassador scheme, coordinated by Valleys Regional Park, hosted its first Network Day at Cyfarthfa Castle and Museum in...
July 2011
CTA Training, Ferndale21st Jul 2011
Community Tourism Ambassador Training Workshop undertaken at the Glynrhedyn, Rhondda Life Centre, Ferndale.
Starting at Penrhys presented an interesting dilemma for Ruth and I as we
embarked on our pre-workshop recce. Usually we arrive in a town or village at
the bottom of the valley...
April 2011
CTA Training, Brynaman7th Apr 2011
Community Tourism Ambassador Training Workshop undertaken at Brynaman!
Well I should really try and reign in the superlatives, avoid the clichés and try
not to be partisan…but I’m not going to! Why should I when our visit to
Brynaman not only exceeded my personal...
February 2011
CTA training, Parc Taff Bargoed28th Feb 2011
Parc Taf Bargoed Community Tourism Ambassador Workshop.
Wow what a welcome in these hillsides! Ruth and I arrived early for our planned recce of Parc Taf Bargoed on a bright & crisp Thursday morning and had hardly walked more than a couple of hundred metres from the cark park at the...
CTA Training, Cwmbran14th Feb 2011
Community Tourism Ambassador Training undertaken at Greenmeadow Farm, Cwmbran.
Wow what an audience! Well fired up and keeping us on our toes all day – great stuff – and exactly the kind of people the Valleys Regional Park needs as Community Tourism Ambassadors. A large...
October 2010
Community Tourism Day 2010, Cwmaman Institute11th Oct 2010
Cwmaman Institute holds the first Valleys Community Tourism Day
The first annual Community Tourism event was officially opened by Jocelyn Davies AM, Deputy Minister for Housing and Regeneration, which emphasised the importance and commitment to community tourism.
The minister stated that...
August 2010
There’s a new voice of The Valleys - Only Boys Aloud brings The Valleys to life with choral sound at Eisteddfod opening concert 1st Aug 2010
Over 140 boys aged between 14 and 19, more than half of whom had never sung in public before, opened Wales’ biggest cultural festival, The National Eisteddfod last night (30 July) to an audience of 3000 in Ebbw Vale.
The boys are members of Only Boys Aloud, an initiative launched by...
May 2010
Does Gwent have the V Factor?10th May 2010
Jess Matthews and Liam Cox from Blackwood and Vicky Jones from Cwmbran are just three of thousands of young hopefuls in The Valleys busy rehearsing for this year’s V Factor.
Launched in February as part of ‘The Valleys- Heart and Soul of Wales’ campaign in partnership with...
April 2010
Maes B Line up Revealed22nd Apr 2010
With 100 days to go until the start of the Eisteddfod, we are delighted to announce the Maes B line up for this year, and we’re sure that these bands and performers will appeal to the local and national audience, reinforcing Maes B’s important role in the Welsh language music calendar....
100 Days to go and the Eisteddfod Encourages Everyone to ‘Go Bonkers for Bunting’!20th Apr 2010
Go bonkers for bunting is the National Eisteddfod’s simple message when launching the latest campaign to promote this year’s festival, on 21 April.
The aim is to create a sea of colour across Blaenau Gwent and the Heads of the Valleys, as we encourage everyone locally –...
Medieval Festival to Celebrate the Spirit of the Gwendraeth Valley20th Apr 2010
A huge Medieval Festival is taking place at Ffos Las Racecourse this summer. Attractions range from knights jousting and falconry displays to clay pigeon shooting, a family funfair, face painting, children’s entertainers and living statues. Music by Irish band Rattled plus a local choir and...
Will Young in the pink after National Eisteddfod14th Apr 2010
Will Young, the most successful British male pop star of this millennium will perform in the Pink Pavilion on August 8, the night after the close of the Blaenau Gwent and Heads of the Valleys National Eisteddfod, as part of The Valleys Heart and Soul campaign.
Tickets go on general sale on...
A striking new project for Blaenavon7th Apr 2010
The industrial heritage of the Heads of the Valleys is providing the inspiration for an exciting new music project being developed in Blaenavon.
The arts organisation Head for Arts is working with local musician Chrys Blanchard to create a community “gamelan” – a collection of...
March 2010
The Valleys Spring Clean 2010 - Put your Heart and Soul into it!26th Mar 2010
The Valleys are bursting with warm, vibrant people, wonderful landscapes and interesting things to see and do. Add a proud industrial past and The Valleys can justifiably claim to be the ‘Heart and Soul of Wales’.
For seven days in April, Keep Wales Tidy and The Valleys Heart...
February 2010
Homecoming gig for Only Men Aloud’s 10th anniversary 4th Feb 2010
Britain’s favourite choir, Only Men Aloud, have joined ‘The Valleys Homecoming’ campaign and are returning to their roots for a special concert in New Tredegar on 28 February 2010.
The choir, who shot to fame after winning BBC1’s Last Choir Standing, will be returning to...
January 2010
Welsh band Lostprophets launch ‘Valleys Homecoming’17th Jan 2010
Top Welsh band Lostprophets have come home from Los Angeles to launch a new phase of the high-profile ‘The Valleys – Heart and Soul of Wales’ campaign.
The four Pontypridd rock musicians kicked off the ‘Valleys Homecoming’ initiative with a private gig at Hawthorn...
October 2009
Happy Valleys28th Oct 2009
ITV Wales , 26 Oct 2009
A new campaign aimed at marketing the Valleys as the Heart and Soul of Wales has been launched…
Have a say in how to attract fresh life to The Valleys28th Oct 2009
South Wales Echo , 26 Oct 2009
Residents are being urged to help shape a positive future for the region…
Valleys Promoted as Nation's Soul28th Oct 2009
BBC.co.uk , 26 Oct 2009
The Valleys are being branded as the "Heart and Soul of Wales"…
Let's Hear it For Your Valley28th Oct 2009
South Wales Argus , 27 Oct 2009
The campaign builds on a £22million Assembly project to raise the profile of the South Wales Valleys…
