My new year often begins with the intention to draw every day. I typically fail half way through January and lose motivation to restart. Somehow, I’ve managed to reach 260 consecutive days of drawing this year. All of them are pen and ink sketches and most of them are of buildings in the village. You … more…
Tongwynlais.com is fourteen years old today! If you’re a new reader, I wrote about the history of the site on its 10th anniversary. It doesn’t feel like a year ago since I was considering future plans. Sadly, none of these came to anything but I’ve continued to publish articles here and on castellcoch.com every month. I’ve … more…
Pixel art describes a technique for creating digital illustrations at the individual pixel level. This type of art was the result of low resolution displays in early videogame systems. Today, our phone and computer displays have millions of pixels. Despite this, the art form is very popular and the “retro” videogame look is used in … more…
I picked up this book a few years ago hoping it would contain information about the village and local woodlands. There isn’t much about Tongwynlais but it’s a fascinating read. 1961 Glamorgan Forests – Forestry Commission Guide Glamorgan Forests is a comprehensive guide that covers the woodlands, plants and animals of the area. It was … more…
I’m very excited to present this unique photo showing the Tongwynlais railway station platforms and footbridge. I was convinced that there was no evidence of the full station after searching for so long. There are a handful of photos of the station building but these are all after its closure. This image shows the station … more…
This instalment of “Postcards from Tongwynlais” features a very special image of the village square from the early 1900s. The postcard was sent on the 30th of September 1907. I shared some photos of the Lewis Arms back in 2024 from the early 1900s to 2016. I kept this postcard back because I wanted to … more…
I've just discovered this website and found the railway article was fascinating. Looking forward to learning more about the history…