Situated just off the main strategic trunk route for the north of the County Borough, the A465 Heads of the Valleys Road, Parc Bryn Bach is a significant country park attraction with a lake and visitor centre.  It lies at the very northernmost tip of Caerphilly County Borough, straddling the border with Blaenau Gwent County Borough and is already a venue for watersports and off-road quad biking and golf.

A significant proportion of Parc Bryn Bach is within Caerphilly County Borough and whilst it is proposed to further develop the wider park’s facilities, an area directly adjacent to the park is set aside for further tourism development.  Bryn Bach is likely to be one of the main park elements in the proposed Valleys Regional Park, which will become more accessible as the A465 dualling progresses and could benefit from its close proximity to the Brecon Beacons National Park.

Given its advantageous location and proximity to existing country park facilities, there is a possibility of creating an afforestation scheme, which could attract visitors in its own right.  This would involve landscaping and provision of visitor facilities complementing the existing provision in the Park, with footpaths, bridleways and off-road biking trails as well as picnic and interpretative facilities. More formal development of facilities associated with tourism and the environment could be considered as the Park evolves.

A significant new development relating to local tourism is underway in the form of a new museum for Caerphilly County Borough.  Situated at New Tredegar within the Heads of the Valleys Regeneration Area, the museum seeks to act as an economic regeneration mechanism where the impact of visitor revenue is likely to be greatest.

Housed within and around the Winding House, a Grade II* structure that once formed part of the old Elliot Colliery, the museum will offer expansive exhibition space for a range of historic artefacts.  As the central facility for the County Borough’s Museums and Heritage Service, an ambitious restoration and expansion scheme is underway with a new structure built to offer sufficient accommodation for the displays.

This involves repairing stonework and other parts of the existing building and erecting a new extension in steel and glass.  A gallery has been created with a new reception, there are catering and office facilities on this impressive site,which overlooks the reclaimed former industrial landscape of the Rhymney Valley.

One of the three main tourist attractions in the County Borough, Llancaiach Fawr Manor House dates from the 16^th century and is a rare example of a large Tudor / Elizabethan gentry residence in this area.  Already the complex of outbuildings has been extended to create a series of interpretative and educational facilities for visitors.

In view of the potential for further developing this historic attraction’s role in the community, land is identified to the east of the Manor House with a view to holding large scale events.  This will hopefully encourage greater tourism related activity further north in the Valleys, where the revenue generated will help diversify the economy.

Already Maesycwmmer Mill is in a striking location under the Hengoed Viaduct – itself an attraction from the 19^th century, formerly carrying a railway and now part of the National Cycle Network.  It is a water mill on the River Rhymney, which originally ground corn before being adapted for woollen manufacture.  It was built in 1750 and being in an attractively secluded location, has been highlighted for its tourism potential.

The Rhymney Riverside Walk is a long distance footpath that can be developed along a network of informal green spaces across the 3 strategy areas.  This currently follows the course of the River Rhymney and is complete from Rhymney through New Tredegar and Bargoed.  From the mid-Rhymney Valley onwards however there are missing links, hence land is allocated to complete the length of the walk. In the Northern Connections Corridor, the route is identified from Tiryberth southwards past Fleur de Lys, Hengoed, Maesycwmmer and Ystrad Mynach.  It will comprise of landscaped walkways with observation points maximising theuse of the river as a resource for tourists, and identifying a proposed course will help protect the route for this purpose.

Potentially the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal is a valuable tourism resource, not only as a working route for boats but for its likely links into a wider waterways network.  It is also a thriving nature corridor with towpaths and the Celtic Trail cycleway running alongside.  As such there are attractive amenity areas, which are linked together by the proposed route of the canal that will make it an attractive development for tourists.

Cwmcarn Forest Drive and its surrounding Nantcarn Valley landscape setting is a flagship tourist attraction in Caerphilly County Borough in terms of visitor numbers.  It is one of the Council’s 3 tourism development priority sites and attracted around 75,000 drivers and 55,000 cyclists in 2006, meaning that with walkers the combined number of visitors could well have been in excess of 100,000.

It is growing in popularity and international reputation, primarily because of the uniqueness of its facilities for off-road mountain biking.  Also there are footpaths, picnic, angling and extreme adventure activities offered as well as access to a Scheduled Ancient Monument – Twmbarlwm Hill Fort.

In order to accommodate all the diverse uses, it is vital that the land is highlighted for specific tourism use.  Already there is recognition that the valley’s popularity as a tourist destination is exceeding that which can be satisfactorily handled on a site of this size.  Where possible, agreement will be sought with neighbouring landowners to extend the facility in order that it can grow and develop according to the needs of local and wider users.

The Rhymney Riverside Walk is a long distance footpath that can be developed along a network of informal green spaces across the 3 LDP strategy areas.  This currently follows the course of the River Rhymney from Rhymney through New Tredegar and Bargoed.  From the mid-Rhymney Valley onwards however there are missing links, hence land is allocated to complete the length of the walk.  In the Southern Connections Corridor, the route is identified from just below Ystrad Mynach southwards past Llanbradach, Bedwas, Caerphilly, Trethomas, Machen, Draethen and up to the County Borough boundary with Cardiff at Cefn Mably.  It will comprise of landscaped walkways with observation points maximising use of the river as a resource for tourists, and identifying a proposed course will help protect the route for this purpose.

Caerphilly Castle is the tourist attraction that, more than any other, identifies the area to the outside world.  Surrounding this iconic structure, the grounds are an integral element of the castle’s overall setting and character, and serve an important leisure function near the town centre.  As such the land requires protection so that it can continue to be used by castle visitors and host major tourist events such as the ‘Big Cheese’ festival.