Pontsticill is a village within the county borough

County borough

County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control. They were abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 in England and Wales, but continue in use for lieutenancy and shrievalty in...

 of Merthyr Tydfil

Merthyr Tydfil

Merthyr Tydfil is a town in Wales, with a population of about 30,000. Although once the largest town in Wales, it is now ranked as the 15th largest urban area in Wales. It also gives its name to a county borough, which has a population of around 55,000. It is located in the historic county of...

 in South Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

. It lies within the valley of the Taf Fechan

Taf Fechan

The Taf Fechan is a river in the Brecon Beacons in South Wales. It rises just below Pen-y-Fan and joins the Taf Fawr at Cefn-coed-y-cymmer. The river feeds the Pontsticill Reservoir....

 on the southern edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park. The village lies within the community

Community (Wales)

A community is a division of land in Wales that forms the lowest-tier of local government in Wales. Welsh communities are analogous to civil parishes in England....

 of Vaynor

Vaynor

Vaynor is a village, parish and community in the Merthyr Tydfil County Borough in Wales, United Kingdom.- Location :...

 in an area that was, until the local government re-organisation of 1974

Local Government Act 1972

The Local Government Act 1972 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974....

, within the historic county of Brecknockshire

Brecknockshire

Brecknockshire , also known as the County of Brecknock, Breconshire, or the County of Brecon is one of thirteen historic counties of Wales, and a former administrative county.-Geography:...

.

Pontsticill is closely associated with the Brecon Mountain Railway

Brecon Mountain Railway

The Brecon Mountain Railway is a narrow gauge preserved railway that runs through the Brecon Beacons along the full length of the Pontsticill Reservoir...

, a popular heritage railway

Heritage railway

thumb|right|the Historical [[Khyber train safari|Khyber Railway]] goes through the [[Khyber Pass]], [[Pakistan]]A heritage railway , preserved railway , tourist railway , or tourist railroad is a railway that is run as a tourist attraction, in some cases by volunteers, and...

 which runs along the former Brecon and Merthyr Railway

Brecon and Merthyr Railway

The Brecon and Merthyr Junction Railway was one of several railways that served the industrial areas of South Wales and Monmouthshire. It ranked fifth amongst them in size, although hemmed in by the Taff Vale Railway and Great Western Railway...

 line. Immediately to the north of the village is the Pontsticill Reservoir

Pontsticill Reservoir

Pontsticill Reservoir or Taf Fechan Reservoir is a large reservoir on the Taf Fechan lying partly in the county of Powys and partly within the county borough of Merthyr Tydfil in south Wales. It lies within the Brecon Beacons National Park and Fforest Fawr Geopark...

 which was completed in 1927.

The village name originates from the Welsh

Welsh language

Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...

 words pont and sticil and signifies a 'bridge near a stile'.

Abercriban Quarries

To the north of Ponsticill, on the shore of the reservoir lies Abercriban Quarries, a Site of Special Scientific Interest

Site of Special Scientific Interest

A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...

. Abercriban Quarries comprise two small disused quarries. The site is of special interest for the rock exposures of the Grey Grit Formation of the Upper Old Red Sandstone, these exposed rocks span the boundary between the Carboniferous and Devonian periods of geological time, approximately 360 million years ago.