NEATH ABBEY AND GATEHOUSE

Described by the great Tudor topographer John Leland as "the fairest in all Wales", Neath Abbey has long attracted visitors, including the celebrated painter Turner in 1795. Originally founded as a daughter house of the Abbey at Savigny, Normandy, in 1130, Neath Abbey was absorbed into the Cistercian Order in 1147. Over the centuries the community prospered and the monks were soon major landowners in Glamorgan. After the Dissolution, a copper works was built in its grounds, as well as an iron foundry close by, both linked to Swansea by the Tennant Canal. Despite centuries of industrialisation, fairly complete remains of the abbey survive, together with the 16th-century mansion built within its precincts. Now owned and managed by CADW it is open daily, usually between 1000 and 1600 with free admission.

156, 158 and 159 from Swansea daily.