Торфаен: Округ в Южном Уэльсе

County borough in Wales

Torfaen (/t//ɔr/'/v//aɪ//n/; ) is a county borough in the south east of Wales. Torfaen is bordered by the county of Monmouthshire to the east, the city of Newport to the south, and the county boroughs of Caerphilly and Blaenau Gwent to the south west and north west. It is within the boundaries of the historic county of Monmouthshire, and between 1974 and 1996 was a district of Gwent, until it was reconstituted as a principal area in 1996.

Torfaen (meaning "breaker of stones") is an old name for the river – today called Afon Lwyd ("grey river") – which flows through the county borough from its source north of Blaenavon southward through Abersychan, Pontypool, and Cwmbran. The last three towns mentioned are a contiguous urban area.

The area has a population of around 91,000. Much of the southern part of the county borough around Cwmbran is extensively urban. The north of the county borough is greener and retains extensive areas of countryside, especially on the route to Blaenavon. The administrative centre is Pontypool in the centre of the county borough. Most of the administration of Torfaen County Borough Council is conducted from Pontypool Civic Centre.

The highest point of the county is Coity Mountain.

Pontypool Park is the name given to the former principal residence of Pontypool (now a secondary school) and the park that surrounds it. The park contains Pontypool Leisure Centre and sports facilities and is the home of Pontypool RFC. The park includes a folly, shell grotto and ornamental ponds. Much of the area is given to woodland but there is extensive open grassland. The American Gardens were opened to the public in 2008, after being closed to visitors for many years, and a restoration project is under way. Torfaen County Borough Council is currently mapping all the trees from the park to remove and then replant those dying and diseased.

Cwmbran Centre is advertised as the second largest under cover shopping centre in Wales. The centre includes many familiar high street stores.

The former coal mining and iron working town of Blaenavon in the northern part of the county borough is now a recognised UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Torfaen has its own community radio station, Vitalize Radio, which is run on a voluntary basis in Pontypool to serve the community. Additionally, Cwmbran has its own community focused radio station: Able Radio is a volunteer run radio station which supports adults with autism and learning disabilities, and claims to be "the first Radio Station run by people with Learning Disabilities and Autism in the world". In recent years, Able Radio station has increased the scope of their activities, including television productions and their gardening project and associated produce shop, SustainAble. There is also the Cwmbran and District Amateur Radio Society, which focuses on ham radio. There are also various local community news services, most notably Cwmbran Life and Inside Torfaen. The South Wales Argus serves as the main newspaper.

The borough is served by the Welsh Marches Line with stations at Pontypool & New Inn and Cwmbran. Services are operated by Transport for Wales. There is also the Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway in Blaenavon.

The following people military units and Organisations and Groups have received the Freedom of the Borough of Torfaen.

Royal Welsh: 5 June 2010. The Royal British Legion: 28 June 2021.

Pontypool Rugby Football Club: 27 March 2024.