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Ponty is it?: Travels in a Valleys Town
Let’s face it, there is only one Ponty.
Pontypridd: birthplace of Tom Jones and the Welsh National Anthem, and home to what was once the most famous bridge in the world. With their penchant for gossip and addiction to frothy coffee and chips, Ponty people have acted, played, swum, worked, and written their way into the history books, and always with their unique brand of humour.
In Ponty is it? Daryl Leeworthy journeys from the isolation of Llanwonno to the unmarked border between the true metropolis of Wales and that southern pretender, Cardiff, and on the way learns what brings him back to his hometown every time he tries to leave and what now really keeps him there.
Whether perfecting the art of eating a custard slice, braving the bus up and down car infested valleys, or trying not to lose his shoe in hilltop mud, Leeworthy takes in the sights, the sounds, and the smells of this strangely compelling but universal place.
Daryl Leeworthy was born in 1986 and, despite numerous efforts to escape, has lived in Pontypridd for most of his life. His previous books include biographies of Gwyn Thomas and Elaine Morgan, and several landmarks of historical scholarship, most notably Labour Country: Political Radicalism and Social Democracy in South Wales, 1831-1985 and A Little Gay History of Wales.
Pontypridd: birthplace of Tom Jones and the Welsh National Anthem, and home to what was once the most famous bridge in the world. With their penchant for gossip and addiction to frothy coffee and chips, Ponty people have acted, played, swum, worked, and written their way into the history books, and always with their unique brand of humour.
In Ponty is it? Daryl Leeworthy journeys from the isolation of Llanwonno to the unmarked border between the true metropolis of Wales and that southern pretender, Cardiff, and on the way learns what brings him back to his hometown every time he tries to leave and what now really keeps him there.
Whether perfecting the art of eating a custard slice, braving the bus up and down car infested valleys, or trying not to lose his shoe in hilltop mud, Leeworthy takes in the sights, the sounds, and the smells of this strangely compelling but universal place.
Daryl Leeworthy was born in 1986 and, despite numerous efforts to escape, has lived in Pontypridd for most of his life. His previous books include biographies of Gwyn Thomas and Elaine Morgan, and several landmarks of historical scholarship, most notably Labour Country: Political Radicalism and Social Democracy in South Wales, 1831-1985 and A Little Gay History of Wales.
180 pages, Paperback
Published August 8, 2024
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May 24, 2025
"𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘥 𝘰𝘧, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘗𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘺𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘥"
A beautiful love letter to a small town in a part of the world most people would gloss over on the map, but the stories held within this book are rich and delightful.
This book encapsulates feelings of pride, belonging, and love towards a hometown. The writing is poetic, gorgeous, hilarious and heart warming.
“𝘔𝘺 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦.”
It’s beautiful that a place you have lived all your life still has stories to tell, and stories you’ve never heard of before. It makes you feel like walking past a random shop in the town square is no longer just walking past a random shop, you’re walking past somebody’s untold story.
I think this book caught me in the right place at the right time. Sometimes I question my own identity, who am I? Where do I truly belong? This book answers that and more and provides so much comfort.
“𝘐 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘧𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯. 𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵, 𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘦, 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦. 𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦, 𝘐 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧. 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺𝘴, 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴. 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘩. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘗𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘺𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘥. 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘠𝘯𝘺𝘴𝘺𝘣𝘸𝘭. 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘊𝘪𝘭𝘧𝘺𝘯𝘺𝘥𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦-𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦.
𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰. 𝘔𝘺 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦.”
Easiest five stars I’ve ever given. I stopped to read in a book store and couldn’t put it down. Everybody who lives in Pontypridd should read this book, and everybody who doesn’t should at least give it a go and find the magic contained within the pages.
A beautiful love letter to a small town in a part of the world most people would gloss over on the map, but the stories held within this book are rich and delightful.
This book encapsulates feelings of pride, belonging, and love towards a hometown. The writing is poetic, gorgeous, hilarious and heart warming.
“𝘔𝘺 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦.”
It’s beautiful that a place you have lived all your life still has stories to tell, and stories you’ve never heard of before. It makes you feel like walking past a random shop in the town square is no longer just walking past a random shop, you’re walking past somebody’s untold story.
I think this book caught me in the right place at the right time. Sometimes I question my own identity, who am I? Where do I truly belong? This book answers that and more and provides so much comfort.
“𝘐 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘧𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯. 𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵, 𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘦, 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦. 𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦, 𝘐 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧. 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺𝘴, 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴. 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘩. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘥. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘗𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘺𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘥. 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘠𝘯𝘺𝘴𝘺𝘣𝘸𝘭. 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘊𝘪𝘭𝘧𝘺𝘯𝘺𝘥𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦-𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦.
𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰. 𝘔𝘺 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦.”
Easiest five stars I’ve ever given. I stopped to read in a book store and couldn’t put it down. Everybody who lives in Pontypridd should read this book, and everybody who doesn’t should at least give it a go and find the magic contained within the pages.
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