South Wales now has an entirely new county structure, having shed the modern counties of Gwent, and South, Mid and West Glamorgan in 1996.
The new, fragmented unitary authorities are mostly based around major towns. East of Carmarthenshire are the districts of Swansea (which contains the Gower Peninsula), Neath-Port Talbot and Bridgend. Beyond them, along the coast, lies the attractive Vale of Glamorgan, and the urban districts of Cardiff and Newport.
Inland, from west to east, are the districts of Rhondda-Cynon-Taff, Merthyr Tydfil, Caerphilly, Blaenau-Gwent and Torfaen, and to the far south-east of Wales, the former county of Monmouthshire has been reinstated in place of Gwent.
It is an intriguing mixture of the rural, urban and industrial.
Mining and steel are South Wales’s two traditional industries, and have left their scars on the landscape, especially in the valleys and on the coast.
Yet areas such as Monmouthshire, the Vale of Glamorgan and the Gower Peninsula, which is largely owned by the National Trust, are mostly untouched.
The country-house market used to be mainly local, but feasible communications to London from the south-east of Wales, together with rising prices in Gloucestershire and Herefordshire, have ensured that interest has come from farther afield. Prices, however, remain reasonable.
Major towns
Cardiff, Swansea, Neath, Port Talbot, Merthyr Tydfil, Rhondda, Pontypool, Newport, Monmouth, Abergavenny.
Transport links
Train: Paddington to Newport 1hr 34min; to Cardiff 1hr 54min; to Swansea 2hr 49min.
Car: Newport is 143 miles from central London; Cardiff 155 miles; Swansea 193 miles, via the M4.
Public schools
Haberdashers Monmouth School for Girls (01600 711100). Girls only, age range 7-18, day and boarding. www.hmsg.gwent.sch.uk/
Monmouth School (01600 713143). Boys only, age range 7-18, day and boarding. www.habs-monmouth.org/
The Cathedral School, Cardiff (01222 563179). Co-educational, age range 4-13, day and boarding.
Howell’s School, Cardiff (01222 562019). Girls only, age range 4-18, day. www.gdst.net/howells-llandaff/
King’s College Monkton House, Cardiff (01222 482584). Co-educational, age range 3-18, day. www.kingsmonkton.org.uk/
Ffynone House School, Swansea (01228 537458). Co-educational, age range 8-18, day. www.fhstonline.co.uk/
Rougemont School, Newport (01633 211813). Co-educational, age range 11-18, day. www.rsch.co.uk/index.asp
Leisure
Golfcourses: St Mellions, Cardiff (01633 680401); Newport (01633 892643); St Pierre, Chepstow (01291 625261); Southerndown, Bridgend (01656 880326).
Hunts: the Curre, the Banwen Miners’, the Glamorgan, the Monmouthshire, the Llangeinor, the Llangibby.
Yachting clubs: the Bristol Channel Yacht Club, the Mumbles Yacht Club.
Fishing: rivers Wye and Usk.
