About rural Vale of Glamorgan

The Vale of Glamorgan is one of Wales’s most productive and attractive rural counties — a landscape of gently rolling hills, lush pastures, and coastal farmland that has been worked and settled for centuries. It remains a stronghold of Welsh agriculture, particularly dairy and arable farming.

The limestone soils of the vale make for fertile fields, especially around Cowbridge, Llantwit Major, and Bonvilston. Farms here produce milk, cereals, root crops, and beef, and many also support rural diversification — including farm shops, direct sales, and tourism.

The Glamorgan Heritage Coast offers a more rugged beauty — with small clifftop fields, sheep-grazed commons, and hay meadows protected for their wildlife and historical importance.

Villages retain an active rural life — centred on chapels, local markets, and livestock shows that keep the agricultural calendar alive.

The Vale is a quietly prosperous rural area — one where farming continues to shape both the landscape and the community.