"ROCK N ROLL" - EPISODE 1 / GREAT WELSH ROADS 3
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One man, one dog and a bedsit on wheels. In a new series of GREAT WELSH ROADS, Mike Parker drives off the beaten track in a new camper van - well new to him! "Sixteen years old and it's probably been kissed!". The Cream Dream as it quicky becomes known takes Mike and his faithful canine companion Patsy to some fascinating places, often overlooked in the Welsh media.

Mike Parker, author of "The Rough Guide to Wales", visits two very different areas in the South eastern corner of Wales- the industrial Gwent valleys and rural Monmouthshire.

His first stop is at the Roundhouse farm in Nantyglo - a unique survivor of the Industrial Revolution and a stark reminder of the bitter conflict between the ironmasters and their workforce. Built as fortresses to protect the tyrannical Crawshays , their cast iron strength is testimony to the threat of rebellion due to the appalling working conditions in the iron industry.

Another industrial treasure is the Griffithstown Railway Museum. Named after Henry Griffiths, a stationmaster with Great Western Railways, Griffithstown owes its existence to the railway and is steeped in railway history. The trade union ASLEF was founded here and Henry Griffiths' co-operative enabling railway workers to buy homes is considered to have been the first modern building society.

Mike experiences the joy of the old road to Chepstow as he leaves the industrial valleys. The wealth of the now derelict Piercefield estate was derived not from heavy industry but from the slave trade. Valentine Morris squandered his money from sugar cane plantations on an extremely lavish lifestyle. Ironically, Piercefield later became the home of Britain's first Black sheriff - Nathanial Wells, Sheriff of Monmouthshire, the son of a plantation owner and a black slave.

Mike Parker joins other writers and artists who have flocked to admire Tintern Abbey over the centuries. It inspired Wordsworth and Turner to produce some of their greatest work and it's beauty remains awesome today.

Today's musicians have produced some of the great recordings of our time in another peaceful location -the legendary Rockfield Studios in Monmouth. It was the world's first residential studios and the founder, Kingsley Ward, explains why Rockfield has attracted some of rock's biggest names - Queen, Black Sabbath, Coldplay - the list is endless....the iconic "Bohemian Rhapsody" was recorded in Rockfield.

Mike's journey ends at the Kymin - and another Round House. Whilst the Nantyglo Roundhouses were built for protection this was built for pure pleasure - the banqueting pleasure of gentlemen who enjoyed the spectacular views overlooking Monmouth, the Wye valley and the Usk Plain. A journey of two halves indeed.

GREAT WELSH ROADS is a Beca TV production for ITV 1 Wales. It is presented by Mike Parker and produced by Helen Williams-Ellis.