Richard Burton walking trails and centenary events

Though a century has now passed since his birth, the Welsh actor Richard Burton remains a figure of interest and intrigue around the world. 

Many fans remember him for his captivating performances in classic films like My Cousin Rachel and Cleopatra, others for his distinctive gravelly voice, which the actor once claimed was infused with Welsh coal. But for many, it’s Richard’s extraordinary life that ensures the actor’s legacy lives on: a son of a Welsh miner who made it onto the London stage, lit up Hollywood, and formed one of the world’s great power couples alongside the actress Elizabeth Taylor.

To mark the centenary of the great man’s birth, the county of Neath Port Talbot, where the actor was born, curated two walking trails showcasing his old haunts, and two Blue Plaques were unveiled along the routes, one at Richard Burton’s birthplace and the other at the former home of his mentor and adoptive father, Philip Burton.

The two walking trails web together a number of sites associated with Richard’s formative years. Namely 'The Birthplace Trail', based in Pontrhydyfen, where Richard was born, and 'The Childhood Trail', in the town of Port Talbot, where Richard grew up.

'The Birthplace Trail' forms a loop around the village of Pontrhydyfen, a small village in the Afan Valley in West Wales. Visitors can tackle the stops along the trail in any order they like, but perhaps a good place to start is outside Richard’s first home, where he lived along with his 12(!) other siblings. The humble abode is situated in the shadow of the village’s 200-year-old aqueduct (now a foot bridge), on which the actor was snapped walking with his father during one of his visits home from Hollywood – a photograph often recreated by fans.

From here, visitors follow the main road along to the Miners Arms pub (now the Pontrhydyfen RFC Clubhouse), where Burton’s parents met and married, before looping back along Penhydd Street, where many of Richard’s family lived. The actor would make frequent trips to visit his family here throughout his career, even bringing along his wife Elizabeth Taylor on several occasions (the actress reportedly dubbed the village, 'Pontrhyheaven'). The route also takes in Bethel Chapel, now home to a beautiful cafe, where 800 people gathered to mourn after the actor’s sudden death at the age of 58.

Like 'The Birthplace Trail', 'The Childhood Trail', which takes fans around Richard-associated sites in the town of Port Talbot, doesn’t have a specific order, but a nice starting point is the Taibach Community Education Centre on Margam Road. This former youth club is where Richard starred in some of his earliest productions, honing his craft before his big move to theatres in London’s West End.

Other stops on this route include Richard’s sister’s home on Caradog Street, where the young actor lived during his school years (Richard’s mother died when he was just two years old), and Taibach Library, where a young Richard developed his ferocious appetite for reading and poetry.  A nice spot to end the walk is at the peaceful Talbot Memorial Park, where a flowerbed-flanked monument to Burton features a poem penned by the actor about walking in the hills surrounding the town.