Caerau (English: Forts) is a former mining village in south Wales, located around 2 miles to the north of Maesteg in the Llynfi Valley, and is part of Bridgend County Borough. The community population taken at the 2011 census was 6,995. The township grew rapidly after the opening of Caerau Colliery in 1890. The colliery consisted of three shafts (North, South and No. 3 Pits) and employed 2,400 men at its peak in the early 1920s.