In 2020, the Welsh government conducted an audit of names that commemorated slavery or those associated with the slave trade, including Horatio Nelson.

To the south the land rises gently to the 383-metre summit of Mynydd Eglwysilan, which offers panoramic views of the Brecon Beacons, Bristol Channel and the coasts of Devon and Somerset.

The boundary with the county borough of Merthyr Tydfil runs along the northern edge of the village, while the border with Rhondda Cynon Taf passes a mile to the west.

Nelson's position as a junction station was increased after it was joined by a passenger and freight line to Dowlais on the Taff Bargoed branch which opened in 1876 and closed in 1964.

The station was demolished in 1972, but a very small part of the TVE Vale Of Neath line still exists to service the freight associated with coal extraction of the Ffos-y-fran Land Reclamation Scheme on the Taff Bargoed branch.

Bus services are provided by various companies and exist to the towns of Bargoed, Blackwood, Caerphilly, Merthyr Tydfil, Pontypridd, Treharris and Ystrad Mynach.

[11][12] Simon Weston, veteran of the British Army who is known for his charity work and recovery from severe burn injuries suffered during the Falklands War, was born in the village.

[13] The current Lord Lieutenant for Mid Glamorgan, Kate Thomas, was brought up in Cardiff and educated at Cheltenham Ladies College before moving to Nelson where she settled into a farming life with her husband.

Robert Spragg (AKA Larry Love), the singer and songwriter from the band Alabama 3 lived in Nelson before moving to London.

[15] The family of Edward Prichard, Sheriff of Glamorgan in 1638 and appointed a Justice of the Peace in 1640, lived at the Manor House at Llancaiach Fawr.