The River Tawe (; ) is a long river in

South Wales South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...

. Its headwaters flow initially east from its source below

Llyn y Fan Fawr is a natural lake in the county of Powys, Wales. It lies at the foot of Fan Brycheiniog, the highest peak of the Black Mountain () range within the Brecon Beacons National Park. Created as a result of glacial action, it is one of the largest gl ...

south of Moel Feity in the Black Mountains, the westernmost range of the

Brecon Beacons National Park Brecon Beacons National Park, officially named Bannau Brycheiniog National Park (), is a National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in Wales. It is named after the Brecon Beacons (), the mountain range at its centre. The national park ...

, before the river turns south and then southwest to its

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

. Its main tributaries are the right bank Upper and Lower Clydach Rivers and the

Afon Twrch The Afon Twrch is a river which rises in the Black Mountain in south Wales. It forms the boundary between Powys and Carmarthenshire and, downstream of Ystradowen, between Powys and Neath Port Talbot. Name The name derives from Welsh '' afon'' ...

, with Nant-y-fendrod joining on the left bank. The total area of the catchment is some . The Tawe passes through a number of towns and villages including

Ystradgynlais Ystradgynlais (; ) is a town in southwest Powys, Wales. It is located on the River Tawe, and was within the boundaries of the former county of Brecknockshire. The town has a high proportion of Welsh language-speakers. The community includes C ...

, Ystalyfera,

Pontardawe Pontardawe () is a town and a community (Wales), community in the lower Swansea Valley (). it had a population of approximately 7,172 in the 2021 Census for Pontardawe Parish, and forms part of the county borough of Neath Port Talbot. On the opp ...

, and Clydach and meets the sea at

Swansea Bay Swansea Bay () is a bay on the southern coast of Wales. The River Neath, River Tawe, River Afan, River Kenfig and Clyne River flow into the bay. Swansea Bay and the upper reaches of the Bristol Channel experience a large tidal range. The sh ...

below Swansea. The Tawe Valley ( in Welsh) is more commonly known as the

Swansea Valley The Swansea Valley (; ) is one of the South Wales Valleys. It is the valley from the Brecon Beacons National Park to the sea at Swansea of the River Tawe in Wales. Administration of the area is divided between the City and County of Swansea, Nea ...

. Ownership of the riverbed was granted to the

Duke of Beaufort Duke of Beaufort ( ) is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created by Charles II in 1682 for Henry Somerset, 3rd Marquess of Worcester, a descendant of Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester, legitimised son of Henry Beaufort, 3rd D ...

in the 17th century by Charles II resulting in exclusive mineral and fishing rights, which is extended as far as requiring permission and payment for bridges which are built over it. This was last exercised in 2008 when Swansea Council was required to pay £281,431 to the estate, as revealed by a Freedom of Information request.

History

The lower part of the valley was intensely industrialised in the 18th and 19th centuries and was especially impacted by metal refining and working and to a much lesser extent by

porcelain Porcelain (), also called china, is a ceramic material made by heating Industrial mineral, raw materials, generally including kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The greater strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to oth ...

manufacture. Large areas of the lower valley remain contaminated by industrial spoil containing

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

nickel Nickel is a chemical element; it has symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive, but large pieces are slo ...

and

zinc Zinc is a chemical element; it has symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodic tabl ...

. The only significant extant relic of those times is a major nickel refinery at Clydach which is part of the Canadian company

Vale Inco Vale Canada Limited (formerly Vale Inco, CVRD Inco and Inco Limited; for corporate branding purposes simply known as "Vale" and pronounced in English) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Brazilian mining company Vale. Vale's nickel mining and ...

. The quality of the river has now greatly improved. Large

salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...

swim up the river to

spawn Spawn or spawning may refer to: * Spawning, the eggs and sperm of aquatic animals Arts, entertainment and media * Spawn (character), a fictional character in the comic series of the same name and in the associated franchise ** ''Spawn: Armageddon' ...

, whilst

trout Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...

are in abundance. In 1992, a barrage was built at the mouth of the river. National Cycle Route 43 follows this river for much of its course.

Bridges and crossings

Bridges over the River Tawe within the

City and County of Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

, from north to south: *

A4067 List of A roads in zone 4 in Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the ...

(Ffordd Cwm Tawe) road bridge *B4291 road bridge at

Glais Glais () is a semi-rural village in Swansea, South Wales. ''Nant-y-Pal'' is a stream running through the middle of Glais. It divides the village into two electoral wards: to the north of the stream, Glais is under the Clydach Electoral Ward; to ...

*A4067 road bridge (second crossing) *former rail access to the

works at Clydach *disused railway bridge (former GWR route from Felin Fran to Clydach) *A4067 road bridge (third crossing) *Park Road bridge at Ynystawe *

M4 motorway The M4, originally the London-South Wales Motorway, is the third longest motorway in the United Kingdom, running from west London to southwest Wales. The English section to the Severn Bridge was constructed between 1961 and 1971; the Welsh ele ...

bridge *railway bridge ( Swansea District Line) *Swansea Vale road bridge *A48 Morriston road bridge - links

Morriston Morriston (; ) is a Community (Wales), community in the City and County of Swansea, Wales, and falls within the Morriston (electoral ward), Morriston ward. It is the largest community in the Swansea county. Morriston is sometimes referred to ...

town centre to the Swansea Enterprise Park *Beaufort Bridge - historic access point from Beaufort Road to the now Enterprise Park area. *Mannesmann pedestrian and cycle bridge - links the Enterprise Park to Beaufort Road in Plasmarl *southern Beaufort Road bridge (unnamed) * Landore railway viaduct (

South Wales Main Line The South Wales Main Line (), originally known as the London, Bristol and South Wales Direct Railway or simply as the Bristol and South Wales Direct Railway, is a branch of the Great Western Main Line in Great Britain. It diverges from the co ...

) *Morfa footbridge - links the Morfa Retail Park to the

Liberty Stadium The Swansea.com Stadium (; formerly Liberty Stadium) is an all-seated multi-use sports stadium and conferencing venue located in the Landore area of Swansea, Wales, hosting both rugby union and football. The stadium opened in 2005 and was name ...

*White Rock Bridge - road and pedestrian bridge linking the

Landore Landore () is a district and community in Swansea, Wales. The district falls in the Landore council ward. A mainly residential area, it is located about 2.5 miles north of Swansea city centre. The north-easterly part of Landore is known as ...

district with the Bon-y-maen district *Parc Tawe Bridge - road and pedestrian bridge linking

Parc Tawe Parc Tawe is a retail park and leisure area in Swansea. It is located in the eastern area of the city centre on the west bank of the River Tawe in the Lower Swansea. The area includes "out-of-town" style stores with car parks located outside ...

with St Thomas *Quay Parade Bridge - road and pedestrian bridge linking Quay Parade with Fabian Way *Old Swansea Bridge - a former railway bridge: the bridge deck no longer exists but the piers remain *Sail Bridge - a pedestrian and cycle bridge linking the

Maritime Quarter The Maritime Quarter (including Swansea Marina) is a residential area of Swansea, Wales, immediately south of the city centre shopping core. It falls within Swansea's Castle ward. The area is bounded by Brynmill to the west, Swansea Bay to ...

near Sainsbury's superstore to the SA1 Swansea Waterfront development area *Trafalgar Bridge - a pedestrian and cycle bridge located near the Swansea barrage: built at a cost of £1.2 million, it crosses the barrage lock and part of the bridge swings with the lock gates

Future developments

There are plans for further housing developments on both east and west banks of the River Tawe and a proposal to operate river taxis along the river. A report was commissioned by Natural Resources Wales in 2015 as part of its 'Tawe Trial' initiative - completed by regeneration consultants Trilein Ltd. it recommended a number of initiatives to better connect the urban areas on the west of the river with the more rural areas of Kilvey Hill and Crymlyn Bog beyond to the east.

References

External links

The Tawe River and Swansea Harbour
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tawe

River Tawe The River Tawe (; ) is a long river in South Wales. Its headwaters flow initially east from its source below Llyn y Fan Fawr south of Glasfynydd Forest, Moel Feity in the Black Mountain (range), Black Mountains, the westernmost range of the ...

Rivers of the Brecon Beacons National Park Rivers of Neath Port Talbot Rivers of Powys Rivers of Swansea

History

Bridges and crossings

Future developments

See also

References

External links