The River Towy (, ; also known as the River Tywi) is one of the longest rivers flowing entirely within

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. Its total length is . It is noted for its

sea trout Sea trout is the common name usually applied to anadromous (sea-run) forms of brown trout (''Salmo trutta''), and is often referred to as ''Salmo trutta'' morpha ''trutta''. Other names for anadromous brown trout are bull trout, sewin (Wales ...

and

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 ...

fishing.

Route

The Towy rises within of the source of the

River Teifi The River Teifi ( ; , ), formerly anglicised as Tivy, forms the boundary for most of its length between the Welsh counties of Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire, and for the final of its total length of , the boundary between Ceredigion and Pembr ...

on the lower slopes of Crug Gynan in the

Cambrian Mountains The Cambrian Mountains (, in a narrower sense: ''Elenydd'') are a series of mountain ranges in Wales. The term ''Cambrian Mountains'' used to apply to most of the upland of Wales, and comes from the country's Latin name . Since the 1950s, it ...

. Flowing through the steep hills of the Tywi Forest, it forms the boundary between

Ceredigion Ceredigion (), historically Cardiganshire (, ), is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the West Wales, west of Wales. It borders Gwynedd across the River Dyfi, Dyfi estuary to the north, Powys to the east, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire t ...

and

Powys Powys ( , ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It borders Gwynedd, Denbighshire, and Wrexham County Borough, Wrexham to the north; the English Ceremonial counties of England, ceremo ...

. The river flows generally south-westwards through

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire (; or informally ') is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. ...

, passing through the towns of

Llandovery Llandovery (; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It lies on the River Tywi and at the junction of the A40 road, A40 and A483 road, A483 roads, about north-east of Carmarthen, north of Swansea and w ...

and

Llandeilo Llandeilo () is a town and Community (Wales), community in Carmarthenshire, Wales, situated where the River Towy is crossed by the A483 road, A483 on a 19th-century stone bridge. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census the community had ...

. Its total length is . with numerous tributaries that include the Cothi, Gwili, Brân, and Doethie. In

Carmarthen Carmarthen (, ; , 'Merlin's fort' or possibly 'Sea-town fort') is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community (Wales), community in Wales, lying on the River Towy north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. At the 2021 United Kingdom cen ...

, it is joined by a substantial

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

, the

River Gwili : ''For the river which flows into the River Loughor see Afon Gwili (Loughor)'' The River Gwili () in Carmarthenshire, is a tributary of the River Towy, the longest river entirely in Wales. Its headwater is found east of Llanllawddog, in the ...

, at

Abergwili Abergwili () is a village and community (Wales), community in Carmarthenshire, Wales, near the confluence of the rivers River Towy, Towy and River Gwili, Gwili, close to the town of Carmarthen. It is also an Abergwili (electoral ward), electoral ...

. The

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 ...

meets

Carmarthen Bay Carmarthen Bay () is an inlet of the South Wales coast, including notable beaches such as Pendine Sands and Cefn Sidan sands. Carmarthen Bay is partially within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. The Joint Nature Conservation Committee list C ...

east of the

Pendine Sands Pendine Sands () is a beach on the shores of Carmarthen Bay on the south coast of Wales. It stretches west to east from Gilman Point to Laugharne Sands. The village of Pendine () is close to the western end of the beach. In the early 1900s t ...

along with the

River Taf The River Taf () is a river in West Wales. It rises in the Preseli Hills, Pembrokeshire, and continues through Carmarthenshire to Laugharne. It is one of the three rivers to enter the sea on the east side of Carmarthen Bay. The other two are ...

and both branches of the

River Gwendraeth The River Gwendraeth () is a river in Carmarthenshire in West Wales. It has two almost equal branches that have their confluence in their joint estuary at Carmarthen Bay. The Gwendraeth Fawr ('large Gwendraeth' in English) is surprisingly the ...

. The estuary was guarded by

Llansteffan Castle Llansteffan Castle () is a privately owned castle in Llansteffan, Carmarthenshire, Wales, overlooking the River Tywi estuary in Carmarthen Bay. Iron Age The castle sits on a much older Iron Age promontory fort, proving Llansteffan has been ...

, a 12th-century

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

castle.

Damming of the Towy

About from its source, the swift flow of the Towy is interrupted by the

Llyn Brianne Llyn Brianne is a man-made reservoir in the headwaters of the River Towy in Wales. Construction The reservoir was constructed by Wimpey Construction in the late 1960s and early 1970s in order to regulate the flow in the Towy to support larg ...

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

, created in 1972 by

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

ming a section of the river to store winter rain for release into the river during dry periods. The reservoir supports the new abstraction at

Nantgaredig Nantgaredig is a village in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is about east of the county town of Carmarthen on the A40 in the parish of Llanegwad. The population was around 524 as of the 2011 census. Notable people The village is most notable for ...

which supplies a large swathe of south-east

with

drinking water Drinking water or potable water is water that is safe for ingestion, either when drunk directly in liquid form or consumed indirectly through food preparation. It is often (but not always) supplied through taps, in which case it is also calle ...

. The flow in the River Towy would have been unable to sustain such an abstraction were it not for the release of water from the upland reservoir.

Ecology

Fish

The Towy is a national draw for big

(local name ''sewin''), the seagoing form of the brown trout, ''

Salmo trutta The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a species of salmonid ray-finned fish and the most widely distributed species of the genus ''Salmo'', endemic to most of Europe, West Asia and parts of North Africa, and has been widely introduced species, in ...

''. These fish enter the river each spring and early summer to breed in the tributaries. The river is thought to produce more double-figure (10 lbs plus, or about 5 kg or more) sea trout than any other in Britain. Anglers and estuary netsmen have taken these fish to over in weight. In summer and autumn there is also a substantial run of Atlantic salmon (''

Salmo salar The Atlantic salmon (''Salmo salar'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Salmonidae. It is the third largest of the Salmonidae, behind Hucho taimen, Siberian taimen and Pacific Chinook salmon, growing up to a meter in length. Atlan ...

''). In May the Towy has a run of the rare and protected

twaite shad The twait shad or twaite shad (''Alosa fallax'') is a species of fish in the family Alosidae. It is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea and is an anadromous fish which lives in the sea but migrates into fresh water to s ...

and

allis shad The allis shad (''Alosa alosa'') is a widespread Northeast Atlantic species of fish in the Alosidae, Alosidae family. It is an Fish migration, anadromous fish which migrates into fresh water to spawn. It is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, ...

. The Towy also contains brown trout, eels, pike, and a variety of small fish species, and is home to brook lampreys, river lampreys and sea lampreys. The Towy has the distinction of having accidentally produced by far the biggest fish ever taken on rod and line in fresh water in Britain. This was a

sturgeon Sturgeon (from Old English ultimately from Proto-Indo-European language, Proto-Indo-European *''str̥(Hx)yón''-) is the common name for the 27 species of fish belonging to the family Acipenseridae. The earliest sturgeon fossils date to the ...

(''Acipwienser sturio'') weighing 388 lb (176 kg) and in length which was caught in the river near Nantgaredig by Alec Allen on 28 July 1932. The last sturgeon in UK waters was seen in the river in 1993. https://www.wwf.org.uk/press-release/calls-save-sturgeon-living-fossil-fish-slip-towards-extinction#:~:text=In%20the%20UK%2C%20sturgeon%20were,routes%20contributed%20to%20their%20decline.

Mammals

The Towy has a thriving population of

otters Otters are carnivorous mammals in the Rank (zoology), subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic animal, aquatic, or Marine ecology, marine. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae Family (biology), family, whi ...

, as well as many commoner mammal species.

Grey seal The grey seal (''Halichoerus grypus'') is a large seal of the family Phocidae, which are commonly referred to as "true seals" or "earless seals". The only species classified in the genus ''Halichoerus'', it is found on both shores of the Nort ...

s are common in the lower reaches and sometimes penetrate several miles up river in pursuit of sea trout and salmon.

Birds

The Towy and surrounding valley () are home to a very large variety of water and wetland birds. Among the more distinctive species found along the river are

sand martin The sand martin (''Riparia riparia''), also known as collared sand martin or common sand martin, and in the Americas as the bank swallow, is a migratory passerine bird in the swallow family Hirundinidae. It has a wide range in summer, embracing ...

common sandpiper The common sandpiper (''Actitis hypoleucos'') is a small Palearctic wader. This bird and its Americas, American sister species, the spotted sandpiper (''A. macularia''), make up the genus ''Actitis''. They are parapatric and replace each other ge ...

little ringed plover The little ringed plover (''Charadrius dubius'') is a small plover. The genus name ''Charadrius'' is a Late Latin word for a yellowish bird mentioned in the fourth-century Vulgate. It derives from Ancient Greek ''kharadrios'' a bird found in river ...

dippers Dippers are members of the genus ''Cinclus'' in the bird family Cinclidae, so-called because of their bobbing or dipping movements. They are unique among passerines for their ability to dive and swim underwater. Taxonomy The genus ''Cinclus'' ...

kingfishers Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly coloured birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species living in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...

and

grey wagtail The grey wagtail (''Motacilla cinerea'') is a member of the wagtail family, Motacillidae, measuring around 18–19 cm overall length. The species looks somewhat similar to the yellow wagtail (disambiguation), yellow wagtail but has the yello ...

Red kite The red kite (''Milvus milvus'') is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other Diurnality, diurnal Bird of prey, raptors such as eagles, buzzards, and harrier (bird), harriers. The species currently breeds only i ...

s and

buzzards Buzzard is the common name of several species of birds of prey. ''Buteo'' species * Archer's buzzard (''Buteo archeri'') * Augur buzzard (''Buteo augur'') * Broad-winged hawk (''Buteo platypterus'') * Common buzzard (''Buteo buteo'') * Eastern ...

are numerous.

Goosander The common merganser (North American) or goosander (Eurasian) (''Mergus merganser'') is a large sea duck of rivers and lakes in forested areas of Europe, Asia, and North America. The common merganser eats mainly fish. It nests in holes in trees. ...

s and

cormorants Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the International Ornithologists' Union (IOU) ado ...

prey on sea trout and salmon.

Plants

The prevalence of

oxbow lake An oxbow lake is a U-shaped lake or stream pool, pool that forms when a wide meander of a river is meander cutoff, cut off, creating a free-standing body of water. The word "oxbow" can also refer to a U-shaped bend in a river or stream, whether ...

s in the Towy valley provides some spectacular shows through the year. In summer at Bishop's Pond in Abergwili (an oxbow lake formed when the river flooded in 1802) there is a spectacular show of yellow

water lilies ''Water Lilies'' ( ) is a series of approximately 250 oil paintings by French Impressionist Claude Monet (1840–1926). The paintings depict his flower garden at his home in Giverny, and were the main focus of his artistic production during ...

on the pond when the water level drops and

reed sweet-grass ''Glyceria maxima'' (syn. ''G. aquatica'' (L.) Wahlenb.; ''G. spectabilis'' Mert. & W.D.J. Koch; ''Molinia maxima'' Hartm.; ''Poa aquatica'' L.), ''imfe Nd'' commonly known as great manna grass, reed mannagrass, reed sweet-grass, and greater swee ...

fringes the edges – a species also found nearby in the Teifi valley further west in

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and otherwise by the sea. Haverfordwest is the largest town and ...

, in

Gower The Gower Peninsula (), or simply Gower (), is a peninsula in the south-west of Wales. It is the most westerly part of the historic county of Glamorgan, and is now within the City and County of Swansea. It projects towards the Bristol Channel ...

, in Powys (especially along the

Montgomery Canal The Montgomery Canal (), known colloquially as "The Monty", is a partially restored canal in eastern Powys and northwest Shropshire. The canal runs from the Llangollen Canal at Frankton Junction to Newtown, Powys, Newtown via Llanymynech and ...

), on

Anglesey Anglesey ( ; ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms the bulk of the Principal areas of Wales, county known as the Isle of Anglesey, which also includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island () and some islets and Skerry, sker ...

and in several sites along the North Wales coast.

Glanrhyd Bridge disaster

On 19 October 1987, three days after the Great Storm of 1987, four people were killed when a train plunged off Glanrhyd Bridge near Llangadog into the flooded river.

Notes and references

Explanatory notes

References

External links

Southwest Wales and Its Nature Reserves

CCW - Protecting Allis Shad
{{Authority control Carmarthen Bay

Towy The River Towy (, ; also known as the River Tywi) is one of the longest rivers flowing entirely within Wales. Its total length is . It is noted for its sea trout and salmon fishing. Route The Towy rises within of the source of the River Teifi ...