Swansea Valleys

 Swansea Valleys

A number of rivers including the Tawe, Lliw and Llwchwr emanate from the hills and mountains north of Swansea flowing into the sea in around the Gower Peninsula.

Abercrave (Abercraf) sits towards the top end of the valley. Close to the village situated within Craig y Nos Country Park is the magnificent Craig y Nos Castle, an early Victorian country house, which was one of the first private residences in Britain to have electricity. Now a hotel and conference centre, it was expanded and developed by the celebrated opera diva, Adelina Patti.

Wales' top award-winning visitor attraction, the National Showcaves Centre for Wales is also close to Abercrave at Dan yr Ogof. Discovered in 1912, the underground caverns are the most breathtaking showcaves complex in Northern Europe.

Just to the east of Abercrave, on the southern edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park, is Sgwd Henrhyd, the tallest waterfall in South Wales with a drop of 90 feet (27 m).

Ystradgynlais, just further down the Tawe, is the second largest town in the county of Powys. It grew around the iron-making and coal-mining industries. Birthplace of the present Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, it is also where renowned Polish artist, Josef Herman spent 11 years living and painting, producing some of his most well-known works. Ynyscedwyn Ironworks Park has been created on the site of the former works, its majestic rows of arches still intact.

Like Ystradgynlais, Ystalyfera is another former iron and coal community with a rich Welsh-language culture. The Bryncelyn Brewery at the Wern Fawr Inn produces award-winning beers whose names reference Buddy Holly and his songs. The Afon Twrch meets the Tawe at Ystalyfera. Cwmtwrch (Valley of the Wild Boar') derives its name from "Twrch Trwyth", a mythical boar of Arthurian legends and the ancient Welsh folklore tales of the Mabinogion. The fact that Cwmtwrch is split into two parts, Upper (Cwm Twrch Uchaf) and Lower (Cwm Twrch Isaf) is the subject of much local humour. The highly sulphuric and pungent Well of Peace (Ffynnon Ddrewllyd) in Lower Cwmtwrch is considered by some to have healing properties.

Pontardawe at the heart of Cwm Tawe grew with the development of the steel and tinplate industries. The 200ft-high spire of St Peter's, a fine Gothic Revival church, overlooks the Swansea Canal close to the centre of the town and dominates the surrounding area against the wonderful backdrop of the wooded hillsides.

Pontardawe Arts Centre has earned a reputation as one of the finest cultural venues in South Wales. The town also hosts a number of significant cultural and sporting events. The Swansea Valley Show is a highly-popular event that showcases the area’s farming and agricultural roots, the annual Cwmtawe 7’s tournament is Wales’ foremost rugby sevens competition, and the community-based Gwyl Pontardawe Festival, established in 1978, is now an important international music festival that attracts up to 20,000 visitors annually.

The southern gateway to the upper Swansea valley, close to the M4 motorway, is Clydach. Typical of the area, the village has a rich industrial and cultural heritage based on metal refining and production and is home to Europe’s largest nickel refinery, which still uses the Swansea Canal. A walking trail following the line of the canal up the Swansea Valley from Clydach to Abercraf, has been established by the Swansea Canal Society, which also operates a boat trip from Pontardawe on weekends during the summer.

Cwm Clydach is an RSPB-owned nature reserve on the outskirts of the village at Craig Cefn Parc which has a wonderful array of bird-life. The road past here takes you up on the high moorland overlooking Swansea, known as the Mawr. Penlle'r Castell, an ancient hill fort, is the highest point in the City and County of Swansea Swansea and the start of the Gower Way with spectacular panoramas over the Black Mountain, Swansea Bay, the Gower peninsula and the distant Preseli Hills.

The Lliw Valley reservoirs at the source of the Lliw River close to the village of Felindre in the Mawr offer a range of fantastic walks. The local Bay Transansport provides an excellent service into the area for walkers with welcome refreshments available at the newly-renovated cafe at Lower Lliw Reservoir.

For history and nature lovers, we recommend a visit to Penllergaer Woods, which contain the remnants of the estate of photography pioneer and natural scientist, Sir John Dillwyn Llewelyn, including the observatory he built for his daughter and the remains of his elaborate, manicured gardens with cascades and waterfalls.

 

The Swansea Valley (Cwm Tawe) itself encompasses the upper reaches of the River Tawe.