River Loughor
Encyclopedia
Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire is a unitary authority in the south west of Wales and one of thirteen historic counties. It is the 3rd largest in Wales. Its three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
has its source at an underground lake at the Black Mountain
Black Mountain (range)
The Black Mountain is a mountain range in Mid and West Wales, straddling the county boundary between Carmarthenshire and Powys and forming the westernmost range of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Its highest point is Fan Brycheiniog at 802 metres or 2,631 ft. The Black Mountain also forms a part...
. It flows past settlements like Ammanford and Hendy
Hendy
Yr Hendy is a village in the community of Llanedi, Carmarthenshire, Wales, situated on the border between Carmarthenshire and Swansea. Yr Hendy lies on the Afon Gwili just across the River Loughor from the town of Pontarddulais and, together with Fforest to its north, forms part of the continuous...
in Carmarthenshire and Pontarddulais
Pontarddulais
Pontarddulais is a community and town in the City and County of Swansea, Wales. It is situated north west of Swansea city centre. It falls within the Pontarddulais ward.-Overview:...
in Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
. The river divides Carmarthenshire from Swansea for much of its course and it separates Hendy from Pontarddulais at the point where the river becomes tidal. The Loughor meets the sea at its estuary near the town of Loughor
Loughor
Loughor is a town in the City and County of Swansea, Wales, within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales. It lies on the estuary of the River Loughor. The town has a community council called Llwchwr....
where it separates the south coast of Carmarthenshire from the north coast of the Gower Peninsula
Gower Peninsula
Gower or the Gower Peninsula is a peninsula in south Wales, jutting from the coast into the Bristol Channel, and administratively part of the City and County of Swansea. Locally it is known as "Gower"...
.
Among its tributaries is the River Amman
River Amman
The River Amman is a river of south Wales, which joins the River Loughor at Pantyffynnon. The river gives its name to the town of Ammanford and the villages of Pontamman, Glanaman, Brynamman and Rhosaman. Garnant and Betws also lie in the Amman Valley....
, which joins the Loughor near Pantyffynnon
Pantyffynnon
Pantyffynnon is a small village in Carmarthenshire, Wales, located half a mile south-west of Ammanford, and a mile east of Tycroes. It lies between the rivers Loughor and Amman at the foot of Mynydd y Betws....
.
In the 18th century, the river was a noted salmon
Salmon
Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
and sea trout
Trout
Trout is the name for a number of species of freshwater and saltwater fish belonging to the Salmoninae subfamily of the family Salmonidae. Salmon belong to the same family as trout. Most salmon species spend almost all their lives in salt water...
river. Fish from the river was then carried on ponies to be sold at Swansea Market
Swansea Market
Swansea Market situated in the heart of Swansea city centre is the largest indoor market in Wales. The market is covered by a steel arched portal frame roof clad in steel and glass. The current market was built in 1959-1960 by Percy Edwards. It is the fourth market to be built at the site in...
. The fishing declined in the 19th century due to increasing pollution from industrialisation.
Carmarthenshire County Council
Carmarthenshire County Council
Carmarthenshire County Council is the local authority for the county of Carmarthenshire, Wales, providing a range of services under the control of elected county councillors that include education, planning, transport, social services and public safety...
is currently undertaking studies into the possibility of constructing a barrage across the River Loughor upstream from the Loughor bridges.
Estuary
Carmarthen Bay
Carmarthen Bay is an inlet of the south Wales coast. The coastline includes famous beaches, including the Pendine Sands and Cefn Sidan sands, and is partially covered by the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park....
. The Afon Lliw empties into the estuary just below the Loughor bridges. This region almost completely empties at low tide, exposing extensive sandy areas supporting a thriving cockle
Cockle (bivalve)
Cockle is the common name for a group of small, edible, saltwater clams, marine bivalve molluscs in the family Cardiidae.Various species of cockles live in sandy sheltered beaches throughout the world....
industry.
On the south side of the inlet, the gathering and processing of cockles (Cerastoderma edule) contributes significantly to the economy of the villages of Crofty, Llanmorlais and Penclawdd
Penclawdd
Penclawdd is a village which is situated in the north of the Gower Peninsula in Swansea, Wales. Penclawdd is most famous for its local cockle industry which goes back for many years to Roman times. It falls within the Penclawdd electoral ward. It is one of the larger villages on the Gower Peninsula...
. Anyone can take a bucket of cockles for their personal use, but the commercial fishery is restricted to a relatively small number of licence holders. Cockle density fluctuates from year to year; the estuary is also an internationally important location for wader
Wader
Waders, called shorebirds in North America , are members of the order Charadriiformes, excluding the more marine web-footed seabird groups. The latter are the skuas , gulls , terns , skimmers , and auks...
s and other wildfowl, which has led to demands from cocklers for the control of oystercatchers
Eurasian Oystercatcher
The Eurasian Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus, also known as the Common Pied Oystercatcher, or just Oystercatcher, is a wader in the oystercatcher bird family Haematopodidae. It is the most widespread of the oystercatchers, with three races breeding in western Europe, central Eurasia,...
(Haematopus ostralegus), which feed on cockles.
The estuary cuts through the southern part of a once-important coalfield. Llanelli
Llanelli
Llanelli , the largest town in both the county of Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed , Wales, sits on the Loughor estuary on the West Wales coast, approximately west-north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarthen. The town is famous for its proud rugby...
, on its north shore, was noted for its tinplate industry, whilst Penclawdd, on the south side, smelted copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
from ore shipped in from Anglesey
Anglesey
Anglesey , also known by its Welsh name Ynys Môn , is an island and, as Isle of Anglesey, a county off the north west coast of Wales...
. Both required ready access to the Bristol Channel
Bristol Channel
The Bristol Channel is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Severn to the North Atlantic Ocean...
via Carmarthen Bay. The main channel has fluctuated from side to side of the estuary in the past; in the late 19th century, the Llanelli Port Authority obtained legislation permitting the construction of a training wall intended to confine it to the north side of the estuary; unfortunately, this merely dissipated the currents, accelerating the silting-up not only of the entrance to Llanelli North Dock
North Dock, Llanelli
North Dock is a former industrial dock in Llanelli, West Wales used mainly for exporting coal and tin plate from South Wales. It is also the name of the area immediately surrounding the dock. Llanelli Beach is also known locally as North Dock....
but also of the Penclawdd anchorage. The wall has since been breached in several places.
Spartina anglica
Spartina anglica is a species of cordgrass that originated in southern England in about 1870. It is an allotetraploid species derived from the hybrid Spartina × townsendii, which arose when the European native cordgrass Spartina maritima hybridised with the introduced American Spartina...
) to claim grazing land at the western end of the Gower side during the 1930s. This vigorous grass has since spread in a wide band all along the south side, forming the basis of a salt-marsh supporting the grazing of sheep, ponies and cattle.
The estuary is partly closed off by Whiteford Point, which extends from Llanmadoc in Gower towards Burry Port
Burry Port
Burry Port is a small town five miles outside the larger centre of Llanelli in Carmarthenshire, Wales, lying on the Loughor estuary. The town's population is roughly 8,000 although in the 2001 census there were 4209 residents....
and Cefn Sidan
Cefn Sidan
Cefn Sidan, roughly translated from Welsh, means "Silky Back". This long sandy beach and its dunes form the outer edge of the Pembrey Burrows between Burry Port and Kidwelly, looking southwards over Carmarthen Bay in South Wales....
in Carmarthenshire. This is now a National Nature Reserve maintained by the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
and the Countryside Council for Wales
Countryside Council for Wales
The Countryside Council for Wales is an Assembly Government Sponsored Body. It is the Welsh Assembly Government's wildlife conservation authority for Wales...
(ex Nature Conservancy) and is an area of sand dunes supporting several rare species. Just off the tip of the point is one of the few remaining cast-iron lighthouse
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
s, long since disused and in need of preservation.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
several gun batteries were established to both the east and west of Penclawdd, where gun-barrels were calibrated and shells
Shell (projectile)
A shell is a payload-carrying projectile, which, as opposed to shot, contains an explosive or other filling, though modern usage sometimes includes large solid projectiles properly termed shot . Solid shot may contain a pyrotechnic compound if a tracer or spotting charge is used...
(of various types including high-explosive and mustard gas) were fired across the salt marsh towards Whiteford Point; quantities of unwanted munitions were also buried on the seaward side of this point. The area is regularly swept by the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
's bomb disposal
Bomb disposal
Bomb disposal is the process by which hazardous explosive devices are rendered safe. Bomb disposal is an all encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functions in the following fields:*Military:...
team, although few shells
Unexploded ordnance
Unexploded ordnance are explosive weapons that did not explode when they were employed and still pose a risk of detonation, potentially many decades after they were used or discarded.While "UXO" is widely and informally used, munitions and explosives of...
are now recovered. Persistent rumours that anthrax
Anthrax
Anthrax is an acute disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Most forms of the disease are lethal, and it affects both humans and other animals...
biological warfare
Biological warfare
Biological warfare is the use of biological toxins or infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi with intent to kill or incapacitate humans, animals or plants as an act of war...
shells were tested against sheep in the estuary were finally substantiated in a reply to a parliamentary question from the late Tony Banks in January 1987. In the 1960s, the Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
proposed to move its main artillery and explosives testing facility at Foulness
Foulness
Foulness is an island on the east coast of Essex in England, which is separated from the mainland by narrow creeks. The large island had a usually resident population of 212 people in the 2001 census, who live in the settlements of Churchend and Courtsend, at the north end of Foulness. The island...
, at the mouth of the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
, to a site between Burry Port and Kidwelly
Kidwelly
Kidwelly is a town in Carmarthenshire, west Wales, approximately north-west of the main town of Llanelli.It lies on the River Gwendraeth Fach above Carmarthen Bay. The town is twinned with French village St Jacut de la Mer.-History:...
, which was already used in a very sporadic way as an air-to-ground rocket range. The intention was to make way for a planned third London airport. The proposal was vigorously resisted locally and was dropped when another airport site was agreed.
Sources
- Problems of a Small Estuary, ed. A. Nelson-Smith & E.M.Bridges, Institute of Marine Studies (University College, Swansea) & West Glamorgan County Council, Swansea, 1977.