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The River Tawe (Afon Tawe in Welsh
Welsh language

Welsh ]], is a member of the Brythonic branch of Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, in England by some along the Welsh Marches and in the Welsh settlement in Argentina in the Chubut Valley in Argentina Patagonia....
) is a river in South Wales
South Wales

South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west....
. It flows in a principally south-westerly direction for some 48 km (28 miles) from its source below Moel Feity in the Old Red Sandstone
Old Red Sandstone

The Old Red Sandstone is a British rock formation of considerable importance to early paleontology. For convenience the short version of the term, 'ORS' is often used in literature on the subject....
 hills of the western Brecon Beacons
Brecon Beacons

The Brecon Beacons is a mountain range in South Wales. It forms the central section of the Brecon Beacons National Park , one of Wales's three National Parks of England and Waless....
 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, and extending from the lower Severn Estuary of the River Severn to that part of the North Atlantic Ocean known as the Celtic Sea ....
 at Swansea
Swansea

Swansea is a City status in the United Kingdom and subdivisions of Wales in Wales. Swansea is in the Historic counties of Wales of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower peninsula and the Lliw uplands....
. Its only large tributary is the Clydach River. The Tawe passes through a number of towns and villages including Ystradgynlais
Ystradgynlais

Ystradgynlais is a town on the River Tawe in south west Powys, Wales. The town grew around the iron-making, coal mining and watch-making industries....
, Ystalyfera
Ystalyfera

Ystalyfera is a former industrial village situated on the River Tawe in the unitary authority of Neath Port Talbot, Wales. The estimated population for Ystalyfera and neighbouring Ystradgynlais is 10,247, with an estimate of 4,000 for Ystalyfera itself....
, Pontardawe
Pontardawe

Pontardawe is a town of some 5,000 inhabitants in the Swansea Valley in south Wales. The community of Pontardawe, comprising the electoral wards of Pontardawe and Trebanos , is served by an elected Community council#Community councils in Wales and forms part of the county borough of Neath Port Talbot....
, and Clydach and meets the sea at Swansea Bay
Swansea Bay

Swansea Bay is an Headlands and bays on the Bristol Channel on the South Wales Wales coast. Places on the bay include Mumbles, Swansea and Port Talbot....
 below Swansea. The Tawe valley is more commonly known as the Swansea Valley.

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

Porcelain is a ceramic material made by heating raw materials, generally including clay in the form of kaolin, in a kiln to temperatures between and ....
 manufacture.






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The River Tawe (Afon Tawe in Welsh
Welsh language

Welsh ]], is a member of the Brythonic branch of Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, in England by some along the Welsh Marches and in the Welsh settlement in Argentina in the Chubut Valley in Argentina Patagonia....
) is a river in South Wales
South Wales

South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west....
. It flows in a principally south-westerly direction for some 48 km (28 miles) from its source below Moel Feity in the Old Red Sandstone
Old Red Sandstone

The Old Red Sandstone is a British rock formation of considerable importance to early paleontology. For convenience the short version of the term, 'ORS' is often used in literature on the subject....
 hills of the western Brecon Beacons
Brecon Beacons

The Brecon Beacons is a mountain range in South Wales. It forms the central section of the Brecon Beacons National Park , one of Wales's three National Parks of England and Waless....
 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, and extending from the lower Severn Estuary of the River Severn to that part of the North Atlantic Ocean known as the Celtic Sea ....
 at Swansea
Swansea

Swansea is a City status in the United Kingdom and subdivisions of Wales in Wales. Swansea is in the Historic counties of Wales of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower peninsula and the Lliw uplands....
. Its only large tributary is the Clydach River. The Tawe passes through a number of towns and villages including Ystradgynlais
Ystradgynlais

Ystradgynlais is a town on the River Tawe in south west Powys, Wales. The town grew around the iron-making, coal mining and watch-making industries....
, Ystalyfera
Ystalyfera

Ystalyfera is a former industrial village situated on the River Tawe in the unitary authority of Neath Port Talbot, Wales. The estimated population for Ystalyfera and neighbouring Ystradgynlais is 10,247, with an estimate of 4,000 for Ystalyfera itself....
, Pontardawe
Pontardawe

Pontardawe is a town of some 5,000 inhabitants in the Swansea Valley in south Wales. The community of Pontardawe, comprising the electoral wards of Pontardawe and Trebanos , is served by an elected Community council#Community councils in Wales and forms part of the county borough of Neath Port Talbot....
, and Clydach and meets the sea at Swansea Bay
Swansea Bay

Swansea Bay is an Headlands and bays on the Bristol Channel on the South Wales Wales coast. Places on the bay include Mumbles, Swansea and Port Talbot....
 below Swansea. The Tawe valley is more commonly known as the Swansea Valley.

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

Porcelain is a ceramic material made by heating raw materials, generally including clay in the form of kaolin, in a kiln to temperatures between and ....
 manufacture. Large areas of the lower valley remain contaminated by industrial spoil containing 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....
, lead
Lead

Lead is a main-group Chemical element with symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal, also considered to be one of the heavy metal ....
, nickel
Nickel

Nickel is a chemical element, with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge....
 and zinc
Zinc

Zinc is a metallic chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is a first-row transition metal of the group 12 element of the periodic table....
. The only significant extant relic of those times is a major nickel refinery at Clydach which is part of the Canadian company INCO. The quality of the river has now greatly improved. Large salmon
Salmon

Salmon is the common name for several species of fish of the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the family are called trout,the difference is often attributed to the migratory life of the salmon as compared to the residential behaviour of trout, this holds true for the Atlantic salmon....
 and trout
Trout

Trout are a number of species of freshwater fish belonging to the Salmoninae subfamily of the Salmonidae family. Salmon belong to some of the same genera as trout but, unlike most trout, most salmon species spend almost all their lives in salt water....
 swim up the river to spawn.

In 1992, a barrage
Swansea Bay barrage

The Swansea Bay barrage was completed in 1992 becoming the UK's first tidal barrage across a river. This created a new marina at the mouth of the River Tawe extending the leisure boat facilities already being offered by the old South Dock....
 was built at the mouth of the river.

National Cycle Route 43
National Cycle Route 43

National Cycle Route 43, part of the National Cycle Network, connects Swansea with Builth Wells. Most of the route is still awaiting development....
 follows this river for much of its course.

Bridges and crossings

Bridges over the River Tawe within the City and County of Swansea
Swansea

Swansea is a City status in the United Kingdom and subdivisions of Wales in Wales. Swansea is in the Historic counties of Wales of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower peninsula and the Lliw uplands....
, from north to south:
  • A4067
    A4067 road

    The A4067 road is an Great Britain road numbering scheme in Wales connecting Swansea with Sennybridge. It runs in a southwest to northeast direction beginning in West Cross, Swansea, and continuing to Swansea city centre, where there is a break in the route....
     (Ffordd Cwm Tawe) road bridge
  • B4291 road bridge at Glais
  • A4067 road bridge (second crossing)
  • former rail access to the Vale Inco works at Clydach
  • disused railway bridge (former GWR
    GWR

    GWR is an acronym that can stand for:* The Great Western Railway Company of Great Britain, or its nickname "God's Wonderful Railway"* The Great Western Railway of Saskatchewan, Canada...
     route from Felin Fran to Clydach)
  • A4067 road bridge (third crossing)
  • Park Road bridge at Clydach
  • M4 motorway
    M4 motorway

    The M4 motorway is a motorway in Great Britain linking London with West Wales. It is part of the unsigned European route E30. Other major places directly accessible from M4 junctions are Reading, Berkshire, Swindon, Bristol, Newport, Cardiff and Swansea....
     bridge
  • railway bridge (Swansea District Line
    Swansea District Line

    |}The Swansea District Line is a section of line mainly used by freight services. The line runs from Cwrt Sart junction at Briton Ferry on the South Wales Main Line to Morlais junction near Pontarddulais on the Heart of Wales Line....
    )
  • Swansea Vale road bridge
  • Morriston road bridge - links Morriston
    Morriston

    Morriston is a Community in the City and County of Swansea, South Wales Wales and falls within the Morriston . Morriston is sometimes referred to as a distinct town , however Morriston never had a town charter, and is now part of the continuous urban area around Swansea, the centre of which lies three miles to the south-west....
     town centre to the Swansea Enterprise Park
    Swansea Enterprise Park

    The Swansea Enterprise Park is a combined business park and retail park in Swansea. In 1981 it became the first enterprise zone in the United Kingdom, and the largest....
  • Mannesmann pedestrian and cycle bridge - links the Enterprise Park to Beaufort Road in Plasmarl
    Plasmarl

    Plasmarl, or Plas-Marl, is a suburban district and historically a village of the City and County of Swansea, Wales. It falls within the Landore ....
  • southern Beaufort Road bridge (unnamed)
  • Landore railway viaduct
    Landore viaduct

    The Landore viaduct is a railway viaduct over the Swansea valley and the River Tawe at Landore in south Wales. It provides a link between Swansea city centre and the West Wales Line to the South Wales Main Line....
     (South Wales Main Line
    South Wales Main Line

    The South Wales Main Line is a branch of the Great Western Main Line in the United Kingdom. It diverges from the main line at Wootton Bassett near Swindon, first calling at Bristol Parkway, after which the line continues through the Severn Tunnel into South Wales....
    )
  • Morfa footbridge - links the Morfa
    Morfa

    Morfa may refer to:* Morfa, Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom* Morfa , a highly potent opiate analgesic drug...
     Retail Park to the Liberty Stadium
    Liberty Stadium, Swansea

    The Liberty Stadium , referred to as New Stadium during construction, is a purpose-built sports and concert arena and conferencing venue in the Landore area of Swansea, Wales....
  • White Rock Bridge - road and pedestrian bridge linking the Landore
    Landore

    Landore is the name of an Ward , a Community council in the City and County of Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. The community does not have a community council....
     district with the Bon-y-maen
    Bon-y-maen

    Bon-y-maen is a suburban district of Swansea, Wales located about 1.5 miles north east of Swansea city centre. Bon-y-maen falls within the Bonymaen ....
     district
  • Parc Tawe Bridge - road and pedestrian bridge linking Parc Tawe
    Parc Tawe

    Parc Tawe is a retail park and leisure area in Swansea, Wales. It is located in the eastern area of the Swansea city centre on the west bank of the River Tawe in the Lower Swansea valley....
     with St Thomas
    St. Thomas, Swansea

    St. Thomas is a suburban district of Swansea, Wales. It is a mainly residential area which lies east of Swansea city centre across the River Tawe and falls within the St....
  • 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
    Maritime Quarter

    The Maritime Quarter is a residential area of Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom located immediately south of the Swansea city centre shopping core....
     near Sainsbury's superstore to the SA1 Swansea Waterfront
    SA1 Swansea Waterfront

    SA1 Swansea Waterfront is the marketing name given to the brownfield land development area located in northern part of Swansea Docks. The area is located directly to the southeast of Swansea city centre....
     development area
  • Trafalgar Bridge - a pedestrian and cycle bridge located near the Swansea Bay barrage
    Swansea Bay barrage

    The Swansea Bay barrage was completed in 1992 becoming the UK's first tidal barrage across a river. This created a new marina at the mouth of the River Tawe extending the leisure boat facilities already being offered by the old South Dock....
    : built at a cost of £1.2 million, it crosses the barrage lock and part of the bridge swings with the lock gates


See also

  • Lower Swansea valley
    Lower Swansea valley

    The Lower Swansea valley is the lower half of the valley of the River Tawe in south Wales. It runs from approximately the level of Clydach, Swansea down to Swansea docks, where it opens into Swansea Bay and the Bristol Channel....
  • Swansea Bay barrage
    Swansea Bay barrage

    The Swansea Bay barrage was completed in 1992 becoming the UK's first tidal barrage across a river. This created a new marina at the mouth of the River Tawe extending the leisure boat facilities already being offered by the old South Dock....


External links