TheRiver Tawe (/ˈtaʊi/;Welsh:Afon Tawe[ˈtau.ɛ]) is a 30 miles (48 km) long river inSouth Wales. Its headwaters flow initially east from its source belowLlyn y Fan Fawr south ofMoel Feity in theBlack Mountains, the westernmost range of theBrecon Beacons National Park, before the river turns south and then southwest to itsestuary atSwansea. Its main tributaries are the right bankUpper andLower Clydach Rivers and theAfon Twrch, withNant-y-fendrod joining on the left bank. The total area of the catchment is some 246 km2 (95 sq mi).[1] The Tawe passes through a number of towns and villages includingYstradgynlais,Ystalyfera,Pontardawe, andClydach and meets the sea atSwansea Bay below Swansea. The Tawe Valley (Cwm Tawe inWelsh) is more commonly known as theSwansea Valley.
Ownership of the riverbed was granted to theDuke of Beaufort in the 17th century byCharles 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 whenSwansea Council was required to pay £281,431 to the estate, as revealed by a Freedom of Information request.[2]
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 byporcelain manufacture. Large areas of the lower valley remain contaminated by industrial spoil containingcopper,lead,nickel andzinc. The only significant extant relic of those times is a major nickel refinery at Clydach which is part of the Canadian companyVale Inco. The quality of the river has now greatly improved. Largesalmon swim up the river tospawn, whilsttrout are in abundance.
In 1992, abarrage was built at the mouth of the river.
National Cycle Route 43 follows this river for much of its course.
Bridges over the River Tawe within theCity and County of Swansea, from north to south:
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.[3] 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.[4]
51°37′N3°56′W / 51.617°N 3.933°W /51.617; -3.933
