The Aberdulais Falls are found on the River Dulais at Aberdulais, near Neath in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales. The falls are formed as the river plunges over beds of hard Lower Pennant Sandstone just before meeting the River Neath flowing down the Vale of Neath. They are home to one of Europe's largest electricity-generating water wheels.
The River Dulais rises on Mynydd y Drum in the western Brecon Beacons. It flows down the Dulais Valley, through the villages of Seven Sisters and Crynant, before reaching its confluence with the River Neath after about 7 mi (11 km). Here it flows over a ridge of Pennant sandstone, entering a gorge that was carved by meltwater from a glacier 20,000 years ago. Originally the falls were nearer the sea, but the water has eroded the rock and cut its way back to its present location. The River Dulais is prone to flash floods when heavy rain falls in its catchment area. [1]
Power has been drawn from the waterfall since 1584, when it first provided energy used in the manufacture of copper, using ore imported from Cornwall. The copper-works ceased to operate early in the 17th century, and the site was later used for corn-milling and later as a tinplate works. The weir and waterwheel were added during the 19th century. [2] The waterwheel used today is a modern steel structure. It is the largest waterwheel generating electricity in Europe, with a diameter of 8.2 m (27 ft). It has 72 buckets to catch the falling water and rotates at a rate of five revolutions per minute. [3]
The falls and associated industrial infrastructure are in the care of the National Trust in recognition of the site's value as a key part of the region's industrial heritage. Car parking for visitors is available just off the A465 road which passes the site. [1]
Port Talbot is a town and community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, situated on the east side of Swansea Bay, approximately eight miles from Swansea. The Port Talbot Steelworks covers a large area of land which dominates the south east of the town. It is one of the biggest steelworks in the world, but has been under threat of closure since the 1980s. The population was 31,550 in 2021, comprising about a fifth of the 141,931 population of Neath Port Talbot.
The River Afan is a river in Wales whose valley formed the territory of the medieval Lords of Afan. The Afan Valley encompasses the upper reaches of the river. The valley is traversed by the A4107 road. Settlements in the area include Cwmafan, Pontrhydyfen and Cymmer. The town of Aberavon, whose name in Welsh Aberafan means 'mouth of the Afan', grew up on the banks of the river and was later subsumed by the town of Port Talbot.
Neath Abbey was a Cistercian monastery, located near the present-day town of Neath in South Wales, UK. It was once the largest abbey in Wales. Substantial ruins can still be seen, and are in the care of Cadw. Tudor historian John Leland called Neath Abbey "the fairest abbey of all Wales."
Neath Port Talbot is a county borough in the south-west of Wales. Its principal towns are Neath, Port Talbot, Briton Ferry and Pontardawe. The county borough borders Bridgend County Borough and Rhondda Cynon Taf to the east, Powys and Carmarthenshire to the north; and Swansea to the west.
Aberdulais is a village and electoral ward in Neath Port Talbot, Wales, lying on the River Neath, in the community of Blaenhonddan. The village grew around the Aberdulais Falls, the site of successive industries and now a hydro-electric station. The National Trust owns and administers the site.
The River Mellte is a river in south Wales. It is formed by the confluence of the Afon Llia and the Afon Dringarth. It then flows south through the village of Ystradfellte to Pontneddfechan where it joins with the Nedd Fechan to become the River Neath. The river derives its name from 'mellt' - the Welsh word for 'lightning' - after its tendency to rise and fall rapidly in response to heavy rainfall.
River Neath is a river in south Wales running south west from the point at which its headwaters arising in the Brecon Beacons National Park converge to its mouth at Baglan Bay below Briton Ferry on the east side of Swansea Bay.
Neath was a constituency in Wales represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament from 1918 to 2024.
Pontrhydyfen is a small village in the Afan Valley, in Neath Port Talbot county borough in Wales. The village sits at the confluence of the River Afan and the smaller Afon Pelenna, 1.8 miles (2.9 km) north of the larger village of Cwmafan and not far from the towns of Port Talbot and Neath. The views from the village are dominated by the hills of Foel Fynyddau (370 m) to the west, Moel y Fen (260 m) to the south-east and Mynydd Pen-rhys (280 m) to the north. This former coal mining community is distinguished by two large 19th-century bridges that span the valley: a railway viaduct and a former aqueduct, known in the Welsh language as Y Bont Fawr. The built-up area has a population of around 830. It is in the community of Pelenna. There is both a Community Centre and rugby union club, Pontrhydyfen RFC.
The Neath and Tennant Canals are two independent but linked canals in South Wales that are usually regarded as a single canal. The Neath Canal was opened from Glynneath to Melincryddan, to the south of Neath, in 1795 and extended to Giant's Grave in 1799, in order to provide better shipping facilities. With several small later extensions it reached its final destination at Briton Ferry. No traffic figures are available, but it was successful, as dividends of 16 per cent were paid on the shares. The canal was 13.5 miles (21.7 km) long and included 19 locks.
Crymlyn Burrows is an area in Wales to the east of Swansea city centre, and south of Crymlyn Bog. It is bounded by Jersey Marine Beach to the south and the River Neath to the east. The land west of Baldwin's Crescent falls within the City and County of Swansea and from Baldwin's Crescent eastwards falls within Neath Port Talbot. The area northwest of the Fabian Way contains a small settlement at Elba Crescent and Baldwins Crescent, and areas of industry and commerce.
Cefn Coed Colliery Museum is a former coal mine, now operating as a museum. It is located at Crynant near Neath in the South Wales Valleys.
Melincourt Falls is an 80 feet (24 m) high waterfall on Melin Court Brook, a left-bank tributary of the River Neath / Afon Nedd, located 1-mile (1.6 km) south of Resolven in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, south Wales. It is formed where the brook plunges over a resistant band of 'Lower Pennant Sandstone' in a 13 acres (5.3 ha) nature reserve managed by the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales. The falls have been drawing visitors for at least two centuries – they are certainly known to have inspired J. M. W. Turner to paint them in 1794. The falls are considered by some to constitute a part of Waterfall Country though the bulk of these falls are a few miles further northeast at the head of the Vale of Neath.
River Dulais is a river of Wales which has its source at Mynydd y Drum. It joins the River Neath after flowing over Aberdulais Falls.
Coelbren is a small rural village within the community of Tawe Uchaf in southernmost Powys, Wales. It lies on the very northern edge of the South Wales Coalfield some six miles north-east of Ystradgynlais and just outside the southern boundary of the Brecon Beacons National Park. It is known for Henrhyd Falls, a 27m high waterfall which serves as a National Trust-managed visitor attraction on the Nant Llech. To the east of the village flows the Afon Pyrddin which plunges over two more spectacular falls.
The Afon Pyrddin is a river forming a short section of the boundary between the counties of Brecknockshire and Glamorgan in Wales, United Kingdom. It also forms a part of the boundary of the Brecon Beacons National Park, and the boundary of the unitary authorities of Powys and Neath Port Talbot. The river and its waterfalls are one of the key attractions of the Fforest Fawr Geopark designated in 2005.
Waterfall Country is a name often given to the upper reaches of the Vale of Neath in South Wales. The tourist area around the head of the valley has an unusually large number of publicly accessible waterfalls. The area is not officially defined but generally includes the group of falls on the Nedd Fechan, Pyrddin, Hepste and Mellte rivers, all of which lie between the villages of Pontneddfechan and Ystradfellte in the Brecon Beacons National Park.
The Lanark Hydro Electric Scheme consists of two hydroelectric plants in the Clydesdale area of South Lanarkshire, Scotland. They are run-of-the-river power stations, using water from the River Clyde near to the Falls of Clyde. Bonnington Power Station gets its water supply from just above Corra Linn in New Lanark, while Stonebyres Power Station takes water from above Stonebyres Linn near Kirkfieldbank. Bonnington is the larger of the two stations, which between them can produce 17 MW.
Mynydd Marchywel is a 418-metre (1,371 ft) high hill in the Neath Port Talbot area in South Wales. Its summit is marked both by a cairn and a trig point. The larger part of the hill is cloaked in modern forestry through which numerous streams fall away westward to the River Tawe, eastward to the River Dulais and southward into the Clydach, the latter two being tributaries of the River Neath.
Hirfynydd is a 481-metre-high hill in Neath Port Talbot county borough in South Wales. A Roman road, Sarn Helen, runs along its entire northeast–southwest ridge-line, a route followed by a modern-day byway. To its west is Cwm Dulais and to its southeast is the Vale of Neath. The northern end of the ridge falls away to a broad upland vale containing the Afon Pyrddin and beyond which is the Brecon Beacons National Park.
Media related to Aberdulais Falls at Wikimedia Commons
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