 |
The River Garw (Afon Garw in Welsh, meaning "rugged river") runs for about 12 miles from its source in the hills north of Blaengarw to the confluence with the River Ogmore and the River Llynfi at Aberkenfig. It is one of three main tributaries of the River Ogmore which runs through the town of Bridgend [ citation needed ]. It is in Wales, United Kingdom.
Originating in Blaengarw, it passes through the villages of Pontycymer, Pantygog, Lluest/Braichycymer, Tylagwyn, Llangeinor, Abergarw and finally the village of Brynmenyn, where it joins the River Ogmore [ citation needed ].
With most of the River Garw's course running along the floor of the river valley to which its name is given, it collects a number of tributary streams along the way. These streams are listed in order of confluence with the river from its uppermost point to its confluence with the River Ogmore.
The effects of coal mining in the valley, both from small family owned shafts and major pits alike, caused the river to become polluted and dirty with coal dust and other chemicals to the point at which it was once entirely black in colour, earning it the mainly local nickname of the "Black River".[ citation needed ]
The River Garw once contained Salmon amongst other fish[ citation needed ]. Industrialisation of the valley resulted in their loss, but they are slowly being re-introduced as part of the valley's regeneration,[ citation needed ] after the closure of the coal mines in the 1980s and the recovery of the now useful shale through a brief period of restorative opencast mining in the 1990s.[ citation needed ]
It also runs through Bryngarw Country Park - a managed and publicly owned estate and nature reserve, where many types of birds can occasionally be seen.[ citation needed ]
During periods of prolonged heavy rain, the River Garw quite commonly bursts its shallow banks, causing minor flooding in all villages along its length. As the villages are mostly up on the valley sides, this doesn't have any significant effect, save for a few places; a house that once stood next to what is now a small footbridge across the river near the children's playground on the valley floor at Pantygog was demolished some years ago due to constant flooding from the river[ citation needed ]. The river has also been known to flood the playground area at Braichycymmer, and sometimes becomes hazardous near the Llangeinor playing fields/railway crossing[ citation needed ], and in the lower regions of Bryngarw Country Park (where it has become less of a problem due to the deepening off the river bed to these ends)[ citation needed ]. Its tributary streams, one of which joins at the boundary of Pontycymer and Pantygog, can turn from mere babbling brooks to raging torrents in a matter of a few minutes, and it is not unknown for this to occur very suddenly.[ citation needed ]
Bridgend County Borough is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. The county borough has a total population of 139,200 people, and contains the town of Bridgend, after which it is named. Its members of the Senedd are Sarah Murphy MS, representing the Bridgend Constituency, and Huw Irranca-Davies MS representing the Ogmore Constituency, and its members of UK parliament are Jamie Wallis and Chris Elmore.
The River Ogmore is a river in South Wales that is popular with anglers. It runs generally from north to south from the Ogmore Vale and Gilfach Goch, past Bridgend and Ogmore. The River Ogmore rises at Craig Ogwr in the Ogmore Valley as the Ogwr Fawr before it links with the Ogwr Fach at Blackmill. The River Llynfi, the River Garw and finally the River Ewenny in its estuary are all tributaries of the Ogmore which flows into the sea between Ogmore-by-Sea and the Merthyr Mawr sand-dunes.
Ogmore is a constituency created in 1918 represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Chris Elmore of the Labour Party.
The River Llynfi, Welsh: Afon Llynfi, is one of three main tributaries of the River Ogmore.
The River Rhondda is a river in South Wales with two major tributaries, Rhondda Fawr and Rhondda Fach.
The Garw Valley Railway is the trading name of the Bridgend Valleys Railway Company Limited. It operates a short section of 4 ft 8+1⁄2 instandard gauge railway located in South Wales, which is being recreated as a heritage railway. Formerly part of the Llynvi and Ogmore Railway (L&OR) and built by the Great Western Railway (GWR), the line was used for freight and passenger services, with most of the track still in place between Brynmenyn and Pontycymer. The project currently has a train shed at Pontycymer, and hopes to initially offer brake van rides between Pontycymer and Pant-y-Gog, a distance of 0.5 miles (0.8 km).
Pontyberem is a village and community situated in the Gwendraeth Valley halfway between Carmarthen and Llanelli in Carmarthenshire, Wales. As of the 2001 Census, the population was recorded as 2,829, reducing to 2,768 at the 2011 Census.
Pontycymer is a former mining village in Wales. It is situated in the Garw Valley, in Bridgend County Borough, about 7 miles or 11 km north of the town of Bridgend.
Blaengarw is the uppermost village in the river valley of the River Garw, in the county borough of Bridgend, Wales.
Bettws, is a small ex-mining and farming village in the South Wales Valleys in the county borough of Bridgend, Wales. Bettws is also an electoral ward to the county council.
The Ewenny River is a river in South Wales. For most of its 10 miles (16 km) length, it forms the border between the Vale of Glamorgan and Bridgend. It is a major tributary of the River Ogmore, which it joins near its estuary.
The Afon Clun is a 14-mile (23 km) long tributary of the River Ely, in the counties of Cardiff and Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Its bedrock is predominantly of sandstone. Beginning on the western slope of The Garth the river is fast-flowing, in clear shallow water with a hard substrate, flowing to the south of Llantrisant and generally west to its confluence with the River Ely at Pontyclun, falling 715 feet (218 m) over its course.
Llangeinor is a small village located in the Garw Valley around 5 miles (8 km) north of Bridgend in Bridgend County Borough, Wales. The ward population taken at the 2011 census was 1,243. The entire village is now protected as part of a conservation area.
Brynmenyn is a small village located at the confluence of the Garw and Ogmore rivers in south Wales, around 4 miles north of Bridgend, and it also in the Bridgend County Borough council area. The village has its own primary school.
Garw Valley is a community in the north of Bridgend County Borough, South Wales. As the name suggests, it follows and encompasses the valley of the River Garw. The community includes the village of Blaengarw at the head of the valley, followed by Pontycymer and Llangeinor on the river, with Bettws between the Garw and the Llynfi in the south. Garw Valley is bordered to the west by Maesteg, Llangynwyd Middle and Llangynwyd Lower; to the east by Ogmore Valley and to the south by Ynysawdre and St Bride's Minor.
The River Thaw is a river in the Vale of Glamorgan, south Wales. At 20 kilometres/12.4 miles, it is the longest river entirely in the Vale of Glamorgan.
Mynydd Llangeinwyr is the highest hill in the county borough of Bridgend in the coalfield of South Wales. It forms a long north-south ridge between the valleys of Cwm Garw to the west and Cwm Ogwr Fawr to the east. The highest point of the ridge is the 568-metre flat dome known as Werfa which is crowned by a trig point and prominent masts. A secondary trig point is sited at a height of 530 m near to the ancient cairn of Carn-yr-hyrddod. The hill is named from the village of Llangeinor below its southern tip.
Nant Ffrwdwyllt is a stream that runs through Cwm Dyffryn, within the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, from the village of Bryn, through the village of Goytre and the district of Taibach in Port Talbot, to the sea. The stream was originally a tributary of the River Afan but was diverted in the 18th century into the ironworks at what was to become Port Talbot to provide a source of water. It now flows into Port Talbot Docks. Several streets are or have been named after it, notably the present-day Ffrwdwyllt Street in Taibach, where the stream runs close to St Theodore's Church and the Talbot Memorial Park.
