River Gele

Last updated August 10, 2022

The River Gele (Welsh:Afon Gele) is a river in the North Wales and a tributary of the River Clwyd. The town of Abergele takes its name from the river. The spelling is a dialectal spelling of the Welsh word gelau (spear or blade).^[1] The river gives its name to an electoral ward, called Gele, which includes the southern half of Abergele town.

The river used to empty into the sea direct through the town of Abergele, but the Rhuddlan Marsh embankment act of 1794, diverted the river from the south of the town in an eastwards direction across the south of Rhuddlan Marsh and into the River Clwyd at Towyn.^[2]^[3] A short distance of the rivermouth is tidal.^[4]

In 2010 and 2011 there were pollution scares on the river near its meeting point with the River Clwyd at Kinmel Bay.^[5] The river has also subjected the area to flooding, with the worst recorded event in 1971. This has led to a culverting of some areas and banks being installed on the floodplain to the east and south of Abergele.^[6]

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Kinmel Bay and Towyn is a community in Conwy County Borough, in Wales. It is located on the coast bordering Denbighshire, from which it is separated by the River Clwyd, and is 2.6 miles (4.2 km) west of Rhyl, 2.5 miles (4.0 km) north east of Abergele and 14.1 miles (22.7 km) east of Conwy. The community includes the holiday resorts of Kinmel Bay and Towyn. It is crossed by the Afon Gele, which flows from west to east, before joining the River Clwyd on the eastern boundary. At the 2001 census the community had a population of 7,864, increasing to 8,460 at the 2011 census. Before being named Kinmel Bay there was a small settlement called Foryd, which is the name of the bridge crossing into Rhyl. The area is very Anglicized, with well over half the population having been born in England.

The North Wales Coast East Football League is a football league in Wales, at tiers 4 and 5 of the Welsh football league system in North Wales, founded in 2020. The league is under the control of the North Wales Coast Football Association. The league replaced the former Vale of Clwyd and Conwy Football League, and covers the North East of Wales. A corresponding North Wales Coast West Football League was also established at the same time.

The Clwyd Football League was a football league formed in 1974 as an amalgamation of the Dyserth League and the Halkyn Mountain League. The top division was at different periods at the second, third and fourth levels of the Welsh football league system in North Wales. The league ran until 2011 when a split led to the formation of the Clwyd East Football League comprising Flintshire teams under the North East Wales Football Association and the Vale of Clwyd and Conwy Football League, made up of Denbighshire, Conwy county and Vale of Conwy sides, under the North Wales Coast Football Association.

References

↑ Mills, David (2011). A dictionary of British place-names. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 2. ISBN 978-0-19-960908-6.
↑ Plant, Steve (2014). A wander around the coast of Wales : a 870-mile walk following the coastal path of Wales from north to south. Peterborough: Fastprint. p. 21. ISBN 978-178035-761-4.
↑ Owen, Hywel Wyn (2015). The place-names of Wales. Cardiff: University of Wales. p. 4. ISBN 978-1-78316-164-5.
↑ "264" (Map). Vale of Clwyd. 1:25,000. Explorer. Ordnance Survey. 2015. ISBN 9780319244616.
↑ Hughes, Ian (8 September 2011). "River Gele pollution headache for Council". North Wales Weekly News. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
↑ "Flood schemes protect two towns". BBC News. 9 March 2011. Retrieved 6 March 2020.

External links

Video of the 1971 floods

Coordinates: 53°17′40″N3°32′05″W / 53.2944°N 3.5347°W / 53.2944; -3.5347

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[1] Mills, David (2011). A dictionary of British place-names. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 2. ISBN 978-0-19-960908-6.

[2] Plant, Steve (2014). A wander around the coast of Wales : a 870-mile walk following the coastal path of Wales from north to south. Peterborough: Fastprint. p. 21. ISBN 978-178035-761-4.

[3] Owen, Hywel Wyn (2015). The place-names of Wales. Cardiff: University of Wales. p. 4. ISBN 978-1-78316-164-5.

[4] "264" (Map). Vale of Clwyd. 1:25,000. Explorer. Ordnance Survey. 2015. ISBN 9780319244616.

[5] Hughes, Ian (8 September 2011). "River Gele pollution headache for Council". North Wales Weekly News. Retrieved 9 April 2013.

[6] "Flood schemes protect two towns". BBC News. 9 March 2011. Retrieved 6 March 2020.

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