The River Taf (Welsh : Afon Taf) is a river in West Wales. It rises in the Preseli Hills, Pembrokeshire, and continues through Carmarthenshire to Laugharne. It is one of the three rivers to enter the sea on the east side of Carmarthen Bay. The other two are the River Gwendraeth and River Tywi.
The River Taf is about 35 miles (56 km) from Crymych to Ginst Point, of which about 9 miles (14 km) is tidal. [1]
Water drains from high ground above the village of Crymych in Pembrokeshire, and at one time flowed at ground level across the main Cardigan–Tenby road (A478) before falling to the level of the Whitland and Cardigan Railway station Crymmych Arms (Great Western Railway) where on the UK Ordnance Survey map of 1866 it is shown as the source of the Taf. The stream fulfills its description "Crymych" (in Welsh "crooked stream") by turning through almost a right angle along the floor of the valley. The stream is mentioned—with various spellings—in records since 1468 and provided both the village and its hostelry with an identity. Modern maps show the source to be 650 feet (200 m) altitude at the foot of Frenni Fawr, close to the defunct railway. [2]
From Crymych the Taf, augmented by numerous minor tributaries, flows ESE to Llanfyrnach; SW through Glandwr, Llanglydwen, Login and Llanfallteg after which it becomes the county boundary between Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire, passing several times beneath railway lines. It is joined by the right bank tributary Afon Marlais, and turns east into Carmarthenshire, then runs beneath the A40 road to Whitland; east to St Clears, south to its broad estuary. [2]
Dyfed is a preserved county in southwestern Wales. It is a mostly rural area with a coastline on the Irish Sea and the Bristol Channel.
Carmarthenshire is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as the "Garden of Wales" and is also home to the National Botanic Garden of Wales.
Carmarthen Bay is an inlet of the South Wales coast, including notable beaches such as Pendine Sands and Cefn Sidan sands. Carmarthen Bay is partially within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. The Joint Nature Conservation Committee list Carmarthen Bay and Estuaries as a Special Area of Conservation.
The River Towy is one of the longest rivers flowing entirely within Wales. Its total length is 120 km (75 mi). It is noted for its sea trout and salmon fishing.
The River Teifi in Wales forms the boundary for most of its length between the counties of Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire, and for the final 3 miles (4.8 km) of its total length of 76 miles (122 km), the boundary between Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire. Its estuary is northwest of Cardigan. Teifi has formerly been anglicised as "Tivy".
Crymych is a village of around 800 inhabitants and a community in the northeast of Pembrokeshire, Wales. It is situated approximately 800 feet (240 m) above sea level at the eastern end of the Preseli Mountains, on the old Tenby to Cardigan turnpike road, now the A478.
The A478 road is a major road in Wales. The route is from its junction with the A487 at Cardigan, Ceredigion, to Tenby, Pembrokeshire. It crosses the Preseli Hills and winds through farmland for almost all of its route. The road just touches the very west of Carmarthenshire.
The River Gwendraeth is a river in Carmarthenshire in West Wales.
The River Nevern is a river in Pembrokeshire, Wales. Its source is north of the village of Crymych and its length is about 11 miles (18 km) to its estuary at Newport, Pembrokeshire.
Cilymaenllwyd is a community on the extreme northwest of Carmarthenshire in Wales. The community population at the 2011 census was 742. It lies about 25 miles (40 km) west of Carmarthen, 12 miles (19 km) southeast of Fishguard and 19 miles (31 km) northwest of Haverfordwest. The A478 road runs through the community.
Cynwyl Elfed is a village and community in the county of Carmarthenshire, Wales. The community includes the villages of Cynwyl Elfed, Blaenycoed and Cwmduad. It is situated about 5 miles (8.0 km) north of Carmarthen and had a population of 953 in 2001, increasing to 1,044 at the 2011 Census.
The River Gwili in Carmarthenshire, is a tributary of the River Tywi, the longest river entirely in Wales. Its headwater is found east of Llanllawddog, in the Brechfa Forest. It runs west, through Llanpumsaint, to its confluence with the River Duad, just south of Cynwyl Elfed village. Here its course turns to the southeast, running through Bronwydd before joining the River Tywi at Abergwili.
The Afon Brân is a tributary of the River Towy in mid Wales. Its headwaters rise in Irfon Forest in the northeastern corner of Carmarthenshire as the Cynnant Fawr and Afon Lwynor and the river assumes the name of Afon Brân at their confluence to the north of the village of Cynghordy. Its major tributary is the Afon Gwydderig which joins it at Llandovery. Other tributaries include the Nant Bargod, Cynnant Fach, Afon Gwyddon, Nant Hirgwm, Nant Cwm-neuadd, Bawddwr and Afon Crychan with its own minor tributary the Afon Dulais.
The Afon Marlais is a right-bank tributary of the River Tâf in Pembrokeshire, West Wales. It flows through the Vale of Lampeter to join the Tâf just west of Whitland. Its length is approximately 10 kilometres (6.2 mi). The name derives from the Welsh 'marw glais' and signifies a 'stagnant stream'.
Crymmych Arms was a railway station in Crymych, Pembrokeshire, West Wales, on the Whitland and Cardigan line. It took its name from a nearby pub which, until the arrival of the railway, was the only building in the area.
Aber Taf is a large Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Carmarthenshire, Wales, and forms part of the Carmarthen Bay and Estuaries Special Area of Conservation.
The bedrock geology of Carmarthenshire in west Wales consists largely of Palaeozoic age sedimentary rocks. Unconsolidated deposits of Quaternary age in Carmarthenshire include a dissected cover of glacial till, valley floor alluvium and some scattered peat deposits in both upland and lowland settings. There are extensive beach and tidal flat deposits along the Carmarthenshire coast. The exploitation of the county's mineral riches, particularly coal and limestone, was a key part of the local economy through much of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Newport Bay is a bay on a section of the north Pembrokeshire coast, Wales, which is within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. The bay is one of many in the much larger Cardigan Bay, and it stretches from Dinas Island to the headland of Pen-y-bâl, two miles to the east. It is overlooked by the town of Newport and the River Nevern flows into the bay.