The Afon Lwyd or Afon Llwyd ( en, 'grey river') is a long river in
south-east Wales
South East Wales is a loosely defined region of Wales generally corresponding to the preserved counties of Mid Glamorgan, South Glamorgan and Gwent. Highly urbanised, it includes the cities of Cardiff and Newport as well as large towns in th ...
which flows from its source northwest of
Blaenavon
Blaenavon ( cy, Blaenafon) is a town and community (Wales), community in Torfaen county borough, Wales, high on a hillside on the source of the Afon Lwyd. It is within the boundaries of the historic county of Monmouthshire (historic), Monmouthshi ...
, through
Abersychan
Abersychan is a town and community (Wales), community north of Pontypool in Torfaen, Wales, and lies within the boundaries of the Monmouthshire (historic), historic county of Monmouthshire and the Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county o ...
,
Pontnewynydd
Pontnewynydd is a predominantly working class suburb of Pontypool, Torfaen, in Wales. It should not be confused with Pontnewydd in nearby Cwmbran.
Location
It lies in between Pontypool to the south and Snatchwood to the north. The area of ...
,
Pontypool
Pontypool ( cy, Pont-y-pŵl ) is a town and the administrative centre of the county borough of Torfaen, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire in South Wales. It has a population of 28,970.
Location
It is situated on the Afon Lwyd ri ...
,
Llanfrechfa and
Cwmbran
Cwmbran ( ; cy, Cwmbrân , also in use as an alternative spelling in English) is a town in the county borough of Torfaen in South Wales.
Lying within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire, Cwmbran was designated as a New Town in 1949 to pro ...
before flowing, at
Caerleon
Caerleon (; cy, Caerllion) is a town and community in Newport, Wales. Situated on the River Usk, it lies northeast of Newport city centre, and southeast of Cwmbran. Caerleon is of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable Roman ...
, into the
River Usk
The River Usk (; cy, Afon Wysg) rises on the northern slopes of the Black Mountain (''y Mynydd Du''), Wales, in the westernmost part of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Initially forming the boundary between Carmarthenshire and Powys, it fl ...
, which subsequently flows into the
Bristol Channel
The Bristol Channel ( cy, Môr Hafren, literal translation: "Severn Sea") is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Seve ...
to the south of
Newport.
The river was severely affected by pollution from industry and mine discharge, and
fly tipping
Illegal dumping, also called fly dumping or fly tipping ( UK), is the dumping of waste illegally instead of using an authorized method such as curbside collection or using an authorized rubbish dump. It is the illegal deposit of any waste onto l ...
, but during the 1980s efforts were made to improve water quality and improve fish stocks. To aid this, the
Environment Agency Wales
Environment Agency Wales () was a Welsh Government sponsored body that was part of the Environment Agency of England and Wales from 1996 to 2013. Its principal aims were to protect and improve the environment in Wales and to promote sustainable ...
built a
fish ladder
A fish ladder, also known as a fishway, fish pass, fish steps, or fish cannon is a structure on or around artificial and natural barriers (such as dams, locks and waterfalls) to facilitate diadromous fishes' natural migration as well as move ...
at
Pontymoile
Pontymoile (Welsh: ''Pont-y-moel'') is a suburb of Pontypool in Torfaen, South Wales.
It is all but merged with the nearby suburbs of Cwmynyscoy and Upper Race.
It is a community of Torfaen, and includes the electoral wards of Brynwern, Cw ...
in 2010 enabling fish to ascend past the weir there. By late 2011 it was claimed that the river was in its cleanest state since
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
times.
Historically the river has also been known as the
Torfaen
Torfaen (; cy, Torfaen ) is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. Torfaen is bordered by the county of Monmouthshire to the east, the city of Newport to the south, and the county boroughs of Caerphilly and Blaenau Gwent to the south ...
– meaning 'breaker of stones' – which gives some indication of the force of the river during surges. Although this name is no longer in use for the river, it is still in common use as the name for the local authority,
Torfaen County Borough Council
Torfaen County Borough Council () is the governing body for Torfaen, one of the Principal Areas of Wales.
History
The borough council was created in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 as a lower-tier district
A district is a type of ...
.
Flooding risk
The geography of the river's location, as well as how local towns affect run off, has meant that during heavy periods of rainfall the river can quickly become a torrent and localised flash floods are not uncommon. The last major flood of the river occurred in the 1930s.
Conservation projects
Beginning in March 2010, the Friends of Afon Llwyd (FOAL) project is a partnership between Torfaen County Borough Council and two local angling clubs in Cwmbran and Pontypool aiming to improve the river as a habitat for
salmon
Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...
,
sea trout and
brown trout
The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, ''Salmo trutta'' morph ...
. The
Wye and Usk Foundation The Wye and Usk Foundation is an environmental charity based in Talgarth, Powys in Wales which seeks to secure and improve the natural environment of the River Wye and River Usk for the benefit of local communities, anglers and others. Founded in 19 ...
also received £130,000 of funding to remove invasive weeds, manage bank erosion, create fish leaps, drop weirs and improve community engagement with the river both by fishing and other means. Nearly £750,000 has and will be spent on improving the river.
A major effort of the FOAL project has been to lower a weir that blocked upstream fish migration at Ty Nant Ddu, Pontypool. In 2008, salmon were spotted here. Additionally, similar efforts were made at the weir located near
Cwmavon. To further improve fish stocks (especially salmonid) 'V' weirs were constructed to trap gravel and create suitable spawning habitats.
Towards the river's source in Blaenavon, Conservation Volunteers and the Forgotten Landscapes Partnership carried out 're-greening' activities along the river where it runs through the Blaenavon World Heritage Site.
American crayfish infestation
The river has been invaded by the American
signal crayfish
The signal crayfish (''Pacifastacus leniusculus'') is a North American species of crayfish. It was introduced to Europe in the 1960s to supplement the North European ''Astacus astacus'' fisheries, which were being damaged by crayfish plague, but ...
, which is affecting the native protected
white-clawed crayfish
''Austropotamobius pallipes'' is an endangered European freshwater crayfish, and the only crayfish native to the British Isles. Its common names include white-clawed crayfish and Atlantic stream crayfish.
Distribution
It is found from the eas ...
. Not only does the invading species fight for food resources, but it also carries crayfish plague, to which the native species has no immunity.
Afon Lwyd Trail
The Afon Lwyd Trail is a shared-use path running from
Blaenavon Ironworks
Blaenavon Ironworks is a former industrial site which is now a museum in Blaenavon, Wales. The ironworks was of crucial importance in the development of the ability to use cheap, low quality, high sulphur iron ores worldwide. It was the site ...
in the north via Pontypool to Cwmbran in the south. The path initially follows the
Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal
The Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal ( cy, Camlas Sir Fynwy a Brycheiniog) is a small network of canals in South Wales. For most of its currently (2018) navigable length it runs through the Brecon Beacons National Park, and its present rural ch ...
followed by a section on the former Pontypool to Blaenavon railway. The trail incorporates two
National Cycle Network
The National Cycle Network (NCN) is the national cycling route network of the United Kingdom, which was established to encourage cycling and walking throughout Britain, as well as for the purposes of bicycle touring. It was created by the cha ...
routes: 49 and 492.
See also
*
List of rivers of Wales
This is a list of rivers of Wales, organised geographically. It is taken anti-clockwise from the Dee Estuary to the M48 Bridge that separates the estuary of the River Wye from the River Severn.
Tributaries are listed down the page in an upstr ...
References
External links
BBC Wales news item on American Crayfish in the Afon Llwyd (Aug 2008)Canoeing the Afon Lwyd
{{Authority control
Rivers of Newport, Wales
Rivers of Torfaen