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The River Ely ( cy, Afon Elái) is in
South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...
flowing generally southeast, from Tonyrefail to
Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...
. The river is about long. The Ely's numerous sources lie in the mountains to the south of Tonypandy, near the town of Tonyrefail, rising in the eastern slopes of Mynydd Penygraig ( Penygraig) and Mynydd y Gilfach (
Penrhiwfer Penrhiwfer ( Welsh for "short hill end") is a village located in the community of Tonyrefail Tonyrefail is a village and community in the Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough, Wales. It is situated at the head of the River Ely; northwest of Llant ...
) and the western slopes of Mynydd Dinas ( Williamstown), whose eastern slopes feed the Rhondda by Porth. The source of the Ogwr Fach lies just to the west. After flowing through Tonyrefail and through the grounds of the Royal Glamorgan Hospital at Ynysmaerdy, it follows the A4119 road through the valley pass formed between Mynydd Garthmaelwg, to the west and Llantrisant, to the east. Flowing through Talbot Green, the Ely is joined by the Afon Clun at Pontyclun. Although numerous smaller streams join the river, the Clun is its only large tributary. The Ely turns to the southeast on reaching the
Vale of Glamorgan The Vale of Glamorgan ( cy, Bro Morgannwg ), often referred to as The Vale, is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It borders Bridgend County Borough to the west, Cardiff to the east, Rhondda Cynon Taf to the north, and the Bristol ...
alongside the South Wales Main Line immediately south of Miskin and after being traversed by the M4 motorway, it flows through farmland. It passes the
St Fagans National History Museum St Fagans National Museum of History ( ; cy, Sain Ffagan: Amgueddfa Werin Cymru, links=no), commonly referred to as St Fagans after the village where it is located, is an open-air museum in Cardiff chronicling the historical lifestyle, cultu ...
and continues towards
Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...
and
Ely Ely or ELY may refer to: Places Ireland * Éile, a medieval kingdom commonly anglicised Ely * Ely Place, Dublin, a street United Kingdom * Ely, Cambridgeshire, a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, England ** Ely Cathedral ** Ely Rural District, a ...
( cy, Trelái) before flowing under the
Vale of Glamorgan Line The Vale of Glamorgan Line ( cy, Llinell Bro Morgannwg) is a commuter railway line in Wales, running through the Vale of Glamorgan from Barry to Bridgend, via Rhoose and Llantwit Major. Route The Barry branch starts at Cardiff West and r ...
and into Cardiff Bay at Penarth Marina. The
Ely Subway Ely or ELY may refer to: Places Ireland * Éile, a medieval kingdom commonly anglicised Ely * Ely Place, Dublin, a street United Kingdom * Ely, Cambridgeshire, a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, England ** Ely Cathedral ** Ely Rural District, a ...
is a closed pedestrian tunnel under the mouth of the Ely. The tunnel opened in 1900 replacing a chain ferry, and was used by workers at Cardiff Docks and Penarth Dock. It was closed in 1965.


Quality

The Ely has had a long history of moderate to severe pollution from which it is now recovering. Prior to the 1980s it had received large volumes of poorly treated or untreated sewage from the urban areas in the valleys. Even after the construction of sewage treatment works at Miskin and
Rhiwsaeson Rhiwsaeson is a village and district of the principal town and community of Llantrisant with the County Borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf in South Wales. It is located on the south easterly outskirts of the town, along the Afon Clun, south of the A4 ...
, the quality of the effluent continued to cause pollution until the late 1980s. These problems were exacerbated by the highly polluting discharge from Coedely coke ovens. At the mouth of the river, the effluent a large
paper mill A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt, ...
rendered large parts of the estuary anoxic for most of the tidal cycle preventing the passage of migratory fish. The recovery of the river since that time owes much to the regulatory effort of the NRA, and more lately the Environment Agency Wales, and to the massive capital investment made by Dŵr Cymru / Welsh Water.


Ecology

As the pollution of the river abated, so fish populations slowly returned to the river from the many small tributaries. Roach, Brown trout, perch,
chub Chub is a common fish name. It pertains to any one of a number of ray-finned fish in several families and genera. In the UK, the term ''chub'' usually refers to the species ''Squalius cephalus''. In addition, see sea chub. In family Cyprinidae ...
, eel,
grayling Grayling or Greyling may refer to: Animals Fish * Grayling, generically, any fish of the genus ''Thymallus'' in the family Salmonidae ** European grayling (''Thymallus thymallus''), the European species of the genus ''Thymallus'' ** Arctic grayli ...
, sea trout and
salmon Salmon () is the common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of ...
and more recently some barbel.


Floods

The river has flooded its banks on several occasions including 2008 when 27 homes were flooded, and in 2011, 2012 and in 2020.


Ely Valley Trail

The Countryside Council for Wales and Cardiff Council are developing a cycleway beside the river known as the
Ely Trail Cycling in Cardiff, capital of Wales, is facilitated by its easy gradients and large parks. In the mid-2000s between 2.7% and 4.3% of people commuted to work by cycling in the city. In 2017 12.4% of workers cycled to work at least 5 days a week ...
. The intended benefits are to allow people from urban western Cardiff easier access to the countryside, and for people in rural areas to have another commuting option into the city centre. Parts of this trail are now open.


Ely Valley

The River Ely passes through the following:


Rhondda Cynon Taf

* Tonyrefail *
Thomastown (Tonyrefail) Thomastown is a village and district of the large community of Tonyrefail, within Rhondda Cynon Taf Rhondda Cynon Taf (; RCT; also spelt as Rhondda Cynon Taff) is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It consists of five valleys: the Rh ...
* Coed-Ely (Tonyrefail) * Ynysmaerdy (Talbot Green) * Talbot Green * Pontyclun * Brynsadler (Pontyclun) * Miskin (Pontyclun)


Vale of Glamorgan The Vale of Glamorgan ( cy, Bro Morgannwg ), often referred to as The Vale, is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It borders Bridgend County Borough to the west, Cardiff to the east, Rhondda Cynon Taf to the north, and the Bristol ...

* Hensol (Peterston-super-Ely) * Pendoylan (Peterston-super-Ely) *
Peterston-super-Ely Peterston-super-Ely ( cy, Llanbedr-y-fro) is a village and community situated on the River Ely ( cy, Afon Elái) in the county borough of the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. The community population at the 2011 census was 874. The community inc ...
*
St. Brides-super-Ely (Peterston-super-Ely) St. Brides-super-Ely is a village and district of the community of Peterston-super-Ely, within the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales. It is located near the western border of the Welsh Capital City of Cardiff, to the west of the A4232, and north of ...
* St. George's-super-Ely (Peterston-super-Ely) * Drope (Peterston-super-Ely) * Llandough * Penarth Marina (Penarth)


Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

* Michaelston-super-Ely (Ely) *
St. Fagans St Fagans ( ; cy, Sain Ffagan) is a village and community in the west of the city of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It is home to the St Fagans National History Museum. History The name of the area invokes Saint Fagan, according to William of Malme ...
* Fairwater *
Ely Ely or ELY may refer to: Places Ireland * Éile, a medieval kingdom commonly anglicised Ely * Ely Place, Dublin, a street United Kingdom * Ely, Cambridgeshire, a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, England ** Ely Cathedral ** Ely Rural District, a ...
* Caerau * Leckwith (Canton) * Grangetown * International Sports VIllage


References


See also

* Leckwith Bridge * Pont y Werin {{authority control
Ely Ely or ELY may refer to: Places Ireland * Éile, a medieval kingdom commonly anglicised Ely * Ely Place, Dublin, a street United Kingdom * Ely, Cambridgeshire, a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, England ** Ely Cathedral ** Ely Rural District, a ...
Ely Ely or ELY may refer to: Places Ireland * Éile, a medieval kingdom commonly anglicised Ely * Ely Place, Dublin, a street United Kingdom * Ely, Cambridgeshire, a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, England ** Ely Cathedral ** Ely Rural District, a ...
Ely Ely or ELY may refer to: Places Ireland * Éile, a medieval kingdom commonly anglicised Ely * Ely Place, Dublin, a street United Kingdom * Ely, Cambridgeshire, a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, England ** Ely Cathedral ** Ely Rural District, a ...
Ely Ely or ELY may refer to: Places Ireland * Éile, a medieval kingdom commonly anglicised Ely * Ely Place, Dublin, a street United Kingdom * Ely, Cambridgeshire, a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, England ** Ely Cathedral ** Ely Rural District, a ...