The Afon Fathew ( en, River Mathew/Fathew) is a river in

Gwynedd Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, and C ...

, north-west Wales. The river is downstream from the

Dolgoch Falls The Dolgoch Falls (also known as the Dol-goch falls, or the Dôl-goch falls ( en, 'red meadow falls') are a series of three waterfalls near Tywyn in Gwynedd, North Wales. The falls are part of the stream called Nant Dôl-goch, which flows into t ...

which is a popular nature site, and is followed for much of its course by the Talyllyn Railway.

Name

The basic name of the river in

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

is ''Mathew'', presumably in origin the personal name

Matthew Matthew may refer to: * Matthew (given name) * Matthew (surname) * ''Matthew'' (ship), the replica of the ship sailed by John Cabot in 1497 * ''Matthew'' (album), a 2000 album by rapper Kool Keith * Matthew (elm cultivar), a cultivar of the Ch ...

. Due to consonant mutation, ''Mathew'' becomes ''Fathew'' following the

feminine Femininity (also called womanliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles generally associated with women and girls. Femininity can be understood as socially constructed, and there is also some evidence that some behaviors considered fe ...

noun ''afon'' ('river'). Likewise, the feminine noun ''pont'' ('bridge') gives rise to the name of the hamlet ''Pontfathew'', now considered to be a part of the village of

Bryn-crug Bryncrug (), sometimes spelt Bryn-crug, is a village and community in Gwynedd, Wales. Afon Fathew flows through the village and into the River Dysynni. The village is situated to the north east of the town of Tywyn, at the junction of the A49 ...

. In English, the Welsh name ''Afon Fathew'' is commonly used, and ''River Mathew'' less so. The form ''River Fathew'' is also quite common, although it is difficult to justify on a linguistic basis as there is no consonant mutation in English.

Course

The Afon Fathew is a short river and flows in a southwesterly direction from near

Dolgoch railway station Dolgoch railway station (also known as Dol-goch railway station, Dol-gôch railway station, or Dolgoch Falls railway station) is a station on the Talyllyn Railway between Tywyn and Abergynolwyn, Gwynedd in north-Wales. It is from . Unlike most ...

, joining the River Dysynni to the east of Tywyn near

Bryncrug Bryncrug (), sometimes spelt Bryn-crug, is a village and community in Gwynedd, Wales. Afon Fathew flows through the village and into the River Dysynni. The village is situated to the north east of the town of Tywyn, at the junction of the A49 ...

. The Talyllyn Railway runs beside the Afon Fathew for much of its course. The

are a series of three waterfalls on the Nant Dôl-goch stream, which is a tributary of the Afon Fathew, and are a popular destination for walkers from Dolgoch station. The river valley is interesting geologically because it exhibits river capture. Above Dolgoch, the valley is occupied by the River Dysynni. During a glacial period, the valley was blocked by a major

landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated grade (slope), slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of ...

at Abergynolwyn, the scar from which can still be seen on the side of the valley. The River Dysynni was thus forced to adopt a new course, and pushed its way through the hills northwestwards to find a new channel in the parallel valley to the north. The Afon Fathew is made up of the lower tributaries of the former Dysynni which continue to flow down a valley which is disproportionately large relative to the volume of water that flows through it.

References

{{Authority control Tywyn Bryncrug Dolgoch Abergynolwyn Rivers of Gwynedd Rivers of Snowdonia