The River Elwy (''Afon Elwy'' 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 a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

forming a

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...

to the

River Clwyd The River Clwyd (Welsh: ''Afon Clwyd'') is a river in Wales that rises in the Clocaenog Forest () northwest of Corwen. Its total length is . It flows due south until, at Melin-y-wig, it veers north-eastwards, tracking the A494 and passing t ...

. The source of the river is sometimes said to be on the northern flank of

Moel Seisiog Denbigh Moors (Welsh: Mynydd Hiraethog) is an upland region in Conwy and Denbighshire in north-east Wales, between Snowdonia and the Clwydian Range. It includes the large reservoirs Llyn Brenig and Llyn Alwen, and the Clocaenog Forest, which has ...

, south-east of

Llanrwst Llanrwst ('church or parish of Saint Grwst'; ) is a market town and community on the A470 road and the River Conwy, in Conwy County Borough, Wales, and the historic county of Denbighshire. It developed round the wool trade and became known als ...

, at

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grid reference SH 853593. However the river only receives the name Elwy at the village of

Llangernyw Llangernyw () is a rural, mostly Welsh-speaking, village and community in Conwy County Borough, Wales. Overview At the 2011 census, the community had a population of 1,079 of whom 63.7 percent were Welsh speakers. The comparable figures for the ...

, where three rivers, Afon Cledwen, Afon Collen and Afon Gallen, meet to form the Elwy. It flows eastwards through

Llanfair Talhaiarn Llanfair Talhaiarn ( cy, Llanfair Talhaearn), abbreviated to ''Llanfair TH'', is a village and community approximately south of Abergele in Conwy county borough, Wales. Until 1974 it was included in Denbighshire. The village derives its name ...

and a few miles downstream from this village it is joined by a tributary, the

River Aled The River Aled, a small river near Conwy County Borough, flows into River Elwy. The river originates at Llyn Aled on Mynydd Hiraethog to the right of the village Llansannan. It flows through Llyn Aled Isaf and then towards the north through L ...

(''Afon Aled'') which has its source in

Llyn Aled Llyn Aled is a lake on Mynydd Hiraethog in the Conwy County Borough. It is situated north of the A543 and to the north-east of the village of Pentrefoelas. It is a natural lake; however, a dam was built at its northern outlet to increase its si ...

. After passing through

Bont-newydd Llannefydd is a village and community in Conwy County Borough, in Wales. It is located on the border with Denbighshire, between the Afon Aled and River Elwy, north west of Denbigh, south west of St Asaph, south of Abergele and south east of ...

, the river turns northwards again and flows through

St. Asaph St Asaph (; cy, Llanelwy "church on the Elwy") is a city and community on the River Elwy in Denbighshire, Wales. In the 2011 Census it had a population of 3,355, making it the second-smallest city in Britain in terms of population and urban ...

(''Llanelwy'' or "the church enclosure on the Elwy" in Welsh). It joins the River Clwyd about half way between St. Asaph and

Rhuddlan Rhuddlan () is a town, community, and electoral ward in the county of Denbighshire, Wales, in the historic county of Flintshire. Its associated urban zone is mainly on the right bank of the Clwyd; it is directly south of seafront town Rhyl. I ...

, and the waters of the two rivers can often be seen flowing side by side for several miles. A number of

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

s along the lower valley of the Elwy are of great

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

interest and are considered one of the most important groups of

Palaeolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...

and later caves and rock shelters in Britain. In particular

Pontnewydd Cave The Bontnewydd palaeolithic site (), also known in its Colloquial Welsh morphology#Initial consonant mutation, unmutated form as Pontnewydd (Welsh language: 'New bridge'), is an archaeological site near St Asaph, Denbighshire, Wales. It is one o ...

contained remains of

Neanderthal Neanderthals (, also ''Homo neanderthalensis'' and erroneously ''Homo sapiens neanderthalensis''), also written as Neandertals, are an extinct species or subspecies of archaic humans who lived in Eurasia until about 40,000 years ago. While th ...

man and is the most north-westerly site at which Neanderthal remains have been found. The Elwy is also well known for its

sea trout Sea trout is the common name usually applied to anadromous (sea-run) forms of brown trout (''Salmo trutta''), and is often referred to as ''Salmo trutta'' morpha ''trutta''. Other names for anadromous brown trout are sewin (Wales), peel or peal ...

(sewin) fishing, and also has a run of

Atlantic Salmon The Atlantic salmon (''Salmo salar'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Salmonidae. It is the third largest of the Salmonidae, behind Siberian taimen and Pacific Chinook salmon, growing up to a meter in length. Atlantic salmon are ...

. Rhyl and St Asaph Angling Association control 20 miles of river fishing on the rivers Elwy, Clwyd and Aled. In recent years including the recent 2017 season there have been good reported catches of wild brown trout most of which are returned unharmed on a voluntary catch and release system. In 2017 a wild trout weighing 5½ lbs was caught and released on a river Elwy beat owned by the angling association.

References

External links

www.geograph.co.uk : photos of the River Elwy and surrounding areasArtifacts from Pontnewydd Cave held on Gathering the JewelsRhyl & St Asaph Angling Association
{{authority control Elwy Elwy