The Afon Brân is a tributary of the

River Towy The River Towy ( cy, Afon Tywi, ) is one of the longest rivers flowing entirely within Wales. Its total length is . It is noted for its sea trout and salmon fishing. Route The Towy rises within of the source of the River Teifi on the lower sl ...

(or

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 ...

Afon Tywi) in mid

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 ...

. Its headwaters rise in Irfon Forest in the northeastern corner of

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') 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 ...

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 The Afon Gwydderig is a tributary of the Afon Brân. It rises as the Nant Gwydderig on the southern slopes of Mynydd Bwlch-y-groes, about North of the small village of Llywel, Powys. The A40 runs next to the river from Llywel as far as Lla ...

which joins it at

Llandovery Llandovery (; cy, Llanymddyfri ) is a market town and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It lies on the River Tywi and at the junction of the A40 and A483 roads, about north-east of Carmarthen, north of Swansea and west of Brecon. Histo ...

. 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 word 'brân' in Welsh means 'crow', an association which may be allude to the colours of its waters. Northeastwards from Llandovery the valley of the Afon Brân is followed to just beyond Cynghordy by the Heart of Wales Railway and the

A483 road The A483, officially described as the Swansea to Manchester Trunk Road, although now ending in Chester, is a major road in the United Kingdom. It runs from Swansea in Wales to Chester in England via Llandovery, Llandrindod Wells, Oswestry an ...

Llanwrtyd Wells Llanwrtyd Wells ( cy, Llanwrtyd "church of St Gwrtud") is a market town and community in Powys, Wales, in the historic county of Brecknockshire (Breconshire) on the Afon Irfon. The town is on the A483 between Llandovery and Builth Wells and is l ...

. The modern road follows in part the line of the old

Roman Road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

from the

Roman fort In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, the Latin word ''castrum'', plural ''castra'', was a military-related term. In Latin usage, the singular form ''castrum'' meant 'fort', while the plural form ''castra'' meant 'camp'. The singular and ...

at Llanfair Hill (

Alabum The rectangular enclosure that defined this Roman fort was built in the 70s AD as part of the campaign to integrate southern Wales into the Roman province of Britannia Superior. It lay on a key road, now known as the Sarn Helen (RR69), from the ...

) which overlooks the river above Llandovery. The railway crosses the Afon Brân by means of the Cynghordy Viaduct, a Victorian structure which is considered one of the finest of its kind in Wales.Ordnance Survey Explorer map sheet 187 ''Llandovery/Llanymddyfri''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Afon Bran Rivers of Carmarthenshire