The River Elwy (''Afon Elwy'' in Welsh) 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 w ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

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 drai ...

to the River Clwyd. The source of the river is sometimes said to be on the northern flank of Moel Seisiog, 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

Ordnance Survey Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1745. There was a ...

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 (''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, the river turns northwards again and flows through St. Asaph (''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. ...

, 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 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 to ...

and later caves and rock shelters in Britain. In particular Pontnewydd Cave 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 the ...

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 (sewin) fishing, and also has a run of Atlantic Salmon. 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