Hailey Park
Hailey Park
On a warm and sunny day 19 people set off from Hailey Park in North Llandaff. We walked north along the River Taff to the Melingriffith Water Pump, where a feeder and canal run parallel to the River Taff.
The pump was installed circa 1800 for Glamorgan canal and Melingriffith Tinplate Works. For over 130 years the pump provided a reliable water supply for the canal that ran from Merthyr to Cardiff docks via Pontypridd and Tongwynlais.
By 1836 over 200 barges (mostly carrying coal and iron) were working on the canal, able to travel the 25 miles from Merthyr to Cardiff in around 20 hours (negotiating some 51 locks). The growth of the railways led to the closure of the canal.
In the early part of the 19th century, disputes occurred between the owners of the Melingriffith Tin Plate works and the Glamorgan Canal Company. There were problems obtaining a continuous supply of water from the Feeder which ran from Radyr weir to the Melingriffith works, especially in the summer months, because the canal company had directed most of the water supply upstream of the Melingriffith works to their waterway. Following court action in 1806 the canal company agreed to pay £700 for the construction of a water pump.
Now we walked between the feeder and the river heading towards bird hides where it is possible to see kingfishers. A heron posed for us and an abundance of ducks, moorhens 
and coot were on the water but at the bird hide we saw a solitary dunnock on the grass just outside the window. We returned via the Glamorgan canal and retired, after 5 miles, to a favourite cafe for refreshment.