![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/IMG_9030.jpg?resize=500%2C375\")
A flock of handsome goats in a field next to the footpath were very friendly coming up to the fence and standing on their hind legs to eye us up whilst another (the nanny?) stood\/sat on a nearby picnic table.<\/p>\nOn a sunny morning in late October, we parked in Clydach and we walked east along the Swansea canal, with reflections of trees in its still waters.<\/p>\n
The canal was built to serve collieries, iron works and copper works in the Tawe valley. The first section opened in 1796; its final length was 16\u00bd miles and included 5 aqueducts to carry the canal across the river Tawe, at Pontardawe, Ynysmeudwy, Ystralyfera and Cwmgiedd. One section, the Trewyddfa canal, was privately owned by the Duke of Beaufort who charged a toll.<\/p>\n
We passed the heritage centre in Coed Gwilym Park, where metallic outlines of three figures stand. The towpath is easy walking and we soon found another \u2018sculpture\u2019, a bicycle marooned on top of a tall tree trunk (the towpath is a cycle trail). A little later we spotted a rhododendron bush in full flower.<\/p>\n
The river Tawe soon came into view and we walked a short distance between the river and canal. We crossed a bridge and after following the canal for a while, headed uphill away from Trebanog towards Gellionen. A flock of handsome goats in a field next to the footpath were very friendly coming up to the fence and standing on their hind legs to eye us up whilst another (the nanny?) stood\/sat on a nearby picnic table.<\/p>\n
As we continued we enjoyed extensive views of Swansea Bay with thick fluffy white clouds on the distant horizon. At Gellionen there is a chapel \u2018for the use of the society of protestant dissenters\u2019. It was erected in 1692 and rebuilt in 1801 when an ancient carved stone, part of a Celtic cross (from 8th century Llan Eithrim church), was set into an outside wall. The stone is now in Swansea museum. As we left the chapel we went through a gate with a sign which said \u2018Welcome \u2013 Croeso please take care of this stunning place\u2019.<\/p>\n
We continued northwest crossing moorland and passed close to (but didn\u2019t see as although only 50 yards from the footpath it is a difficult ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/IMG_9072.jpg?resize=500%2C360\")
place to find) Carn Llechart. Believed to be about 3500 years old, it is one of the finest examples of a stone ring cairn or burial chamber in Wales. It has 25 low stones set close together and leaning outwards with a shattered stone lined cist (coffin) towards the centre.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Now we headed west and downhill alongside a stream towards the Lower Clydach River. We entered woodland which was shaded and cool. At the river we scrambled across rocks or sat on grassy hummocks to find a spot to relax and eat our lunch.<\/p>\n
Cwm Clydach RSPB Reserve established in 1987 is mixed broadleaf woodland with a wide variety of bird species present all year. These include Buzzard, Red Kite, Green and Great Spotted Woodpecker, Nuthatch, Tree Creeper, Bull finch Dipper and Grey Wagtail. Otters have returned to the river, a sign of how much cleaner it is.<\/p>\n
Until 1962 much of Cwm Clydach was a working coal mining valley. The largest colliery was opened in 1863, known locally as \u2018Nixons\u2019 it was one of the main employers. It produced 115,000 tons of saleable coal a year. It was a rock top colliery but as it was virtually gas free, the boilers to raise the haulage engines were underground, as was a blacksmith\u2019s shop, which was rare in a colliery.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/IMG_9069.jpg?resize=500%2C360\")
<\/p>\n
The path through Cwm Clydach was covered in warm brown leaves and the sun shone through the trees which had dropped most of their leaves. We passed the remains of many abandoned buildings, some with streams tumbling over them \u2013 a reminder of the area\u2019s industrial past. We passed the village of Craig-Cefn-Parc. Its name is thought to mean rocks behind the enclosure. Craig probably refers to small quarries that were in the area. Cefn Parc (meaning at the back of the enclosure) is the name of an old farm at the top of the village \u2013 its name suggests that it was at the edge of a Manorial Lord\u2019s enclosure. Even now it is the last farm before you reach the open common.<\/p>\n
We continued along the river through housing and passed a large weir. Walking over a bridge over the river we could see the lower Clydach Aqueduct where the canal joins the lower Clydach River and the River Tawe. Now we were back alongside the canal and returned to our cars, passing signs of the restoration work which the Swansea Canal Society are undertaking.<\/p>\n
Our walk was 7.7 miles in length with 700ft of ascent. OS Map 165.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On a sunny morning in late October, we parked in Clydach and we walked east along the Swansea canal, with reflections of trees in its still waters. The canal was built to serve collieries, iron works and copper works in the Tawe valley. The first section opened in 1796; its final length was 16\u00bd miles and included 5 aqueducts to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6cWjO-1rg","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3799,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=3799","url_meta":{"origin":5534,"position":0},"title":"October Walks Programme","author":"Alan Williams","date":"27th September 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Saturday 7th October Goytre Warf and the Holy Well. A 7 mile walk. V\u2019Iain (152 & OL13)) \uf076\uf020\uf076\uf020\uf076\uf020\uf076\uf020\uf076 Saturday 12th October Barry \u2013 a circular walk based around Barry. Approx. 5 miles. Bert. \uf076\uf020\uf076\uf020\uf076\uf020\uf076\uf020\uf076 Saturday 14th October Cwm Clydach and Swansea Canal. A fairly level 8 mile walk. Ian\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Walking Group"","block_context":{"text":"Walking Group","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=5"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":15241,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=15241","url_meta":{"origin":5534,"position":1},"title":"Railway 200 And The 250th Anniversary Of George Overton","author":"Alan Williams","date":"7th March 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"RAILWAY 200 AND THE 250TH ANNIVERSARY OF GEORGE OVERTON This year is being celebrated as the year of the railway \u2013 RAILWAY 200, a nationwide celebration marking 200 years of the modern railway, from the Stockton & Darlington Railway (S&DR) of 1825 to 2025, and inspiring a new generation of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "New Items for March 2025"","block_context":{"text":"New Items for March 2025","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=420"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Picture10.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12635,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=12635","url_meta":{"origin":5534,"position":2},"title":"\u00a0Neath Canals\u00a0","author":"Alan Williams","date":"9th December 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0Neath Canals\u00a0 This is an easy walk in the Vale of Neath, following the Neath Canal and back along the Tennant Canal. The river Neath is known to have been navigable to Neath town bridge for sea going ships since Roman times. The Neath canal was preceded by several smaller\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Footsteps"","block_context":{"text":"Footsteps","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=38"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Picture6.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Picture6.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Picture6.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4553,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=4553","url_meta":{"origin":5534,"position":3},"title":"Trelewis and Govilon","author":"Alan Williams","date":"28th April 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Trelewis Heavy rain overnight, which continued as we drove up the A470, suggested that we were to get a thorough soaking and trudge through mud for much of the walk. How wrong we were, the rain was light as we left the cars in the Taff Bargoed Park and soon\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Footsteps"","block_context":{"text":"Footsteps","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=38"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11946,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=11946","url_meta":{"origin":5534,"position":4},"title":"The Usk Valley Walk","author":"Alan Williams","date":"8th July 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"THE USK VALLEY WALK A couple of months ago Isobel and I were camping in Pencelli a lovely little village Southeast of Brecon. One day we walked down the canal to Talybont on Usk and we came across signs for the Usk Valley Walk (UVW). When we came back to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Interest Articles"","block_context":{"text":"General Interest Articles","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=334"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Picture23.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":13214,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=13214","url_meta":{"origin":5534,"position":5},"title":"FOOTSTEPS","author":"Alan Williams","date":"3rd July 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 FOOTSTEPS Clydach Vale Clydach Vale is a village adjoining Tonypandy in the Rhondda valley. It is named after Nant Clydach, a tributary of the river Rhondda. It was a warm day and we were planning to walk in the woodland surrounding the Clydach Vale Country Park, which has been\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Footsteps"","block_context":{"text":"Footsteps","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=38"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Picture13x.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Picture13x.png?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Picture13x.png?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5534"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5534"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5534\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5536,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5534\/revisions\/5536"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5534"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}