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Afon Clun
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Afon Clun
Afon Clun (Welsh for 'River Clun') is a 14-mile (23 km) long tributary of the River Ely (Welsh: Afon Elái), in the counties of Cardiff and Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Its bedrock is predominantly of sandstone. Beginning on the western slope of The Garth (Mynydd y Garth) the river is fast-flowing, in clear shallow water with a hard substrate, flowing to the south of Llantrisant and generally west to its confluence with the River Ely at Pontyclun, falling 715 feet (218 m) over its course.
The river contains species such as stone loach, lamprey, eel, roach, chub and bullhead, and the Afon Clun valley is home to many species, including dragonflies and damselflies, badger, and the marsh fritillary butterfly, as well as the European Protected Species – bats, dormouse, otter and great crested newt. Birds in the area include bullfinch, kingfisher, linnet, reed bunting, skylark, and song thrush.
The valley is at risk of flooding between Cross Inn and Pontyclun and the river is liable to overflow its northern bank along its one-and-a-half-mile (2.4 km) length downstream from the main A4119 (Tonypandy to Cardiff Bay (Bae Caerdydd)) road at Talbot Green (Tonysguboriau) to Pontyclun, providing a wetland wildlife habitat.
Many archeological sites are close to the river, from the Bronze Age tumuli on The Garth and an Iron Age hill fort at Rhiwsaeson, to the more recent industrial archeology of coal mines.
The Afon Clun, a major tributary of the River Ely, drains an area of 12 square miles (31 km2) to the north-west of Cardiff in south Wales. The river's source is on the western slope of The Garth, a 1,007 feet (307 m)) mountain of pennant sandstone midway between Cardiff (Caerdydd) and Pontypridd, whose eastern slopes feed the River Taf by Taff's Well (Ffynnon Taf). The Garth stands in the north western corner of the City and County of Cardiff (Dinas a Sir Caerdydd), above the village of Gwaelod y Garth, about seven miles (11 km) north west of Cardiff city centre and about a mile or 1.5 km north of Pentyrch. The lower northern slopes of The Garth form the boundary with Rhondda Cynon Taf, about half a mile (800 m) north of the Clun's source. To the east the land falls away sharply from the summit, dropping more than 650 feet (200 metres) over a distance of 1,200 feet (366 m). The drop is less dramatic on the western slopes, the source of the Clun, but the river still falls to 165 feet (50 m) by the time it crosses the county boundary into Rhondda Cynon Taf at Rhiwsaeson, just under two miles (nearly 3 km) from its source. The Clun is fast-flowing, with clear shallow water and a hard substrate (gravel/cobble/pebble).
Near the Dŵr Cymru/Welsh Water water treatment plant at Rhiwsaeson the Afon Clun is fed from the north by Nant Myddlyn, which itself is joined from the east by Nant Dowlais. Nant Myddlyn rises in Tynant, Beddau about one and a half miles (2.4 km) to the north of its confluence with the River Clun, between Beddau and Llantwit Fardre (Llanilltud Faerdref), and Nant Dowlais rises in Church Village (Pentre'r Eglwys). Nant Dowlais also has a tributary, which rises on Garth Isaf, two and a quarter miles (3.5 km) from it on the north western slopes of The Garth and about half a mile (800 m) north of the Clun's source.
Leaving Rhiwsaeson, about a mile (1.5 km) east of Cross Inn, the Clun widens to between about eight feet (2.4 metres) and 12 feet (3.7 metres) and slows. Here, where the Clun flows to the south of Cross Inn, as well as along the banks of Nant Dowlais and Nant Myddlyn, evidence of otter activity has been noted. The river flows to the south of the A473 Pontypridd to Bridgend (Penybont ar Ogwr) road (Talbot Green By-Pass), where it is fed from the south by Nant Mwyndy. Nant Mwyndy flows over a bedrock of Carboniferous Limestone, rising in Creigiau and, flowing westwards, immediately north of Groesfaen, passing a small industrial estate at Mwyndy, feeding a lake resulting from Victorian opencast iron mining (see History below) and turning south to flow past Cefn-y-Parc Cemetery, Penygawsi, before reaching its confluence with the Afon Clun.
The Clun then flows beneath the main A4119 (Tonypandy to Cardiff Bay) route about 50 metres (164 ft) south of the roundabout by Glamorgan Vale Retail Park, Talbot Green. At this point, the river often overflows onto the meadows to the north, providing a wetland wildlife habitat, although drainage of floodplain grasslands, for industrialisation, housing and associated infrastructure, has affected wildlife by reducing its available area. To the south, the enclosed woodland of Coed-yr-Hendy follows the river's course for its final half-mile (800 m). The woodland's gentle slope, up from the Clun towards Miskin (Meisgyn) and Pontyclun, prevents significant flooding over Afon Clun's southern bank.
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Afon Clun
Afon Clun (Welsh for 'River Clun') is a 14-mile (23 km) long tributary of the River Ely (Welsh: Afon Elái), in the counties of Cardiff and Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Its bedrock is predominantly of sandstone. Beginning on the western slope of The Garth (Mynydd y Garth) the river is fast-flowing, in clear shallow water with a hard substrate, flowing to the south of Llantrisant and generally west to its confluence with the River Ely at Pontyclun, falling 715 feet (218 m) over its course.
The river contains species such as stone loach, lamprey, eel, roach, chub and bullhead, and the Afon Clun valley is home to many species, including dragonflies and damselflies, badger, and the marsh fritillary butterfly, as well as the European Protected Species – bats, dormouse, otter and great crested newt. Birds in the area include bullfinch, kingfisher, linnet, reed bunting, skylark, and song thrush.
The valley is at risk of flooding between Cross Inn and Pontyclun and the river is liable to overflow its northern bank along its one-and-a-half-mile (2.4 km) length downstream from the main A4119 (Tonypandy to Cardiff Bay (Bae Caerdydd)) road at Talbot Green (Tonysguboriau) to Pontyclun, providing a wetland wildlife habitat.
Many archeological sites are close to the river, from the Bronze Age tumuli on The Garth and an Iron Age hill fort at Rhiwsaeson, to the more recent industrial archeology of coal mines.
The Afon Clun, a major tributary of the River Ely, drains an area of 12 square miles (31 km2) to the north-west of Cardiff in south Wales. The river's source is on the western slope of The Garth, a 1,007 feet (307 m)) mountain of pennant sandstone midway between Cardiff (Caerdydd) and Pontypridd, whose eastern slopes feed the River Taf by Taff's Well (Ffynnon Taf). The Garth stands in the north western corner of the City and County of Cardiff (Dinas a Sir Caerdydd), above the village of Gwaelod y Garth, about seven miles (11 km) north west of Cardiff city centre and about a mile or 1.5 km north of Pentyrch. The lower northern slopes of The Garth form the boundary with Rhondda Cynon Taf, about half a mile (800 m) north of the Clun's source. To the east the land falls away sharply from the summit, dropping more than 650 feet (200 metres) over a distance of 1,200 feet (366 m). The drop is less dramatic on the western slopes, the source of the Clun, but the river still falls to 165 feet (50 m) by the time it crosses the county boundary into Rhondda Cynon Taf at Rhiwsaeson, just under two miles (nearly 3 km) from its source. The Clun is fast-flowing, with clear shallow water and a hard substrate (gravel/cobble/pebble).
Near the Dŵr Cymru/Welsh Water water treatment plant at Rhiwsaeson the Afon Clun is fed from the north by Nant Myddlyn, which itself is joined from the east by Nant Dowlais. Nant Myddlyn rises in Tynant, Beddau about one and a half miles (2.4 km) to the north of its confluence with the River Clun, between Beddau and Llantwit Fardre (Llanilltud Faerdref), and Nant Dowlais rises in Church Village (Pentre'r Eglwys). Nant Dowlais also has a tributary, which rises on Garth Isaf, two and a quarter miles (3.5 km) from it on the north western slopes of The Garth and about half a mile (800 m) north of the Clun's source.
Leaving Rhiwsaeson, about a mile (1.5 km) east of Cross Inn, the Clun widens to between about eight feet (2.4 metres) and 12 feet (3.7 metres) and slows. Here, where the Clun flows to the south of Cross Inn, as well as along the banks of Nant Dowlais and Nant Myddlyn, evidence of otter activity has been noted. The river flows to the south of the A473 Pontypridd to Bridgend (Penybont ar Ogwr) road (Talbot Green By-Pass), where it is fed from the south by Nant Mwyndy. Nant Mwyndy flows over a bedrock of Carboniferous Limestone, rising in Creigiau and, flowing westwards, immediately north of Groesfaen, passing a small industrial estate at Mwyndy, feeding a lake resulting from Victorian opencast iron mining (see History below) and turning south to flow past Cefn-y-Parc Cemetery, Penygawsi, before reaching its confluence with the Afon Clun.
The Clun then flows beneath the main A4119 (Tonypandy to Cardiff Bay) route about 50 metres (164 ft) south of the roundabout by Glamorgan Vale Retail Park, Talbot Green. At this point, the river often overflows onto the meadows to the north, providing a wetland wildlife habitat, although drainage of floodplain grasslands, for industrialisation, housing and associated infrastructure, has affected wildlife by reducing its available area. To the south, the enclosed woodland of Coed-yr-Hendy follows the river's course for its final half-mile (800 m). The woodland's gentle slope, up from the Clun towards Miskin (Meisgyn) and Pontyclun, prevents significant flooding over Afon Clun's southern bank.
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