WATERLINKS
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A walk along the Swansea Canal towpath at Clydach.(click the pics to enlarge)
View of Clydach from Aqueduct
The Swansea Canal starts near the town centre
River Tawe from the aqueduct
Approaching the iron bridge, with sheltered housing beyond
Looking back towards the aqueduct from the iron bridge
The INCO works chimney
Subsidence of bank by towpath
Section of collapsed towpath wall
Typical stretch of towpath - reasonable for walking and cycling, but not ideal for disabled access. A better surface would help, but then some cyclists might use it at excessive speed. Possible user conflict / public safety issues ?
Talking about cyclists .....
The INCO boundary wall follows the Canal for most of this section
Looking over the wall - to the north
Looking over the wall - to the south
St John's Church
A dumped shopping trolley
Opening up the waterspace would enhance landscape and provide leisure opportunities, but it would be important to keep plenty of that vegetation. The canal and "off-bank" provide a valuable wildlife corridor through the town. (There was a heron here when I passed by, but it cleared off before I had the camera ready).
A view of the other side of the towpath
Approaching the INCO offices.
My dog watching ducks in the buddleia
Road crossing outside INCO works - near the other end of Clydach town centre
View of Lock 6 at other side of road
The gates were opened with a pulley system, as there was no room for balance beams
The lock was built to take boats 64 foot long and 7 foot 6 inches wide
The masonry walls are in generally good order, but new gates & fittings are required
A couple walking a dog
A blot on the landscape
A limited amount of fishing takes place. A number of low-cost, sustainable and healthy recreation opportunities could be developed - walking, cycling, canoeing, special interest trails (eg. nature & industrial heritage), etc.
The canal is culverted under the maintenance depot for 101 metres
Southern end of maintenance depot - built over infilled section of canal
The towpath is diverted through a narrow, uninviting alley
High walls and no direct sight line through the alley make it feel unsafe. This is unsatisfactory as the canal walk is effectively split into two parts and a useful direct route into Clydach town centre is not used by many people.
The other end of the maintenance depot. You can see the alley on the right. There appear to be no buildings on the line of the infilled canal & diverted towpath.
The canal drops into the chamber of Lock 7 (intact and in good order) before passing under the maintenance depot in a culvert.
This could be a valuable amenity for local residents
Access to towpath from new housing estate
Foxgloves
The canal brings the countryside right into the town
Road crossing near Coedgwilym Park
Alongside Coedgwilym Park
Landing stage at Coedgwilym Park - ideal for use by a trip-boat
Canal centre (presently disused) in Coedgwilym Park
Start of the popular walk from Coedgwilym Park to Trebanos
Golf course alongside towpath
High quality landscape on this stretch - well worth a visit
Cyclists
The valley side from towpath
A family outing
Farmland with horses
Somewhere near the boundary of the City and County of Swansea. A little further on, Trebanos Locks offers an interesting "destination" ... and a pub nearby.I hope you enjoyed our Clydach Site Visit. Why not walk the towpath yourself? JAD.
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Nov 2007 |
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E:mail to JAD@waterlinks.org.uk with questions or comments about this web site.Postal address: SCBT, 8 Plas Cadwgan, Penllergaer, Swansea SA4 9AZ, Wales.Last modified: Saturday, 03 November 2007 |
