Afon Dulais

Nearby Rivers: Swansea Area - Tawe, Neath, Afan and Ogmore

An excellent though dirty river.

Crynant to Aberdulais

9 km grade III

Driving along the A4109 the village of Crynant is reached and there is a small road going off to Glan Rhyd. This crosses the river where access is easy on the true left bank GR793063. The colour of the water may fool you into thinking the water is at a good canoeing level. It is always brown or grey; a constant reminder of the upheaval of the earth in days gone by. The search for coal is one matter, but short-sighted locals and farmers using the rivers as a dumping ground for rubbish is a sad sign of present day attitudes. The local kids have always been very friendly towards me and I find it sad that they have to learn to fish, an important part of growing up, in such surroundings. Enough said: if the shingle banks are covered the paddling is great. A few miles down, and you enter an excellent grade III mini-gorge. At the right water level there are some great play spots here.

Further down, an old railway bridge is passed and some way below a 200-metre, steep grade IV rapid is reached. This can be quite hard and reach grade V in massive flood. Some further rapids take the paddler under an old arched footbridge. Egress is just along here on the left bank and up to the nearby housing estate in Aberdulais GR774996. This is found by taking the second turning on the left past Aberdulais, from the main road to Glyn Neath. Then, turn down into the road signposted Ger yr Afon ("by the river"). Further on is Aberdulais Falls, which is a definite portage. The only feasible portage route is to clamber through the fenced-off National Trust territory - not a good idea as they don’t like it. Egress above.