Elan Valley (& The Visitor’s Centre)

• Saturday 16th July 2022

Prices:

Adults £ 18.00 | Seniors £ 17.50 | Child £ 17.00

Yes…..weather and roads permitting……we will take you around the reservoirs and dams!!

ELAN VALLEY

The Elan Valley is just 3 miles from Rhayader on the southern edge of the Cambrian Mountains in Mid Wales. It covers an area over 72 square miles, making up 1% of the whole of Wales and is designated as an International Dark Sky Park – perfect for stargazing..

Elan Valley The area is famous for its spectacular dams and Victorian architecture and there is a large Visitor Centre which is a good starting point for your visit.

ELAN VALLEY DAMS
The six Elan Valley dams, located are one of the greatest civil engineering achievements of the late 19th and early 20th century, providing the water supply for the City of Birmingham.

The dams are the biggest draw to the Elan Valley and they offer a stunning year round backdrop for cyclists, walkers, and photographers. With the exception of Dol y Mynach all the dams are also accessible by car.

There are four dams on the River Elan; Craig Goch, Pen y Garreg, Garreg Ddu, and Caban Coch. The River Claerwen has the newest (and largest) Claerwen Dam with the unfinished Dol y Mynach Dam also found in this valley.The Elan Valley Visitor Centre is open all year round and you will find the story of the Elan and Claerwen Valleys and the remarkable building of the dams to provide water for the City of Birmingham.

VISITOR CENTRE, CAFE & GIFT SHOP
The Visitor Centre cafe has a spacious seating area with windows all around to enjoy the wonderful view of the River Elan and Caban Coch Dam. There is a patio area with picnic tables for people wishing to sit outside in fine weather. Well behaved dogs are welcome in the café. The cafe serves a range of meals, including breakfasts, light snacks and main meals. Welsh cakes, Bara Brith and many other cakes are baked on the premises.

THE ELAN ESTATE
The Elan Estate is the largest single area of land owned by any of the national water companies and has been managed to protect the quality and quantity of the reservoir water since 1892. The 72 square miles of moorland, bog, woodland, river and reservoir are of national importance for their diversity of lower plants and the Estate is the most important area for land birds in Wales.

The Estate consists of rounded hills dissected by steep valleys, many of which are covered in deciduous woodland dominated by Sessile Oak. The better soils of the valley bottoms are now mostly submerged under the reservoirs. These habitats are grazed with the traditional Welsh Mountain sheep which are small, very hardy and can tolerate harsh mountain conditions. The sheep do not have docked tails, the naturally long tails protect their udders from chilling winds.

The gathering of sheep still takes place using quads and horseback with the help of several collie dogs and if you are able to view this farming activity it is quite the spectacle.

There are still a handful of semi-wild Welsh Mountain Ponies on the hills of the Elan Valley. This breed of pony were often taken to be pit ponies in the South Wales coal mines.