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A View of the Rheidol Valley.
A View of the Rheidol Valley.
The University town of Aberystwyth lies on the west coast of Wales, half way down Cardigan Bay. It is the only sizeable centre of population in between Caernarvon in North Wales, Carmarthen to the south or Shrewsbury over the border 70 miles to the east.
A trip on the Vale of Rheidol Railway would make a very good introduction to the Rheidol valley. It runs for about 6 miles along the bottom of the valley to Capel Bangor, then begins to climb the side of the valley for a further 6 miles to Devils Bridge. As soon as the train pulls of the station, buildings of the National Library of Wales and the University can be seen on the hill.
For the first half of the trip, the valley is broad and the fields are grazed by cattle, some of it parkland of the Gogerddan Mansion which is now IBERS. (Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences, which has its routes in the old grassland and plant breeding centre and the old Welsh Agricultural college). The Aberystwyth show is normally held here at the start of June.
As soon as Capel Bangor is passed, the train heads into the trees at the side of the valley, passing the Rheidol Riding Stables and begins the long climb to Devils Bridge, the twists and turns in the tracks alternately mirror the meanders of the river and skirt around the foot of steep side valleys, such as the one at Aberffrwd where the lane climbs steeply to the main road 800 feet above.
The Vale of Rheidol Railway with Rheidol falls below and the Stag on the hillside above.
The meandering Rheidol Reservoir is the next major feature in the valley bottom which catches the outflow from the hydro-electric power station, above which a mine spoil heap can be seen in the shape of a Stag. At the head of the reservoir are the Rheidol falls and fish Ladder and above here the railway passes through some of the surface workings of Rheidol united mines which connect with surface workings of a mine once known as 'Silver Mountain' which can be seen beside the A4120 above. In all these workings are almost 1000 feet deep.
Above the Rheidol falls the valley bottom continues to narrow (as does the road) until the waste heaps of the Cwm Rheidol mine are seen on the north side of the valley, ore was once lifted from here by a rope way to the railway line to be taken to Aberystwyth for export. Below here is a popular spot to bathe in the river and a footbridge crosses a narrow gorge.
As the train winds its way into Devils Bridge, the Rheidol valley is deep and lined with Oak woodlands, where it is thought that Red Squirrels and Pine Martens could exist. The valley turns a right angle to the north here, an example of the Geological phenomenon 'River capture'. Long ago, before the last Ice age, the upper reaches of the Rheidol were once the headwaters of the Teifi, which suffered losses to 2 rives cutting their gorges upstream under the ice.
Devils Bridge is known in Welsh as Pontarmynach, the 'Devils Bridge' was actually built by monks in 1087. This bridge supports the foundations of its replacement, built in about 1750, a bridge that was able to carry a carriage, and a modern bridge is now sitting above these. 2 spectacular walks start here to see the bridges, gorge and Waterfalls which William Wordsworth compared to Viamala in Switzerland. http://www.devilsbridgefalls.co.uk/index.php?page=109
North of Devils Bridge the Rheidol gorge heads for Ponterwyd where the upland country is more open and the upper Reservoirs of the Hydro scheme can be found.
Cambrian Safaris offers tours from Devils Bridge station to explore the upper reaches of the Rheidol valley and the surrounding hillsides from where there are stunning views back to the coast. It is possible to take a train from Aberystwyth at 10.30, arrive in Devils Bridge at 11.30, and enjoy a 4 hour tour and return in time for the train back to Aberystwyth at 4.15.
