River Cleddau
River Cleddau | |
---|---|
Preseli Hills | |
Mouth | Irish Sea |
The River Cleddau (Welsh: Afon Cleddau) consists of the Eastern and Western Cleddau rivers in Pembrokeshire, west Wales. They unite to form the Daugleddau estuary and the important harbour of Milford Haven.
The name of the combined estuary – the Daugleddau – means “the two Cleddaus”.
Eastern Cleddau
The Eastern Cleddau (Welsh: Cleddau Ddu meaning 'black') rises in the foothills of
Western Cleddau
The Western Cleddau (Welsh: Cleddau Wen meaning 'white') has two branches: the eastern branch rises at Llygad Cleddau 51°58′31″N 4°56′36″W / 51.9752°N 4.9434°W in the parish of Llanfair Nant y Gôf, 4 km south-east of Fishguard. It flows southwest past Scleddau, and meets the western branch at Priskilly 51°56′13″N 5°01′33″W / 51.9370°N 5.0257°W. The western branch rises at Penysgwarne 51°55′53″N 5°08′14″W / 51.9315°N 5.1373°W in the parish of Llanreithan and flows east to Priskilly. The combined stream flows through Wolf's Castle, where it enters the spectacular 90 m deep Treffgarne gorge, cutting through the hard volcanic rocks of Treffgarne Mountain. It then flows south to Haverfordwest, where it becomes tidal, this being the lowest bridge crossing. The tidal estuary expands into a deep ria, and unites with the Eastern Cleddau estuary at Picton Point, to form the Daugleddau estuary. Length (Penysgwarne to Picton Point) about 40 km, of which about 9 km is tidal.
The Western Cleddau is an example of a
Historically, the tidal estuary enabled sea traffic to reach Haverfordwest. It was important also for the export of anthracite, which was mined on its west bank and shipped from Hook.
Daugleddau Estuary and Milford Haven
The combined
Historically, the estuary gave seaborne access to castles such as
Ecology
Both branches of the Cleddau are noteworthy for their diverse aquatic ecology that has been largely untouched by man's activities. The rivers support otter populations and a wide variety of fish species including Lampreys. Stretches of both rivers have been designated as SSSIs[8][9][10][11] because they are of special interest primarily for important populations of otter Lutra lutra, bullhead Cottus gobio, river lamprey Lampetra fluviatilis and brook lamprey Lampetra planeri. They are also of special interest for sea lamprey Petromyzon marinus; for the range of river habitats including beds of submerged aquatic plants often dominated by water-crowfoot Ranunculus spp., as well as a variety of associated riverside habitats.[12]
The Cleddau rivers are also a
Additionally, land around a north-eastern tributary of the Eastern Cleddau,
See also
- Dungleddy, an ancient hundred whose name continues in the present day as Daugleddau
Notes
- ^ Charles, B. G, The Placenames of Pembrokeshire, National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth, 1992, Vol 1, pp. 6–7
- ^ Owen, H. W. & Morgan, R. 2007 Dictionary of the Place-names of Wales Gomer Press, Ceredigion
- ^ "The Church in Wales: Daugleddau". Retrieved 16 May 2020.
- ^ George, Barbara J; Pembrokeshire Sea Trading Before 1900 Archived 15 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine Field Studies Journal; Pg, 5-6; Retrieved 19 January 2010
- ^ BBC South West Wales website 'A Brief History of Milford', Jon Gower Retrieved 19 January 2010
- ^ Pembrokeshire Record Office, from 'Archives Network Wales' Archived 5 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 30 January 2010
- ^ Extract from Bartholomew, John (1887) 'Gazetteer of the British Isles' from Vision of Britain.org] Retrieved 30 January 2010
- ^ "MAGIC Map Application - Afon Cleddau Dwyreiniol SSSI". DEFRA MAGIC Map. DEFRA.
- ^ "MAGIC Map Application - Afon Cleddau Gorllewinol SSSI". DEFRA MAGIC Map. DEFRA.
- ^ "Site of Special Scientific Interest, Carmarthenshire, Afon Cleddau Dwyreiniol" (PDF). Natural Resources Wales.
- ^ "Site of Special Scientific Interest, Carmarthenshire, Afon Cleddau Gorllewinol" (PDF). Natural Resources Wales.
- ^ Countryside Council for Wales – Protecting Our Landscape Archived 2011-06-09 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Entry in the Register of European Sites for Wales, Afonydd Cleddau, Special Area of Conservation" (PDF). Natural Resources Wales.
- ^ "Gweunydd Blaencleddau, Special Area of Conservation map" (PDF). Natural Resources Wales.
- ^ "Entry in the Register of European Sites for Wales, Gweunydd Blaencleddau, Special Area of Conservation" (PDF). Natural Resources Wales.
External links
- SSSI & SAC links from Natural Resources Wales
- NRW Designated Sites search page - tens of maps - search for 'Cleddau'
- Afon Cleddau Dwyreiniol / Eastern Cleddau River
- Afon Cleddau Gorllewinol / Western Cleddau River
- Afonydd Cleddau / Cleddau Rivers
- Gweunydd Blaencleddau
- DEFRA's MAGIC Map