Behind Waterfalls 2009
Because there's more than just Sgwd yr Eira.
After realising just how many waterfalls there were in Waterfall Country it was possible to walk behind, and just how few most people seemed to be aware of, I noticed some more possibilities from my pictures of other areas. Sure, nobody else seemed to have mentioned them, but they also failed to mention one of the other big ones as well. So, what are the chances of it being possible elsewhere? Fairly good, as it happens. Read on for more.
Nedd Fechan
Map of the Brecon Beacons National Park, showing the locations of the various mountains and ranges.
The back of Fan Nedd, in Fforest Fawr. The target is the valley on the left; the Nedd Fechan.
Starting from the Pont Melin-fach car park, this is the first proper cascade on the Nedd Fechan.
I promised myself I would not take pictures of things where I already had good pictures, but the sunlight filtering through the trees and the spray was so beautiful, there was no way it was going to be ignored.
The main target was the upper shelf of Sgwd Ddwli Isaf. In case I had not been lucky enough with streamers already, these superb examples were lighting up the waterfall.
I'd seen a gap behind the main waterfall, and was hoping to walk through it, but it turns out it's actually got a significant amount of falling water. There is no plunge pool, making it easy to stand on the floor, but the water splashing back off it meant that even with a waterproof coat and wellies, my legs were utterly soaked within just 3 seconds. Attempt; FAIL.
On the way back from Sgwd Ddwli Isaf, a tiny waterfall pouring over the massive undercut created by Sgwd Ddwli Isaf offered redemption. The stream has no name, and really does not deserve one, but the setting and easy path made it worthwhile, since I was in the area, after all. The waterfall itself is not worth a detour, however.
One of many large cavities in the undercut - they look like a poor attempt at starting a mine adit.
Time to head to Craig y Llyn, and over into the Rhondda Valley.
Rhondda Valley
The view from Craig y Llyn is tremendous, giving an almost complete panorama of the Black Mountain, Fforest Fawr and Brecon Beacons ranges. From left to right: Craig y Llyn (600 metres), Garreg Lwyd (616 metres), Foel Fraith (602 metres), Garreg Las (635 metres), Waun Lefrith (677 metres), Picws Du (749 metres), Fan Brycheiniog (802 metres), Fan Hir (761 metres), Fan Gyhirych (725 metres), Fan Fraith (668 metres), Fan Nedd (663 metres), Fan Llia (632 metres), Fan Frynich (629 metres), Craig Cerrig-gleisiad (629 metres), Fan Fawr (734 metres), Y Gyrn (619 metres), Corn Du (873 metres), Pen y Fan (886 metres), Cribyn (795 metres), Fan y Bîg (719 metres), Gwaun Cerrig Llwydion (754 metres), Waun Rydd (769 metres) and the edge of Hirwaun Common (515 metres).- View labelled image.
Blaenrhondda, the start of the Rhondda Valley, which starts on the other side of the Craig y Llyn ridge. The next walk takes place on the dropoff in front of the camera, and in the head of the valley off to the right of the picture. Today I will do the walk in the correct (more easy) clockwise direction - it's still deceptively tiring, despite its short length.
Nant Drysiog has virtually no flow today - quite a disappointment. Seems it needs a lot of rain to make it worth a visit. Onwards to the first target; the Rhondda Fawr waterfall (the one with a steam engine boiler and disused mine level just in front of it).
Turns out it was possible to traverse behind it, but it was slippery, unstable, friable, wet, and by far the most dangerous one that I have attempted. Don't try it, it's not worth the risk. Just enjoy the massive iron-stained resurgence at its base instead.
Heading upwards to the Nant Melyn waterfall. The path was as bad as I remembered; not impossible, but hard to believe that the council actually had it on a leaflet. The lighting was immaculate, and so different to last time.
Getting behind the waterfall was easy, starting on the right. There's a relatively spacious grassy bank, with plenty of space to admire the view. Getting out the other side was harder, as the grassy bank on that side was basically grassy mud on rocks, and did not really want to remain there. However, I got to the other side without getting wet - a novelty in this area.
The nearby Nant Carnfoesen had an even worse excuse for a path, but it looked so much prettier than before. The faint hints of a path disappeared long before I reached the waterfall.
Small rainbow in the spray.
A tiny grassy patch on the left made it possible to stoop under a shelf on the cliff, to get to a tiny standing area behind the waterfall. There was no way out the other side, and this position was uncomfortable enough to get to (especially given just 10 seconds by the camera's self-timer).
Driving to Blaencwm (it's possible to walk, but this removed the need to complete a long loop), and taking the steep path up to the base of the Pen Pych waterfall (aka. Berw Wion). The base is littered with rocks from the cliff, this example showing some fossil tree remains.
And this example showing several more.
A spacious undercut made it possible to get behind the main Pen Pych waterfall, though it required a small scramble on the other side of the stream to get into it. Since there's no way I could make it in 10 seconds, the picture was taken by a very helpful Yorkshireman who went to great effort to reach my tripod, in order to take the picture for me. Many thanks for this.
The large undercut. There's plenty of space to walk here.
Getting out the other side is only possible if you want to wear waterproofs, or just get soaked, and if you can walk on the slippery rocks. Note the tripod in the shot, and the main path (with a volunteer) in the distance.
Beautifully defined rainbow in the spray.
I took the lower path that crosses Nant Berw Wion, which (not shown on the map) continued over Nant yr Ychen, at the head of this cascade.
A little below it, and fairly tricky to get to, was this little waterfall. It may look better in high water (the main waterfall on the cliffs above was barely visible due to lack of water), but it doesn't seem worth the effort to reach it.
Sunlight in the forest path. I turned right at a junction, and started up a steep slope, until the path suddenly ended at a stream. I crossed the stream, and started struggling through the tightly packed fir trees, eventually skirting the steep and muddy top of a cliff, heading up the right side of Nant y Gwair.
This was part of my "path". Please, please do not copy me. There's a cliff down into the valley, and crossing the fallen trees and walking on friable ledges is a really dangerous way to get upstream. In fact, this valley was just not worth the effort or risk. If I had known, I would not have been there. Take my advice, and do not try it.
Once I finally reached the stream, it didn't get any better. Fallen trees, brambles, scrambling up cascades between tightly packed fir trees. It was not pleasant. But at last, high above me, I could see the cliffs I had been perched on last time I was here, looking down at this lip, which held the promise of waterfall. They were big cliffs, and it was quite ridiculous to think that I had been stepping down their tops, holding on to nothing better than heather.
At last, I reached the top, and the lowest proper waterfall I had seen when looking down from the clifftops. It is significantly harder to reach from the bottom, but at least it is slightly safer if the valley bottom is followed. Only slightly, though. You'd still have to be nuts to bother.
The broken base of the cliffs. The massive boulders from these cliffs line the valley bottom almost all the way down. Makes it quite obvious why there is no tourist path up here.
Below the main waterfall, the river steps down in a series of small cascades, that I had previously seen from above, last time I was here.
The step that I had seen from above turned out to be this pathetic little cascade under a boulder.
And this one.
Then this one. Wow. So not worth it.
The valley bottom was a horrendous mass of brambles and slippery boulders under brambles. Occasionaly, the stream split into separate channels, with one carrying most of the water, and the others being largely dry, offering a slightly easier path. Progress was painfully slow, and accompanied by a million bramble thorns. I would have gladly traded my walking poles for a machete.
Ooh, a cascade.
Twin cascade, one of the largest in the valley. Awesome!
More. Bloodstained. Brambles.
A tall but only dribbling waterfall. I think that's the bottom of the Cawsa Carn-saer stream.
The bottom cascade, which actually looked fairly nice. That stream that ended the upper path finally joined, and a new path started at its bottom. Barely a path, but at least a sign of life.
Destruction.
Colours of destruction.
Ooh, another sign of life.
At last, a proper path! Relief.
A short stroll through the Penpych Woodland Park, and the tiring walk is finally over.
Aberdulais Falls
A week later, and the weather had been nicely dry, so I headed for Aberdulais Falls. Now completely different from last time, it is split into two main waterfalls, on the left and right. The river channel in the middle is deep - looks a couple of metres at least. Now if only that rock outcrop and buttress would get out of the way...
The left side of Aberdulais Falls now looks like one of those typical pictures. The buttress blocks the view of the right side, which is where I want to be. That ledge on it looks enticing, but there's no way down from it, and it slopes too steeply to use it as a path.
Under the ledge is a manhole, the outlet from the turbine and fish pass, and a shingle bank.
The shingle bank looks like a convenient way to the bottom of the falls, but...
It turns into a slot between the boulder and the buttress, and dips into the water. It looks between thigh and waist deep, with steeply sloping sides made of shingle. For most people attempting to get behind the waterfall, a pair of waders would be needed to use this route. I decided not to.
Looking downstream along the gorge.
Taking the steps to the top, this is another typical picture - nothing at all like the one I had taken from here on the last visit. It can either look deceptively tall or deceptively short. The actual height appears to be about 8 metres.
This view shows the 4 metre deep double pot waterfalls on the right (taking their flow from water spilling out of the leat), the main right spout, with a large undercut on the left, and the narrow outlet channel, with a small splattery waterfall. The main left part of the waterfall is off the top of the picture.
I got special permission to - entirely at my own risk - abseil from the fence down to the base of the waterfall. This was done on the promise of obtaining unique pictures, and is not something every willing photographer can expect to get permission for. So I pulled out the rusty old SRT kit, and my 12 metre rope (which turned out to be about 1 metre shorter than I would have liked, and that's without even having a backup). The top is awkward and needs rope protection, and the fence felt a little ... well, it could have been better. Never mind that I managed to abseil my hair into the Stop, and had to do a mid-rope changeover to free it. Duuuh! Cavers hear the stories about it, now it's my turn to be the idiot.
The base, showing the massive undercut, rock banks, the positions of the four parts of the fall, and the ridiculous amount of rubbish washed down the river. Most of it is car tyres, plastic bottles, and footballs, jammed as far up as 4 metres. That should give you an idea how ferocious this river can be when it flash floods (which it does regularly, despite having a tiny catchment just 13 km long, and about 4 km wide).
Tyre and bottles.
Two black wheelie bins. I am told that at one point, a car was washed down the waterfall in flood - the nearest road crossing is 6 km upstream. Despite having a tiny catchment, the river flash floods with an incredible amount of water when it rains. Even though I had chosen a good time to visit, it still felt very oppressive down here.
Lip of the main right spout.
Flood scum lining the edge of the plunge pool.
Slap on a pair of wellies, and cross the outflow (or directly through the pool, it's not too deep), and its easy to walk behind the waterfall, staying on the gravel bank. A version of this picture without a model was given to the National Trust for use in promotional material for the site.
Outflow from the double pots, showing the natural rock bridge spanning the small canyon.
View from behind the spout, also showing my rope attached to the fence.
The little splattery fall in the middle; it's possible to stoop behind this one, and keep dry. Note that the ledge on the other side is clearly too steep to use as a path.
Looking back into the amphitheatre at the base of the spout, with the splattering fall on the left, and the double pots outflow waterfall on the right. Above is water spilling from the leat, with the walkway above. A copy of this picture was given to the National Trust for use in promotional material for the site.
Boulders blocking the outflow - the main one is 4 metres tall, and disappears under water during floods. On the left is the other end of the slot route to the base. It doesn't look friendly, and the shingle floor doesn't feel too stable, but it could work as an access route, as long as you have something to keep you dry.
A mouldy log. Or perhaps a large water creature of some kind - you decide.
The left side of Aberdulais Falls, seen from an angle rarely - if ever - seen. I have found no other published pictures like these, taken from the base of this waterfall. Some people seem disappointed by the waterfall, but that's probably because of the view they get from the top, with that buttress in the way. From the bottom, it really does feel quite impressive.
Clydach Gorge
Old names for the waterfalls are taken from Samuel Lewis' 1849 publication; A Topographical Dictionary of Wales and Thomas Rees' 1815 publication The Beauties of England and Wales. With the exception of Pwll Crochan, these can all be easily determined either from prose or from the 1891 1:10560 scale map of Brecknockshire. The waterfall referred to by the name Pwll Crochan is determined by a process of elimination.
Then a day later ... a supposedly quick visit to the Clydach Gorge, for some of the smaller inlet waterfalls. This is the resurgence waterfall from a mine at Gellifelen, by the Gelly siding - Gelli appears to be the correct spelling, but then, who can dictate spellings in an anglicised area?
A quick walk down through the superb beechwoods to the edge of the lower cliffs of the gorge.
A small cascade upstream of Ogof Clogwyn, quite typical of the river, not really worthy of a good picture, but nice to see anyway.
Some non-cavers hopping up into the main entrance of Ogof Clogwyn, on the side of the gorge. It's quite a unique cave entrance.
Today the flow is very low, so the curtain is not as wide as its full flow. As a result, it's not possible to get far behind it, but it should be a little better in high flow. Right now, it's kinda pushing things a bit to claim that it's possible to get behind it.
A difficult descent into the gorge, and a very awkward river crossing (take care not to fall in - the river suffers from sewage pollution), give access to the waterfall created by Waterfall Cave's resurgence, on the other side of the gorge. At least it has a proper veil, and is big enough to stand behind, though it's not worthy of the extreme amount of effort needed to get here.
Down the lower end of the gorge is a very easy forest walk, leading to...
A powerful set of cascades - awkward to see through the forest, and dangerous to approach due to the steep sides.
Above them, near the end of the path, is the lower Clydach waterfall. The angle is a bit better from lower down, but in any case, it's not possible to walk behind any parts of it. 200 years ago, the name Pwll Crochan was apparently used to refer to this waterfall, but the name has fallen out of use.
A little downstream of Ogof Clogwyn, but upstream of the lower waterfall is the Devil's Waterfall. The Devil's Bridge above it makes it easy to look at it from safety. It's the biggest on the river, and very powerful. There is no access route to the bottom, except falling down it. Historically, this waterfall was known as Pwll Cwn or Pwll-y-Cŵn, but this name is rarely used now, or referred to (incorrectly) as an older name for the subject of the next picture.
Just upstream is Pwll y Cwm, the main resurgence for the major Llangatwg caves. Note that the name uses the word "cwm" (valley), not "cwn" (dogs). Confusingly, on OS maps dated 1880 and 1966, this name was also incorrectly applied to the waterfall below.
Hiding on the side of the road near the top end of the gorge is a waterfall on the stream from Hafod Farm. In winter it's more visible, and quite impressive. In summer it just looks like mossy dribbles.
Just down from Brynmawr, the river is directed into an adit called Coal Tar Cave. It's been here for long enough now that the river has reclaimed most of it, making it into a natural-looking waterfall and cave.
The resurgence from Coal Tar Cave was dug into this cliff, causing the river to flow behind this pretty inlet waterfall, where it's possible to walk up the slimy river bed, behind the waterfall. It may be a cave behind a waterfall, but it's artificial, so that would be cheating. 200 years ago, the entire river used to flow over this shelf, creating a waterfall known as Pistyll Mawr.
Behind the waterfall.
Cascade inside Coal Tar Cave.
Rusticle flow in Coal Tar Cave.
Map of the Brecon Beacons National Park, showing the locations of the various mountains and ranges.
The back of Fan Nedd, in Fforest Fawr. The target is the valley on the left; the Nedd Fechan.
Starting from the Pont Melin-fach car park, this is the first proper cascade on the Nedd Fechan.
I promised myself I would not take pictures of things where I already had good pictures, but the sunlight filtering through the trees and the spray was so beautiful, there was no way it was going to be ignored.
The main target was the upper shelf of Sgwd Ddwli Isaf. In case I had not been lucky enough with streamers already, these superb examples were lighting up the waterfall.
I'd seen a gap behind the main waterfall, and was hoping to walk through it, but it turns out it's actually got a significant amount of falling water. There is no plunge pool, making it easy to stand on the floor, but the water splashing back off it meant that even with a waterproof coat and wellies, my legs were utterly soaked within just 3 seconds. Attempt; FAIL.
On the way back from Sgwd Ddwli Isaf, a tiny waterfall pouring over the massive undercut created by Sgwd Ddwli Isaf offered redemption. The stream has no name, and really does not deserve one, but the setting and easy path made it worthwhile, since I was in the area, after all. The waterfall itself is not worth a detour, however.
One of many large cavities in the undercut - they look like a poor attempt at starting a mine adit.
Time to head to Craig y Llyn, and over into the Rhondda Valley.
The view from Craig y Llyn is tremendous, giving an almost complete panorama of the Black Mountain, Fforest Fawr and Brecon Beacons ranges. From left to right: Craig y Llyn (600 metres), Garreg Lwyd (616 metres), Foel Fraith (602 metres), Garreg Las (635 metres), Waun Lefrith (677 metres), Picws Du (749 metres), Fan Brycheiniog (802 metres), Fan Hir (761 metres), Fan Gyhirych (725 metres), Fan Fraith (668 metres), Fan Nedd (663 metres), Fan Llia (632 metres), Fan Frynich (629 metres), Craig Cerrig-gleisiad (629 metres), Fan Fawr (734 metres), Y Gyrn (619 metres), Corn Du (873 metres), Pen y Fan (886 metres), Cribyn (795 metres), Fan y Bîg (719 metres), Gwaun Cerrig Llwydion (754 metres), Waun Rydd (769 metres) and the edge of Hirwaun Common (515 metres).
Blaenrhondda, the start of the Rhondda Valley, which starts on the other side of the Craig y Llyn ridge. The next walk takes place on the dropoff in front of the camera, and in the head of the valley off to the right of the picture. Today I will do the walk in the correct (more easy) clockwise direction - it's still deceptively tiring, despite its short length.
Nant Drysiog has virtually no flow today - quite a disappointment. Seems it needs a lot of rain to make it worth a visit. Onwards to the first target; the Rhondda Fawr waterfall (the one with a steam engine boiler and disused mine level just in front of it).
Turns out it was possible to traverse behind it, but it was slippery, unstable, friable, wet, and by far the most dangerous one that I have attempted. Don't try it, it's not worth the risk. Just enjoy the massive iron-stained resurgence at its base instead.
Heading upwards to the Nant Melyn waterfall. The path was as bad as I remembered; not impossible, but hard to believe that the council actually had it on a leaflet. The lighting was immaculate, and so different to last time.
Getting behind the waterfall was easy, starting on the right. There's a relatively spacious grassy bank, with plenty of space to admire the view. Getting out the other side was harder, as the grassy bank on that side was basically grassy mud on rocks, and did not really want to remain there. However, I got to the other side without getting wet - a novelty in this area.
The nearby Nant Carnfoesen had an even worse excuse for a path, but it looked so much prettier than before. The faint hints of a path disappeared long before I reached the waterfall.
Small rainbow in the spray.
A tiny grassy patch on the left made it possible to stoop under a shelf on the cliff, to get to a tiny standing area behind the waterfall. There was no way out the other side, and this position was uncomfortable enough to get to (especially given just 10 seconds by the camera's self-timer).
Driving to Blaencwm (it's possible to walk, but this removed the need to complete a long loop), and taking the steep path up to the base of the Pen Pych waterfall (aka. Berw Wion). The base is littered with rocks from the cliff, this example showing some fossil tree remains.
And this example showing several more.
A spacious undercut made it possible to get behind the main Pen Pych waterfall, though it required a small scramble on the other side of the stream to get into it. Since there's no way I could make it in 10 seconds, the picture was taken by a very helpful Yorkshireman who went to great effort to reach my tripod, in order to take the picture for me. Many thanks for this.
The large undercut. There's plenty of space to walk here.
Getting out the other side is only possible if you want to wear waterproofs, or just get soaked, and if you can walk on the slippery rocks. Note the tripod in the shot, and the main path (with a volunteer) in the distance.
Beautifully defined rainbow in the spray.
I took the lower path that crosses Nant Berw Wion, which (not shown on the map) continued over Nant yr Ychen, at the head of this cascade.
A little below it, and fairly tricky to get to, was this little waterfall. It may look better in high water (the main waterfall on the cliffs above was barely visible due to lack of water), but it doesn't seem worth the effort to reach it.
Sunlight in the forest path. I turned right at a junction, and started up a steep slope, until the path suddenly ended at a stream. I crossed the stream, and started struggling through the tightly packed fir trees, eventually skirting the steep and muddy top of a cliff, heading up the right side of Nant y Gwair.
This was part of my "path". Please, please do not copy me. There's a cliff down into the valley, and crossing the fallen trees and walking on friable ledges is a really dangerous way to get upstream. In fact, this valley was just not worth the effort or risk. If I had known, I would not have been there. Take my advice, and do not try it.
Once I finally reached the stream, it didn't get any better. Fallen trees, brambles, scrambling up cascades between tightly packed fir trees. It was not pleasant. But at last, high above me, I could see the cliffs I had been perched on last time I was here, looking down at this lip, which held the promise of waterfall. They were big cliffs, and it was quite ridiculous to think that I had been stepping down their tops, holding on to nothing better than heather.
At last, I reached the top, and the lowest proper waterfall I had seen when looking down from the clifftops. It is significantly harder to reach from the bottom, but at least it is slightly safer if the valley bottom is followed. Only slightly, though. You'd still have to be nuts to bother.
The broken base of the cliffs. The massive boulders from these cliffs line the valley bottom almost all the way down. Makes it quite obvious why there is no tourist path up here.
Below the main waterfall, the river steps down in a series of small cascades, that I had previously seen from above, last time I was here.
The step that I had seen from above turned out to be this pathetic little cascade under a boulder.
And this one.
Then this one. Wow. So not worth it.
The valley bottom was a horrendous mass of brambles and slippery boulders under brambles. Occasionaly, the stream split into separate channels, with one carrying most of the water, and the others being largely dry, offering a slightly easier path. Progress was painfully slow, and accompanied by a million bramble thorns. I would have gladly traded my walking poles for a machete.
Ooh, a cascade.
Twin cascade, one of the largest in the valley. Awesome!
More. Bloodstained. Brambles.
A tall but only dribbling waterfall. I think that's the bottom of the Cawsa Carn-saer stream.
The bottom cascade, which actually looked fairly nice. That stream that ended the upper path finally joined, and a new path started at its bottom. Barely a path, but at least a sign of life.
Destruction.
Colours of destruction.
Ooh, another sign of life.
At last, a proper path! Relief.
A short stroll through the Penpych Woodland Park, and the tiring walk is finally over.
A week later, and the weather had been nicely dry, so I headed for Aberdulais Falls. Now completely different from last time, it is split into two main waterfalls, on the left and right. The river channel in the middle is deep - looks a couple of metres at least. Now if only that rock outcrop and buttress would get out of the way...
The left side of Aberdulais Falls now looks like one of those typical pictures. The buttress blocks the view of the right side, which is where I want to be. That ledge on it looks enticing, but there's no way down from it, and it slopes too steeply to use it as a path.
Under the ledge is a manhole, the outlet from the turbine and fish pass, and a shingle bank.
The shingle bank looks like a convenient way to the bottom of the falls, but...
It turns into a slot between the boulder and the buttress, and dips into the water. It looks between thigh and waist deep, with steeply sloping sides made of shingle. For most people attempting to get behind the waterfall, a pair of waders would be needed to use this route. I decided not to.
Looking downstream along the gorge.
Taking the steps to the top, this is another typical picture - nothing at all like the one I had taken from here on the last visit. It can either look deceptively tall or deceptively short. The actual height appears to be about 8 metres.
This view shows the 4 metre deep double pot waterfalls on the right (taking their flow from water spilling out of the leat), the main right spout, with a large undercut on the left, and the narrow outlet channel, with a small splattery waterfall. The main left part of the waterfall is off the top of the picture.
I got special permission to - entirely at my own risk - abseil from the fence down to the base of the waterfall. This was done on the promise of obtaining unique pictures, and is not something every willing photographer can expect to get permission for. So I pulled out the rusty old SRT kit, and my 12 metre rope (which turned out to be about 1 metre shorter than I would have liked, and that's without even having a backup). The top is awkward and needs rope protection, and the fence felt a little ... well, it could have been better. Never mind that I managed to abseil my hair into the Stop, and had to do a mid-rope changeover to free it. Duuuh! Cavers hear the stories about it, now it's my turn to be the idiot.
The base, showing the massive undercut, rock banks, the positions of the four parts of the fall, and the ridiculous amount of rubbish washed down the river. Most of it is car tyres, plastic bottles, and footballs, jammed as far up as 4 metres. That should give you an idea how ferocious this river can be when it flash floods (which it does regularly, despite having a tiny catchment just 13 km long, and about 4 km wide).
Tyre and bottles.
Two black wheelie bins. I am told that at one point, a car was washed down the waterfall in flood - the nearest road crossing is 6 km upstream. Despite having a tiny catchment, the river flash floods with an incredible amount of water when it rains. Even though I had chosen a good time to visit, it still felt very oppressive down here.
Lip of the main right spout.
Flood scum lining the edge of the plunge pool.
Slap on a pair of wellies, and cross the outflow (or directly through the pool, it's not too deep), and its easy to walk behind the waterfall, staying on the gravel bank. A version of this picture without a model was given to the National Trust for use in promotional material for the site.
Outflow from the double pots, showing the natural rock bridge spanning the small canyon.
View from behind the spout, also showing my rope attached to the fence.
The little splattery fall in the middle; it's possible to stoop behind this one, and keep dry. Note that the ledge on the other side is clearly too steep to use as a path.
Looking back into the amphitheatre at the base of the spout, with the splattering fall on the left, and the double pots outflow waterfall on the right. Above is water spilling from the leat, with the walkway above. A copy of this picture was given to the National Trust for use in promotional material for the site.
Boulders blocking the outflow - the main one is 4 metres tall, and disappears under water during floods. On the left is the other end of the slot route to the base. It doesn't look friendly, and the shingle floor doesn't feel too stable, but it could work as an access route, as long as you have something to keep you dry.
A mouldy log. Or perhaps a large water creature of some kind - you decide.
The left side of Aberdulais Falls, seen from an angle rarely - if ever - seen. I have found no other published pictures like these, taken from the base of this waterfall. Some people seem disappointed by the waterfall, but that's probably because of the view they get from the top, with that buttress in the way. From the bottom, it really does feel quite impressive.
Then a day later ... a supposedly quick visit to the Clydach Gorge, for some of the smaller inlet waterfalls. This is the resurgence waterfall from a mine at Gellifelen, by the Gelly siding - Gelli appears to be the correct spelling, but then, who can dictate spellings in an anglicised area?
A quick walk down through the superb beechwoods to the edge of the lower cliffs of the gorge.
A small cascade upstream of Ogof Clogwyn, quite typical of the river, not really worthy of a good picture, but nice to see anyway.
Some non-cavers hopping up into the main entrance of Ogof Clogwyn, on the side of the gorge. It's quite a unique cave entrance.
Today the flow is very low, so the curtain is not as wide as its full flow. As a result, it's not possible to get far behind it, but it should be a little better in high flow. Right now, it's kinda pushing things a bit to claim that it's possible to get behind it.
A difficult descent into the gorge, and a very awkward river crossing (take care not to fall in - the river suffers from sewage pollution), give access to the waterfall created by Waterfall Cave's resurgence, on the other side of the gorge. At least it has a proper veil, and is big enough to stand behind, though it's not worthy of the extreme amount of effort needed to get here.
Down the lower end of the gorge is a very easy forest walk, leading to...
A powerful set of cascades - awkward to see through the forest, and dangerous to approach due to the steep sides.
Above them, near the end of the path, is the lower Clydach waterfall. The angle is a bit better from lower down, but in any case, it's not possible to walk behind any parts of it. 200 years ago, the name Pwll Crochan was apparently used to refer to this waterfall, but the name has fallen out of use.
A little downstream of Ogof Clogwyn, but upstream of the lower waterfall is the Devil's Waterfall. The Devil's Bridge above it makes it easy to look at it from safety. It's the biggest on the river, and very powerful. There is no access route to the bottom, except falling down it. Historically, this waterfall was known as Pwll Cwn or Pwll-y-Cŵn, but this name is rarely used now, or referred to (incorrectly) as an older name for the subject of the next picture.
Just upstream is Pwll y Cwm, the main resurgence for the major Llangatwg caves. Note that the name uses the word "cwm" (valley), not "cwn" (dogs). Confusingly, on OS maps dated 1880 and 1966, this name was also incorrectly applied to the waterfall below.
Hiding on the side of the road near the top end of the gorge is a waterfall on the stream from Hafod Farm. In winter it's more visible, and quite impressive. In summer it just looks like mossy dribbles.
Just down from Brynmawr, the river is directed into an adit called Coal Tar Cave. It's been here for long enough now that the river has reclaimed most of it, making it into a natural-looking waterfall and cave.
The resurgence from Coal Tar Cave was dug into this cliff, causing the river to flow behind this pretty inlet waterfall, where it's possible to walk up the slimy river bed, behind the waterfall. It may be a cave behind a waterfall, but it's artificial, so that would be cheating. 200 years ago, the entire river used to flow over this shelf, creating a waterfall known as Pistyll Mawr.
Behind the waterfall.
Cascade inside Coal Tar Cave.
Rusticle flow in Coal Tar Cave.