place

River Ely

AC with 0 elementsRiver navigations in the United KingdomRivers of CardiffRivers of Rhondda Cynon TafRivers of the Vale of Glamorgan
The River Ely Peterston super Ely geograph.org.uk 1276154
The River Ely Peterston super Ely geograph.org.uk 1276154

The River Ely (Welsh: Afon Elái) is in South Wales flowing generally southeast, from Tonyrefail to Cardiff. The river is about 24 miles (39 km) long. The Ely's numerous sources lie in the mountains to the south of Tonypandy, near the town of Tonyrefail, rising in the eastern slopes of Mynydd Penygraig (Penygraig) and Mynydd y Gilfach (Penrhiwfer) and the western slopes of Mynydd Dinas (Williamstown), whose eastern slopes feed the Rhondda by Porth. The source of the Ogwr Fach lies just to the west. After flowing through Tonyrefail and through the grounds of the Royal Glamorgan Hospital at Ynysmaerdy, it follows the A4119 road through the valley pass formed between Mynydd Garthmaelwg, to the west and Llantrisant, to the east. Flowing through Talbot Green, the Ely is joined by the Afon Clun at Pontyclun. Although numerous smaller streams join the river, the Clun is its only large tributary. The Ely turns to the southeast on reaching the Vale of Glamorgan alongside the South Wales Main Line immediately south of Miskin and after being traversed by the M4 motorway, it flows through farmland. It passes the St Fagans National History Museum and continues towards Cardiff and Ely (Welsh: Trelái) before flowing under the Vale of Glamorgan Line and into Cardiff Bay at Penarth Marina. The Ely Subway is a closed pedestrian tunnel under the mouth of the Ely. The tunnel opened in 1900 replacing a chain ferry, and was used by workers at Cardiff Docks and Penarth Dock. It was closed in 1965.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article River Ely (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

River Ely
Butetown Link, Cardiff Butetown

Geographical coordinates (GPS) Address Nearby Places
placeShow on map

Wikipedia: River ElyContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 51.456 ° E -3.174 °
placeShow on map

Address

Cardiff Yacht Club

Butetown Link
CF11 7TQ Cardiff, Butetown
Wales, United Kingdom
mapOpen on Google Maps

The River Ely Peterston super Ely geograph.org.uk 1276154
The River Ely Peterston super Ely geograph.org.uk 1276154
Share experience

Nearby Places

Cardiff Riverside Branch
Cardiff Riverside Branch

The Cardiff Riverside Branch was a short railway constructed as an industrial railway in Cardiff, South Wales by the Great Western Railway.New industries had developed along the banks of the River Taff south from Cardiff Central station towards Cardiff Docks. Whilst the main Bute and Roath docks were well serviced by both the Great Western Railway (GWR) and the Taff Vale Railway (TVR), the relatively thin spit of land between the River Taff and the Glamorganshire Canal, known locally as "Rat Island", was not. Cardiff Riverside station was built immediately to the south of Cardiff Station (the mainline GWR station, now called Cardiff Central), with the tracks joining the GWR mainline immediately to the west. Construction began in early 1882, reaching an interim goods-only station two-thirds along the spit, allowing opening on 14 September 1882. This served several factories, notably Curran Steels, to the west of the line, which produced rolled steel and brass and then pressed them to make enamel wares. The line was then extended to a second goods-only station at Clarence Road (at 51.4646°N 3.1713°W / 51.4646; -3.1713), making the total length of the line 0.7 miles (1.1 km). In 1894 the line was upgraded for passenger use, allowing the TVR to extend its existing passenger services, running from Cogan to Clarence Road from 2 April 1894. This also allowed connection to the made with the Cardiff Tramways Company system. During both World Wars the line was used to transport raw materials and munitions to and from the Curran's works, which became a munitions factory manufacturing shell casings and tank tracks. Production of machine gun ammunition continued until the 1960s. The line continued to run under British Railways from 1948. The passenger service to Clarence Road station closed in March 1964. Freight services to the Curran's yard sidings continued until July 1968, when the entire line was closed and quickly taken up. The entire spit has been redeveloped, with industry squeezed out between developing office, retail and housing developments. Few signs of the former line or its stations exist today.