weekend adventure Part 2: The Elan Valley
View from the Claerwen Dam
The second part of our Saturday adventure away from home was to visit the Elan Valley. We only had a couple hours of daylight left, but it was a gorgeous day and we were determined to see as much as we could.
Caban Coch Dam
The Elan Valley sits in the Cambrian Mountains of Mid Wales. It is 70 square miles and has 5 completed dams and one unfinished dam.
View from the Caban Coch Dam
The girls were most excited that there was a huge playground at the base of the lowest dam, Caban Coch Dam, near the Visitor Centre. We ended up leaving them there to play while Mark and I walked up the stairs and admired the view.
Caban Coch Dam
Caban Coch Dam
Caban Coch Dam
Caban Coch dam
Caban Coch Dam - the lowest of the dams at 37m
One of the identical stone buildings on either side of the dam that house electricity generating turbines and valves and sluices to adjust the amount of compensation water released downstream. Shockingly beautiful buildings.
Elan Valley Trail marker
We would have loved to do a long walk along the reservoir and dams, but the fading light had us keep going in our car.
one of the roads in the Elan Valley between dams
driving to the Claerwen Dam
Claerwen Dam
We were intending to take a small hike to a little waterfall near Claerwen Dam, but about 5 steps into the walk I took a spectacularly hilarious fall and was bathed in mud. It did not taste great. Thankfully the Claerwen Dam has a public bathroom nearby so I was able to attempt to clean myself up and change into my only spare clothes for the weekend. However, this killed our prospects of any small hikes and we had to shorten our time on each dam.
near Claerwen Dam
View at the center of the Claerwen Dam. It is the highest at 56m.
The other view from Claerwen Dam, looking into the reservoir.
A little waterfall we stopped to admire (and climb) on the drive to the next dam.
I think this is Pen y Garreg, but it might be Craig Goch up close. We went quickly and they started to blur together. I just loved the crystal clear reflection in the reservoir.
Craig Goch
It was a truly spectacular visit. We hope to return to the Elan Valley for more hikes and exploring. I could definitely see taking bikes there too. And the girls loved the playground at the Visitor Center.
Our evening plans were a bit crushed when we hit a massive pothole about 10 minutes from our AirBnb and completely blew out our tire. The evening was not what we planned, but thanks to incredibly lovely and generous hosts, we made the best of it.
gift basket left by our sweet AirBnB hosts at Cilcaine!
Looking forward to our next adventurous weekend, hopefully without the tire part.💚