Afon Tryweryn
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Afon Tryweryn | |
| River | |
 Memorial chapel to the drowned village of Capel Celyn
|
|
| Country |  Wales |
|---|---|
| Landmarks | Canolfan Tryweryn, Llyn Celyn dam |
| Source | Llyn Tryweryn |
| Mouth | |
| - location | confluence with Dee |
| Length | 19 km (12 mi) |
For the flooding of the Tryweryn Valley, see Llyn Celyn.
The Tryweryn is a river in north Wales which starts at Llyn Tryweryn in the Snowdonia National Park and after 19 kilometres (12 mi) joins the river Dee at Bala. It is one of the main tributaries of the Dee and has been dammed to form Llyn Celyn. Water is stored in winter when flows are high, and released over the summer to maintain the flow in the Dee (water from the Dee is used as the water supply for large areas of north-east Wales and for the Wirral and much of Liverpool).
[edit] Whitewater Sports
The Tryweryn river joins the river Dee roughly half a mile downstream from Bala Lake. The reservoir now at the head of the Tryweryn was created in 1965, to provide water to Liverpool. At that time, the 67 inhabitants of the village of Capel Celyn were forcibly removed..
The Tryweryn is the site of the Welsh Canolfan Tryweryn national whitewater centre,[1] managed by the Welsh Canoe Association. It is an important river for whitewater kayaking and rafting. The centre features a Café and superb facilities to support whitewater sports. The natural whitewater rapids of the upper section of the Treweryn have been modified (by placing boulders along the river bed) to make them safer and to build playspots. The upper part of the river is usually considered to be Grade III.[2] Usually between 9 and 12 m³/s are released from the Llyn Celyn dam. The rapids of the lower section remain in a more natural state. These are of somewhat easier grade, with the exception of Bala Mill Falls.
The regular releases from Llyn Celyn in summer mean that kayak events and trips can be planned in advance, and commercial rafting can take place (most whitewater rivers in Wales rely on recent rain to have enough water for kayaking or rafting).
Access to the upper part of the Tryweryn is uncontroversial - this contrasts with recreational access to many of the other rivers in Wales, (see Rivers Access Campaign for more information), and adds to the popularity of the Tryweryn among kayakers and rafters.
In August 2004,John Prescott, deputy prime minister, was on a rafting trip on the Tryweryn and helped to aid a kayaker who had been injured [3].
[edit] Notes
- ^ Nuttall, John; Anne Nuttall (1999). The Mountains of England and Wales. Cicerone Press. p. 101. ISBN 1852843047. http://books.google.com/books?id=1-ebBSteXoMC&pg=PA101&dq=Afon+Tryweryn&lr=lang_en&num=50&as_brr=3&ei=OcpVSJLzAoiujgGhp_iTAw&sig=F-FnengJledZWN8jP6mgM1ym2AQ#PPA101,M1.
- ^ Hole, Abigail; Etain O'Carroll, John King (May 2004). Wales. Lonely Planet. p. 224. ISBN 978-1740594240. http://books.google.com/books?id=kgLpqTS6CGwC&pg=PA224&dq=%22Tryweryn%22+%22Canolfan+Tryweryn%22&lr=lang_en&num=50&as_brr=3&ei=jsxVSN3jG5OkiwH8-8mKDA&sig=z7TB-x6FLQln9rwR-IdGS2pRVHM.
- ^ "Prescott leaps to aid of kayaker". BBC. 16 August, 2004. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3569244.stm. Retrieved on 2009-01-11.
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Coordinates: 52°55′N 3°35′W / 52.917°N 3.583°W The city of Liverpool has officially apologised for flooding a north Wales valley in 1965 to supply water for the city. Tryweryn, near Bala, Gwynedd, was flooded in 1965 to create a reservoir to provide water for the city.
Liverpool Council members voted unanimously in favour of a motion during a meeting on Wednesday.
The statement acknowledged the "hurt of 40 years ago" and "insensitivity by our predecessor council".
Councillor Mike Storey, the Liberal Democrat Leader of the council, said: "Apologising is the first step towards reconciliation. I hope people don't see it as gesturing because it's not - it's a recognition that mistakes were made."
The flooding displaced the Welsh-speaking community of Capel Celyn and caused bitter political controversy.
An act of Parliament was needed for the compulsory purchase orders for the 800 acres.
The scheme stirred up nationalist indignation and a desperate fight to save the village.
Wednesday's apology came about as a result of an intervention by the Liberal Democrat peer Lord Roberts of Llandudno, who was saddened Tryweryn was cited by many as a reason why the National Eisteddfod should not visit Liverpool.
He approached Mike Storey, leader of the Liberal Democrat-controlled council, who agreed to issue an apology.
The idea has also been backed by the Labour Party, which controlled Liverpool at the time of the drowning of Tryweryn.
The full text of the formal apology reads: "We realise the hurt of forty years ago when the Tryweryn Valley was transformed into a reservoir to help meet the water needs of Liverpool. For any insensitivity by our predecessor council at that time, we apologise and hope that the historic and sound relationship between Liverpool and Wales can be completely restored."
Welsh First Minister Rhodri Morgan has welcomed the apology, describing it as a very good step.
Plaid Cymru's Parliamentary leader Elfyn Llwyd said the apology "should be accepted in the fulsome way it is being offered".
But others were less than impressed.
Betty Watkin-Hughes, whose family was forcibly moved from Capel Celyn said: "I think nothing of it, it is just away to say goodbye and sweep it all under the carpet.
"They can keep their apology and start doing what's right for the people who are left."
Owen Roberts, a historian at Aberystwyth University historian, said the council should also apologise for flooding Llanwddyn in north Powys in the 1880s.
The council is considering the Llanwddyn request
