Swansea and Neath
Aberdulais Falls and Tinworks
A waterfall that has powered industry since 1584, with a working waterwheel and the canal aqueduct alongside.
- Distance
- 2.5 mi / 4 km
- Time
- 1 hr 30
- Ascent
- 70 m
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Shape
- Circular
Where it is
The circle shows the general area, not the exact start. Use the directions link below to get to the car park itself. Contours and paths shown are OpenTopoMap, drawn from OpenStreetMap data.
The route
Paths link the falls, the tinworks and the canal from the car park. Short and mostly surfaced.
Worth knowing
- The waterwheel is the largest in Europe generating electricity and still turns.
- Turner painted here too; the falls were on the eighteenth-century tourist circuit.
- The canal aqueduct crosses the river beside the site.
What you’ll see
The falls, the waterwheel and tinworks remains, and the canal aqueduct.
Background
Copper was smelted here from 1584 using water power, followed by ironworks, corn milling and finally tinplate.