River Dyfi
{{short description|River in Mid Wales}}
{{other uses|Dyfi (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox river
| name = River Dyfi
| native_name = {{native_name|cy|Afon Dyfi}}
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| name_other = River Dovey
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| image = Afon Dyfi - geograph.org.uk - 242012.jpg
| image_size = 250
| image_caption = The river viewed upstream
from the Jubilee Bridge near Mathafarn
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| subdivision_type1 = Country
| subdivision_name1 = Wales
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| source1 = Creiglyn Dyfi
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| mouth_location = Irish Sea
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The River Dyfi ({{langx|cy|Afon Dyfi}}; {{IPA|cy|ˈdəvi}}), also known as the River Dovey ({{IPAc-en|'|d|ʌ|v|i}} {{respell|DUH|vee}}), is an approximately {{convert|30|mi|abbr=off|adj=on}} long river in Wales.{{cite book |title=Penny Cyclopaedia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge|url=https://archive.org/details/pennycyclopaedi01unkngoog|year=1839|publisher=C. Knight|pages=[https://archive.org/details/pennycyclopaedi01unkngoog/page/n121 111]– |via=archive.org |access-date=22 October 2023}}
Its large estuary forms the boundary between the counties of Gwynedd and Ceredigion, and its lower reaches have historically been considered the border between North Wales and South Wales.{{cite book |author=Alex Kendall |title=The Snowdonia Way: A walking route through Snowdonia from Machynlleth to Conwy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7tPFDgAAQBAJ&pg=PT37 |via=books.google.com |date=30 March 2017 |publisher=Cicerone Press|isbn=978-1-78362-455-3 |pages=37– |access-date=22 October 2023}}{{cite book |author=John Murray (publishers.) |title=Handbook for travellers in North Wales |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ybkHAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA142 |via=books.google.com |year=1861 |pages=142– |access-date=22 October 2023}}
Name
Nowadays the Welsh spelling Dyfi is widely used locally and by the Welsh Government,{{cite web |title=A487: new Dyfi bridge (overview) |url=https://gov.wales/a487-new-dyfi-bridge-overview |website=Welsh Government |access-date=8 August 2019}} Natural Resources Wales{{cite web |title=Natural Resource Management in the Dyfi |url=https://naturalresources.wales/about-us/what-we-do/how-we-work/natural-resource-management-in-the-dyfi/?lang=en |website=Natural Resources Wales |access-date=24 June 2019}} and the BBC.{{cite news |title=Dinas Mawddwy bridge reopens after safety fear closure |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-40816193 |access-date=24 June 2019 |work=BBC News |date=4 August 2017}} The anglicised spelling Dovey continues to be used by some entities.{{cite web |title=Aberdyfi (scroll down south) |url=http://data.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/doc/50kGazetteer/551 |website=Ordnance Survey |access-date=25 June 2019}}{{cite web |title=Dovey Junction (DVY) station details |url=https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/DVY/details.html |website=National Rail Enquiries |access-date=25 June 2019}}{{cite web |title=The Dovey Valley Hotel |url=https://www.yell.com/biz/the-dovey-valley-hotel-machynlleth-8314094/ |website=Yell.com |access-date=24 June 2019}}{{cite web |title=BE IN TOUCH... |url=https://www.doveymarine.co.uk/contact |website=Dovey Marine |access-date=24 June 2019}}{{cite web |title=Contact |url=http://doveyyachtclub.org.uk/page.asp?ID=10 |website=Dovey Yacht Club |access-date=24 June 2019}}
Sources
The River Dyfi rises in the small lake Creiglyn Dyfi at about {{convert|1900|ft|m|sigfig=2}} above sea level, below Aran Fawddwy,{{cite book |author=Stuart Fisher |title=Rivers of Britain: Estuaries, Tideways, Havens, Lochs, Firths and Kyles |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f_c_p_KNDzEC&pg=PA47 |date=5 January 2012 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-4081-5931-6 |pages=47– |via=books.google.com |access-date=22 October 2023}} flowing south to Dinas Mawddwy and Cemmaes Road ({{langx|cy|Glantwymyn}}), then south west past Machynlleth to Cardigan Bay ({{langx|cy|Bae Ceredigion}}) at Aberdyfi. It shares its watershed with the River Severn ({{langx|cy|Afon Hafren}}) and the River Dee ({{langx|cy|Afon Dyfrdwy}}){{cite book |author=Royal Commission on Land in Wales and Monmouthshire |title=Reports: With Minutes of Evidence and Appendices |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tAAxAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA27 |year=1896 |publisher=H. M. Stationery Office |pages=27–28}} before flowing generally south-westwards down to a wide estuary. The only large town on its route is Machynlleth.
File:Dyfi Natural Resource Management Trial.webm on environmental, social and economic considerations of the Dyfi catchment area]]
The river is prone to flooding and some roads in the lower catchment can become impassable during very wet weather. It has been a relatively pristine river with few polluting inputs. The catchment area is notable for its now-defunct lead mines and slate quarries, especially around Corris and Dinas Mawddwy, and is notable for its salmon and sea trout (migratory brown trout).{{cite journal |last =Erichsen Jones |first =J. R. |title =The Fauna of the River Dyfi, West Wales |journal =Journal of Animal Ecology |volume =10 |issue =1 |pages = 12–24|publisher = British Ecological Society |date =May 1941 |jstor = 1339|doi = 10.2307/1339}}
Tributaries
The main tributaries of the River Dyfi are:
- Afon Leri at Ynyslas
- Afon Clettwr north of Tre'r Ddol
- Nant y Gog at Eglwys Fach
- Afon Einion at between Eglyws Fach and Glandyfi
- Afon Llyfnant at Glandyfi
- North Dulas at Ffridd Gate
- South Dulas east of Machynlleth
- Afon Ceirig at Mathafarn
- Afon Twymyn upstream of Cemmaes Road (Glantwymyn)
- Afon Angell at Aberangell
- Afon Cleifion at Mallwyd
- Afon Cerist at Dinas Mawddwy
- Afon Cywarch at Aber-Cywarch
Notable bridges
Dyfi Biosphere
{{Main|Dyfi Biosphere}}
The area around Aberystwyth and the Dyfi Valley is known as the Dyfi Biosphere ({{langx|cy|Biosffer Dyfi}}). It was UNESCO-designated in 1978.{{cite book |author1=Danielle Sinnett |author2=Nick Smith |author3=Sarah Burgess |title=Handbook on Green Infrastructure: Planning, Design and Implementation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SnThCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA359 |via=books.google.com |date=27 November 2015 |publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing |isbn=978-1-78347-400-4 |pages=359– |access-date=22 October 2023}}{{cite web |url=http://www.dyfibiosphere.wales/ |title=The Dyfi Biosphere website |work=www.dyfibiosphere.wales |access-date=22 October 2023}} Within the biosphere are a number of Special Areas of Conservation and Sites of Special Scientific Interest (Cors Fochno, Coed Cwm Einion and Pen Llŷn a’r Sarnau).
In March 2021, Natural Resources Wales (NRW) granted Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust a licence to release a family of beavers into an enclosure within the Dyfi Wildlife Centre (Cors Dyfi), the first officially licensed release of beavers in Wales.{{cite news |publisher=BBC News |date=30 March 2021 |last=Grug|first=Mari |title=Licensed beavers released in Wales for the first time |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-56565050 |access-date=31 March 2021}}
Beavers have not yet been released under licence into the wild into the Dyfi catchment, but a licence application is being developed by the Welsh Beaver Project (North Wales Wildlife Trust/Wildlife Trusts Wales) for submission to Natural Resources Wales.
There is a small population of beavers already living wild within the Dyfi catchment whose origins are unclear.
The estuary is known for its saltmarshes.{{cite Q|Q101668938}}{{cite Q|Q101668944}}
Film Location
The Dyfi estuary was used as a location shot in Led Zeppelin's 1976 film The Song Remains the Same. The segment of the film is where Robert Plant comes ashore on a boat, after which he rides a horse, making his way to Raglan Castle. The band's Bron-Yr-Aur cottage is located on the edge of Machynlleth.
In Print
In 2022 Jim Perrin published an essay on the River Dyfi in “Rivers of Wales” (Gwasg Garreg Gwalch).{{Cite web |last=Perrin |first=Jim |date=22 July 2022 |title=Rivers of Wales |url=http://www.theatre-wales.co.uk/reviews/reviews_details.asp?reviewID=5181|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203081550/http://www.theatre-wales.co.uk/reviews/reviews_details.asp?reviewID=5181|url-status=dead|archive-date=3 February 2023}}