Pistyll Rhaeadr

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Pistyll Rhaeadr
Montgomeryshire, Denbighshire

Pistyll Rhaeadr
River: River Disgynfa
Fall: 240 feet
Co-ordinates: 52°51’18"N, 3°22’43"W

Pistyll Rhaeadr (meaning "spring of the waterfall") is a waterfall on the border of Denbighshire and Montgomeryshire located a few miles from the village of Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant, twelve miles west of Oswestry.

Description

Pistyll Rhaeadr is formed by the River Disgynfa, which forms the border between the two counties, falling in three stages, over a 240-foot Silurian cliff-face.[1] The tallest of the stages is estimated at about 130 feet.[2] It is counted as one of the Seven Wonders of Wales and is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Below the falls the river is known as the River Rhaeadr.

The fall contains a natural arch in the midst of the drop, through which the water plunges.

The 19th-century author George Borrow, in his book Wild Wales, remarked of the waterfall:

What shall I liken it to? I scarcely know, unless it is to an immense skein of silk agitated and disturbed by tempestuous blasts, or to the long tail of a grey courser at furious speed. I never saw water falling so gracefully, so much like thin, beautiful threads as here.

There is car parking space at the foot of the waterfall for people who want to explore the waterfall, with a café and a B&B alongside.

The waterfall is often referred to by the media,[3][4] government sources,[5] and other sources[6] as the tallest in Wales or the tallest single drop in the United Kingdom.[7] However, it is not a single drop, and both its single drop height and its total height are surpassed by both the Devil's Appendix and Pistyll y Llyn, as well as several other waterfalls.[8][9]

Outside links

References

  1. "Kerry Ridgeway". Walking in Mid-Wales and the Brecon Beacons. Powys Council Tourism Services Unit. p. 27. http://www.tourism.powys.gov.uk/brochures/Powys-Walks-Booklet.pdf. Retrieved 1 September 2009. 
  2. "Wales 2008". http://www.cavinguk.co.uk/holidays/Wales2008/water/. Retrieved 9 September 2009. 
  3. "Waterfall 1000th on protected list". BBC News. 22 May 2000. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/757921.stm. Retrieved 9 September 2009. 
  4. "Times Walks: Pistyll Rhaeadr, Wales". Times Online (London). 25 April 2009. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/travel/walks/article6160349.ece. Retrieved 9 September 2009. 
  5. "Kerry Ridgeway". Walking in Mid-Wales and the Brecon Beacons. Powys Council Tourism Services Unit. p. 27. http://www.tourism.powys.gov.uk/brochures/Powys-Walks-Booklet.pdf. Retrieved 1 September 2009. 
  6. "Pistyll Rhaeadr". http://www.placesonline.com/europe/uk_wales/powys/nature_and_sport/pistyll_rhaeadr.asp. Retrieved 9 September 2009. 
  7. "Pistyll Rhaeadr". http://www.pistyllrhaeadr.co.uk/. Retrieved 9 September 2009. 
  8. Des Marshall (2009). Walking to Mid Wales' Waterfalls. Machynlleth, Wales: Kittiwake. pp. 1, 2. ISBN 978-1-902302-69-0. 
  9. "The tallest waterfalls in Wales". http://www.cavinguk.co.uk/holidays/waterfalls/Tallest.html. Retrieved 4 February 2010.