Part of the River Taff, running through Cardiff
A
weir and footbridge over the River Taff (Cardiff)
The
River Taff () is a large
river in
Wales. It rises as two rivers in the
Brecon Beacons — the
Taf Fechan (
Little Taff) and the Taf Fawr (
Big Taff) — before joining to form the Taff north of
Merthyr Tydfil. The river supports a number of
migratory fish, including
salmon, sea
trout, and
eel.
Taf Fawr
The Taf Fawr rises below
Corn Du, south-west of
Pen y Fan and flows south through
Beacons Reservoir,
Cantref Reservoir and
Llwyn-on Reservoir.
Tributaries
Nant Ffrwd and Taf Fechan
Underneath
Cefn Viaduct, the
Nant Ffrwd emerges into the river from a deep, narrow gorge. To the south of Cefn Coed-y-Cymer, the Taf Fechan and Taf Fawr merge at the wooded
confluence that gives
Cefn Coed-y-Cymer its name.
Nant Morlais and Nant Rhydycar
The Taff continues south through the centre of
Merthyr Tydfil, where it is joined by the
Nant Morlais which emerges at
Abermorlais from a culvert in the east bank. Just south of Merthyr weir, the
Nant Rhydycar joins.
Taf Bargoed
South of Merthyr, the Taff begins to
meander its way between
Pentrebach and
Abercanaid and through
Troedyrhiw,
Merthyr Vale and
Aberfan towards
Quakers Yard. At Quakers Yard the river has cut a sharp incised meander, locally known as "Fiddler's Elbow". It is here that the third of the three Taffs, the
Taff Bargoed joins the main river.
Cynon and Rhondda
At
Abercynon, it is joined by the
Cynon river, and at
Pontypridd it is joined by the
Rhondda river. From Pontypridd, it runs roughly south, through
Taff's Well and
Radyr, before arriving at the northern boundary of the city of
Cardiff in
Llandaff.
Mouth of the Taff
In Cardiff, the natural course of the river was changed during the 19th century; from
Cardiff Castle it now follows an artificial riverbed west of where it previously flowed, now following a path through
Bute Park and next to the
Cardiff Arms Park and the former National Stadium, now the
Millennium Stadium, and into
Cardiff Bay, which has now become an artificial lake due to the construction of a
barrage across the mouth of this river and the
River Ely It then flows out into the
Severn estuary.
Taffy as nickname
The term "Taffy", used as a nickname for people from Cardiff and by extension from anywhere in Wales, is sometimes thought to originate from the name of the river. It may be seen as slightly derogatory. Alternatively, however, the term may have originated from "Dafydd" (David) which a popular Welsh first name.