During our brief visit of Wales, a friend took us to Elan Valley to see the system of dams supplying water to Birmingham, which is 118 km away. The Elan valley is among the first places on Earth with the most rainfall during the year, and that´s why it is worth it even despite the distance. The system of the dams and reservoirs was opened by King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra in 1904. The architecture of the dams, as well as the surrounding nature, made it a popular place to visit, to walk around or just to spend time and have a picnic.
First we went to see the Pen y garreg dam from below and from above as well. Then we followed the trail along Garreg-ddu Reservoir with beautifull views of the nature and the greenest slopes I have ever seen. We were very lucky with weather, it started raining just after we left the valley 🙂 Then we passed by the Garreg-ddu Dam, which can be crosseed and leads to a nice church. Staying on the same side still, we continued to Caban Coch Dam and to the visitor center with interesting exhibition about the whole system of dams. Then after picnic lunch, we also checked out the Elan Village which used to house workers from the building of the dams and is build in the same architectonical style (called Birmingham Baroque) as the dams. Here are a few pictures to show the beauty of the valley.
