A TALE OF FOUR RIVERS
A different type of article this month - A bit of childhood history and lessons from my past - A change of pace from my usual musings on artificial intelligence, research, business, and technology. Hope you enjoy!
I have been doing a lot of walking and cardio training for my 21-mile hike across the Gower for Marie Curie taking place in September. This whole journey has been inspired by treks as a child, especially walking with our late brother, Chris Davies. Most of these walks always ended up in some way related to the rivers near our home. I was blessed to grow up in Llandovery’s Maesglas and Llanfair Roads, which were steps away from the River Bran. On a treadmill of all places this week, I felt compelled to write down this time in history, and I know it is a story shared by many of the Llandovery community.
The Waterfall at Llandovery’s River Bran - 40 years ago, I was holding my breath on the other side of those rocks
For this article, I want to thank Derek Jones of the Facebook group Love Llandovery and all participants in the group for their wonderful stories and memories. What I have written here is a love letter for our childhood growing up in the area, friends and family no longer with us, and the sheer adventure of living in such a marvellous community.
You can check out Love Llandovery here:
https://www.facebook.com/LoveLlandovery/
Important to say, fair reader, that this article is based on, in the main, my recollection of the time, and if you have a different take, I would love to hear from you. Memory plays tricks as it always does, but in this era of ChatGPT and all sorts of fakery, I want to make sure that stories such as these live on and I believe are worth telling.
One of my recurring dreams is of water flowing over me on a very warm Welsh summer’s day, as I hold my breath as long as possible whilst keeping myself held down by holding rocks in Llandovery’s River Bran.
Appropriately, the kids who swam there called the stretch of water ‘The Waterfall’. In the early to mid 80’s, extensive work was carried out on the river to provide flood defences for the community. I saw it as Welsh Water adding features to my own water park. For generations, Llandovery was plagued by regular and often severe flooding. The floods would stretch the whole town from the Swan Bridge on the Brecon Road across the High Street towards the Castle. The work carried out by Dwr Cyrmu was to shore up the community’s flood defences, but for me, it added a whole raft of special features and new depths to my favourite waterway.
I never forget heading out during flooding and seeing the landscape completely submerged and the heroics of the local fire brigade, my late dad Brian Davies, two uncles Eddie Rees and Llanfair Davies, plus many cousins and friends in attendance attempting to hold back the deluge.
Should have warned you about the partial nudity..
Llandovery sits at the meeting point of several rivers and streams, which is one reason why flooding has been a recurring issue throughout the town's history.
These four rivers are:
River Tywi
The Tywi (Towy) is the main river flowing through Llandovery and is the longest river entirely within Wales. It rises in the Cambrian Mountains and passes through Llandovery before continuing towards Llandeilo and Carmarthen.
River Brân
The Brân, which was my childhood haunt, joins the Tywi at Llandovery. Much of the town developed around this confluence. During periods of heavy rainfall, water backing up from the Tywi can affect the Brân and increase flood risk.
Afon Gwydderig
A smaller tributary which flows into the Brân just upstream of its junction with the Tywi. Although less well known, it contributes to local flood levels during severe weather.
Nant Bawddwr
A stream running through part of the town which has caused significant localised flooding problems over the years, particularly around Cilycwm Road and lower-lying areas. Modern flood planning documents still identify it as a flood risk.
I am proud to be a Son of the Bawddwr, which is the designation for a child born within the town limits, and a claim to fame is that I was told that I was one of the last, if not ‘the’ last child officially born in Llandovery’s maternity unit, as relayed to me by my late aunt Glenys Davies, a long standing nurse at the hospital.
Although I know children born since, so I won’t get into it at a pub debate! Equally, I may want to hide the fact that they closed the maternity unit after I arrived.
Besides being a Son of the Bawddwr. I can reveal that one of my childhood nicknames was Water Baby! As I lived in the river. I really did, looking back, I probably owe council tax. No sooner had the weather turned warmer in Spring, I looked for an opportunity to be allowed to head over the river. I remember in school being asked, as if I was the arbitrator of when to go, when was the best time to go over to swim! For me, it was May to September.
Mam always used to say ‘never cast a clout till May is out’ which I clearly never listened to, as I remember heading over in the May bank holidays.
The Water Baby.. sorry more nudity..
Going further back to the 70’s. Growing up in 33 Maesglas, we often headed over as soon as we could to the Bran via that lovely little fenced stretch between the street and the river. My brother Adrian remembers that there was always fresh mint on the path as we tried (mostly failed) to avoid nettles as we climbed over the fence to get to the river.
From there, the stretch of water began for us. There are several Kodachrome pictures of me with my naked bum paddling in the river, which I will spare my own blushes and not share those shots here, but there are even better photos of picnics, sat with loved ones long gone on the riverbank. I will never forget mammy making the saltiest Tomato sandwiches that were like food of the Gods after hours playing in the river and cool watered-down orange squash.
The area was almost a private playground for our adventures.
As I mentioned, the community called the stretches of the river by their own wonderful evocative names. I have mentioned Waterfall, I want to claim that as my own invention after the works carried out by Dwr Cymru, but as innovative names go, hardly the best, so I won’t die on a rock arguing that as my own invention.
The community on the Facebook group Love Llandovery were kind enough to remind me (and in some cases reveal) the other marvellous names for the rivers, including:
Devils Drop, which was a very ominous little bend in the river. A tree stump that was often the launch point of several improvised rope swings. As an adult, I would imagine the actual depth being only about 7/8ft if that. However, as kids, it was like the Mariana Trench. I was chuffed for weeks that the 10yr old me managed to dive to the bottom of it. I will never forget my disappointment returning for a stroll in the 90’s there to see that over time, the river flow had moved, and it became a shallow area. One of the locations of my finest achievements became a puddle. I remember as kids we used to dare each other to run across a stretch in the bank that had subsided over the years. Most of the time I would skid on my backside into the aforementioned tree stump with the boys falling over themselves laughing.
Other locations from Love Llandovery include The Castle (you guessed it.. the river by The Castle), Llwynjack Sunny Banks which was great for jumping off into the water, Washpool, Iron Mask, Blackpool, Sandy Banks (some differences of opinion if the same as Sunny Banks), Chain Bridge (which I always found ludicrously cold and would make Wim Hof shrivel), Mens Pool, Dolauhirion Bridge, Girls Pool, Straights, Crown Bridge, Coll Shalls and Junction Pool which was next level as adjacent to Llyn Brianne Dam. Appreciate old news for the Llandovery community, but for friends reading unfamiliar with the location, the dam is a major man-made reservoir that was built by Wimpey and completed in 1972. The site was opened on 15th May 1973 by Princess Alexandra.
Damned if you do.. Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=54055
The purpose of the dam is to:
Regulate the flow of the River Tywi.
Store winter rainfall.
Release water during dry periods.
Provide a reliable drinking water supply to South Wales, including Swansea, Neath, Port Talbot and parts of Cardiff.
It also provides some of the fastest and coldest stretches of water in South Wales. It also features one of the largest slipways for the water flow in the world, which has been subsequently co-opted by daredevils ridiculously and illegally over the years for stunt work from skateboarding to rafting down it. Rather them than me!
As a river community, there has always been a healthy mindset to teach the youth to swim. I would imagine the building of the dam doubly so. Impressively, parents in the Llandovery community were quick to ensure that their children were strong swimmers, and I must thank my parents, Brian and Vi Davies, for that, and of course my lovely brothers Chris and Adrian and sister Gail for making sure their little brother learned early. Plus, a good opportunity to thank those who organised regular bus trips to Brecon Swimming Pool (never forget the ice-cold seriously carbonised cola from the drinks machines there) and Sennybridge (we loved going there as they had an air hockey machine), to ensure that we had as much practice as possible. I remember being supported swimming there by off-duty forces staff, and not a stretch to think, based on the camp legacy, that we were taught by most likely special forces!
I also recall Mr Bill Perry and then the Three Horseshoes Pub organising these incredible weekly bus trips for which I am eternally grateful for the fun, memories and lifelong love of water. This all took place way before there was a pool in Llandovery, and it was at a time when we were all fundraising for one, but that’s another story.
Many summers it became a ritual for me to try and float as far as I could down the river. Dad taught me the trick of being able to float on my back by how you breathe when I was very young. So, I would walk as far as possible towards Devils Drop and beyond to start floating down river, and I would usually end up close to the Swan Bridge. I would climb over each waterfall or break to carry on. I will never forget the bemused looks as people walking their dogs would double-take as this still lump with goggles floated past them down the river.
I will never forget the time that Mark Jones, my old partner in crime, and I decided after school one day to go swimming in the Castle River on the evening of one of the fiercest thunderstorms in Llandovery history. I want to thank his dad, the lovely gent Billy Jones, for wisely asking us politely to get the hell out of the water immediately.
I have to thank Mr Jones for still being alive and not charred to a crisp by a lightning bolt.
I smiled when I was reminded of how generous Sammy Tyres (Stuart Davies) has been over the years, providing the kids with inner tubes (https://www.llandoverytyres.com/). I have loved reading the stories of how different variations of tubes were tied together, and besides that, let’s not forget that Llandovery has for generations hosted a classic raft race.
This particular write-up on Love Llandovery by Gerald Evans was so evocative of the time and indeed, before my time on that stretch of river.
I’m just going to copy and paste here:
“Loved river swimming, started when in Juniors at Llandovery School. Initially we’d go to the Towy pool about 150 yards up from Chainbridge; Girls Pool it was called. Learned to swim there; the first goggles I had were cut out of an old rubber WW2 Gas Mask. The pool had rapids leading into it. We had blown-up tyre tubes, pretend divers diving to the bottom to pick things up. My last day in Primary School was during very hot sunny weather, so I/we mitched school and had a lovely day by the river. We’d start a fire on the stony riverside & cook potatoes on it, yummy. Eventually graduated to the deeper wider pool higher up the river, opposite the Tonn Farm, Fordy it was called, due to the body of an Old Ford car having been put on the Tonn side to support the collapsing bank. Great fun there, as his grandson has said, remember Billy Manning coming there swimming; he was an excellent swimmer plus he could hold his breath far longer than us, he’d swim back and forth the width of the river underwater, quite a few times back and forth. I’d be doing well to go across once, then have to surface for air. It was a very popular pool for swimmers, us kids & adults. We also, on a few occasions, went up to Dolauhirion Bridge and entered the Towy below it; we’d swim down river a short distance to a dark deep pool known as Black Pool; we’d head to the left bank to exit. New owners of the Tonn then prevented swimming there & at Girl’s Pool, for fishing I believe. We then went swimming at college shallows, nice pool & rapids leading to it. Eventually I/we moved to a lovely pool leading into & below Llwynjack Railway Bridge. It also became very popular. I did go a few times in the Bran, behind Maesglas, enjoyable swims although Bran narrower than the Towy, very popular there with mainly us children. Can’t offhand remember what the local kids called that pool or area, think it was Dolau they said. After leaving school and for years afterwards, I’d go for a swim, sometimes Coll Shalls, sometimes by Llwynjack Bridge. Swimming in indoor public-type swimming pools never appealed to me; too many conditions to have to comply with, lacked fun & your own initiative.”
Thanks, Gerald, for your memories, and it really took me back.
Were we wise? Hell no.
Would we get away with it today? Not sure, I hope that there is still a rebellious streak with the youth when it comes to rivers. Of course, there were the stories which were mostly true of the mysterious dead sheep, danger of being garroted by Nightlines (fishing lines strategically placed to catch fish out of sight and often out of the eyes of the water bailiffs who were effectively the waterway FBI who would come down on you like a ton of bricks if poaching), deadly eels.. I remember knocking a nest when swimming and being surrounded by them, which haunts me to this day, and I think accounts for my fear of snakes. Which is the only thing me and Indiana Jones have in common, but I do have a nice fedora. Countless pieces of debris at the bottom of the rivers that could apparently kill us stone dead, including cars, sharp sticks and stakes, glass, stones, bikes, and of course radiation from Chernobyl.
Ultimately, mostly untrue, and what was true was that they were cautionary tales to make sure that the rebellious youth were at least a bit careful or sensible.
I loved looking back writing this piece and remembering friends asking me over to their farms to check out their own stretches of rivers for swimming. For a while there, I felt like the Man from Del Monte when it came to swimming spots, and good lord, there are days I miss truly that, and this being one of them. I would often venture out to the mysterious Llangadog Common (shallow and not much fun unfortunately) and Glanrhyd, which was exciting but sadly was the scene of a terrible train accident in October 1987 (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-41637278). For a little while, Chris, our brother, lived in the station house there and it was a remarkable location.
Spending most of my career in offices, I often look out the window and wonder where the swimming spots are! In all my travels, that objective is still in my DNA! Beyond that, family trips to Aberaeron, New Quay, Barry and the like made us all feel like Jacques Cousteau living the life aquatic. So many stories to tell about those trips another time. Although I now live near Glynneath and I hope to bump into Max Boyce just to tell him that it was mandatory for us as we hit Aberaeron in the car to say “I saw the sea and I want to pee”.
One thing that has made me smile too, writing this article, was the reminder that for a generation, we were fearless.
The River Bran last week.. No not really.. showing a bit of Llandovery river fearlessness on a jetski in Thailand
I am very open and have talked extensively about my own mental health journey. I am in a great place now but for a long time, I was functioning but just about holding it together.
After we suddenly lost our brother Chris in 2024, I was provided help by Marie Curie who supported with counselling sessions to get me back to an even keel. Their work is remarkable, and I have been at their service for fundraising and to talk about my journey. Indeed, back in February 2026, I was honored to talk at The Senedd on this topic.
The gruesome twosome!
I walked 12 miles of the Gower coast in 2025, and this year on September 5th, I am training hard to go back for the full 21 miles. If you have enjoyed this article, please consider checking out my story here:
https://www.justgiving.com/page/tyrone-davies-2
Please share and donate if you can.
As part of my counselling journey, which has included my own training in the field, reminded me to tap into this fearlessness once more. A reminder that there are no second chances in life and the best is yet to come.
I hope this story has resonated with you, if so, please message me on the socials or drop me an email at tydavies@gmail.com. I will write a book ‘one day’ of all these stories, as I did tell my parents when they were still with us that I would write a book about our family as it’s an incredible story and journey. For now, I am enjoying writing the occasional article which will lead to a book.
In the time since, I have grown, have my own family, travelled extensively, and I have worked (indeed walked) across the world. Telling stories such as this, and especially to our son Ryan. We often joke..
..was it ‘really’ like that, as bucolic and as adventurous as my memory is making out..
No..
It was better than that.
Ty Davies - 7th June 2026
Back in the Bran a few years back in 2024.. with my brother Adrian not a bit surprised..
