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Sunken bridge reappears during record dry spell

Nicholas Bourne
BBC News
Getty Images Two-arch stone bridge emerges in a largely dry bed forming part of today's reservoirGetty Images
Getty Images Aerial drone view looking down on the bridge and a wider dry expanse of the bed of the reservoir, surrounded by trees Getty Images
The bridge, thought to date to about 1800, was lost to a reservoir in 1911
The bridge formerly carried a mountain road, now the A470, over the River Taf Fawr, according to records

An old stone bridge which was submerged during construction of a reservoir a century ago has made a rare appearance following a record dry spell.

The bridge, thought to date from around 1800, has laid beneath the water of Merthyr Tydfil's Llwyn-On reservoir since 1911, according to Coflein, the National Monuments Record of Wales.

However, the two-arched structure has re-emerged during other dry periods, including in July 2022 and April 1976.

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) said March was the driest since 1944 and, as further warm, dry conditions returned in May, Wales received only 59% of its expected rainfall, making it one of the driest three month periods on record.

NRW has said the majority of Wales' river flows were currently low or exceptionally low, while Welsh Water and Hafren Dyfrdwy have reported lower levels in some reservoirs than would be expected at this time of year.

Wales Drought Liaison Group, including NRW, water firms, the Welsh government, Met Office, Public Health Wales, farming unions and local authorities, has stepped up monitoring across the nation amid consumer advice to not waste water.

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