Pentwyn Reservoir
Pentwyn Reservoir is part of the larger Pontsticill Reservoir or Taf Fechan Reservoir and is a large reservoir on the Taf Fechan lying partly in the county of Powys and partly within the county borough of Merthyr Tydfil in south Wales. It lies within the Brecon Beacons National Park and Fforest Fawr Geopark.
The 110 ft high embankment has, since its completion in 1927, been holding back 3400 million gallons of water for supply to industry and population to the south. The modern reservoir incorporates this earlier Pentwyn Reservoir (sometimes referred to as Dol-y-gaer Reservoir or Lake) which suffered major water losses after completion due to the presence of major fractures in the bedrock beneath its dam relating to the Neath Disturbance, a major geological fault which runs northeast to southwest through the area.
The reservoir is popular with sailors, anglers and picnickers. The Taff Trail has been developed for walkers and cyclists and runs through the woods on the opposite western side of the Reservoir. Merthyr Tydfil sailing club is based on the eastern bank and the Brecon Mountain Railway which runs up its eastern side from Pant Station to Torpantau. This steam railway runs on the route of the former Brecon and Merthyr Railway.
Most of the banks of the reservoir have been heavily afforested by Welsh Water though management of these woods is undertaken by the Forestry Commission on behalf of the company.
The blooms on the foreground are rosebay willowherb (also known as fireweed mainly in North America), which is a perennial herbaceous plant in the willowherb family Onagraceae. It is native throughout the temperate Northern Hemisphere, including large parts of the boreal forests.
This herb is often abundant in wet calcareous to slightly acidic soils in open fields, pastures, and particularly burned-over lands; the name Fireweed derives from the species' abundance as a coloniser on burnt sites after forest fires. Its tendency to quickly colonize open areas with little competition, such as sites of forest fires and forest clearings, makes it a clear example of a pioneer species. Plants grow and flower as long as there is open space and plenty of light. As trees and brush grow larger the plants die out, but the seeds remain viable in the soil seed bank for many years; when a new fire or other disturbance occurs that opens up the ground to light again, the seeds germinate. Some areas with heavy seed counts in the soil can, after burning, be covered with pure dense stands of this species and when in flower the landscape is turned into fields of color.
In Britain the plant was considered a rare species in the 18th century, and one confined to a few locations with damp, gravelly soils. It was misidentified as Great Hairy Willowherb in contemporary floras. The plant's rise from local rarity to widespread weed seems to have occurred at the same time as the expansion of the railway network, and the associated soil disturbance. The plant became locally known as bombweed due to its rapid colonization of bomb craters in the second world war.
The Brecon Beacons National Park was established in 1957, the third of the three Welsh parks after Snowdonia in 1951 and the Pembrokeshire Coast in 1952. It stretches from Llandeilo in the west to Hay-on-Wye in the northeast and Pontypool in the southeast, covering 519 square miles (1344 km², 332 100 acres) and encompassing four main regions - the Black Mountain in the west, Fforest Fawr (Great Forest) and the Brecon Beacons in the centre, and the confusingly named Black Mountains in the east. The western half gained European and Global status in 2005 as Fforest Fawr Geopark. This includes the Black Mountain, the historic extent of Fforest Fawr, and much of the Brecon Beacons and surrounding lowlands.
The entire National Park achieved the status of being an International Dark Sky Reserve in February 2013.
Most of the National Park is bare, grassy moorland grazed by Welsh mountain ponies and Welsh mountain sheep, with scattered forestry plantations, and pasture in the valleys. It is known for its remote reservoirs, waterfalls including the 90 foot (or 27 metre) Henrhyd Waterfall and the falls at Ystradfellte, and its caves, such as Ogof Ffynnon Ddu. The Brecon Beacons Mountain Centre was opened in 1966 to help visitors understand and enjoy the area.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontsticill_Reservoir
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chamerion_angustifolium
Pentwyn Reservoir
Pentwyn Reservoir is part of the larger Pontsticill Reservoir or Taf Fechan Reservoir and is a large reservoir on the Taf Fechan lying partly in the county of Powys and partly within the county borough of Merthyr Tydfil in south Wales. It lies within the Brecon Beacons National Park and Fforest Fawr Geopark.
The 110 ft high embankment has, since its completion in 1927, been holding back 3400 million gallons of water for supply to industry and population to the south. The modern reservoir incorporates this earlier Pentwyn Reservoir (sometimes referred to as Dol-y-gaer Reservoir or Lake) which suffered major water losses after completion due to the presence of major fractures in the bedrock beneath its dam relating to the Neath Disturbance, a major geological fault which runs northeast to southwest through the area.
The reservoir is popular with sailors, anglers and picnickers. The Taff Trail has been developed for walkers and cyclists and runs through the woods on the opposite western side of the Reservoir. Merthyr Tydfil sailing club is based on the eastern bank and the Brecon Mountain Railway which runs up its eastern side from Pant Station to Torpantau. This steam railway runs on the route of the former Brecon and Merthyr Railway.
Most of the banks of the reservoir have been heavily afforested by Welsh Water though management of these woods is undertaken by the Forestry Commission on behalf of the company.
The blooms on the foreground are rosebay willowherb (also known as fireweed mainly in North America), which is a perennial herbaceous plant in the willowherb family Onagraceae. It is native throughout the temperate Northern Hemisphere, including large parts of the boreal forests.
This herb is often abundant in wet calcareous to slightly acidic soils in open fields, pastures, and particularly burned-over lands; the name Fireweed derives from the species' abundance as a coloniser on burnt sites after forest fires. Its tendency to quickly colonize open areas with little competition, such as sites of forest fires and forest clearings, makes it a clear example of a pioneer species. Plants grow and flower as long as there is open space and plenty of light. As trees and brush grow larger the plants die out, but the seeds remain viable in the soil seed bank for many years; when a new fire or other disturbance occurs that opens up the ground to light again, the seeds germinate. Some areas with heavy seed counts in the soil can, after burning, be covered with pure dense stands of this species and when in flower the landscape is turned into fields of color.
In Britain the plant was considered a rare species in the 18th century, and one confined to a few locations with damp, gravelly soils. It was misidentified as Great Hairy Willowherb in contemporary floras. The plant's rise from local rarity to widespread weed seems to have occurred at the same time as the expansion of the railway network, and the associated soil disturbance. The plant became locally known as bombweed due to its rapid colonization of bomb craters in the second world war.
The Brecon Beacons National Park was established in 1957, the third of the three Welsh parks after Snowdonia in 1951 and the Pembrokeshire Coast in 1952. It stretches from Llandeilo in the west to Hay-on-Wye in the northeast and Pontypool in the southeast, covering 519 square miles (1344 km², 332 100 acres) and encompassing four main regions - the Black Mountain in the west, Fforest Fawr (Great Forest) and the Brecon Beacons in the centre, and the confusingly named Black Mountains in the east. The western half gained European and Global status in 2005 as Fforest Fawr Geopark. This includes the Black Mountain, the historic extent of Fforest Fawr, and much of the Brecon Beacons and surrounding lowlands.
The entire National Park achieved the status of being an International Dark Sky Reserve in February 2013.
Most of the National Park is bare, grassy moorland grazed by Welsh mountain ponies and Welsh mountain sheep, with scattered forestry plantations, and pasture in the valleys. It is known for its remote reservoirs, waterfalls including the 90 foot (or 27 metre) Henrhyd Waterfall and the falls at Ystradfellte, and its caves, such as Ogof Ffynnon Ddu. The Brecon Beacons Mountain Centre was opened in 1966 to help visitors understand and enjoy the area.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontsticill_Reservoir
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chamerion_angustifolium