Sgwd Einion-Gam - the Hidden Falls

I recently revisited many of the waterfalls of the Upper Neath Valley area with my friend Mark Poole. Our exploration of the Afon (River) Mellte and Hepste turned into a very wet day. I must thank Mark for the time he spent holding a fleece over both me and my camera whilst I attempted to wipe the water off the lens long enough to get a decent picture. One of the results of this is the picture of Sgwd Clun Isaf seen below on the right.

The weather the next morning was much better and we decided to start with a visit to Henrhyd Falls. These are a 10 minute walk from easy parking just outside the village of Henrhyd – the parking is at map reference 853121 on sheet OL12. These falls are of considerable height and have a beautiful shape. Although it was not raining, it might as well have been as the spray from the falls soon covered the lens. This time I could not get Mark to protect the lens, as he had to do the modeling behind the falls. See the picture at bottom left.

These were all falls that I knew well previously. But the jewel in the crown was yet to come, the hidden falls of Sgwd Einion-Gam. Parking is found beside the road in Pontneddfechan, near to the waterfalls visitor centre – map reference 901077 on OL12. The river valleys above, the Afon Nedd Fechan the Afon Pyrddin, have plenty of falls and well defined paths. We walked straight to Sgwd Gwladus (Lady Falls) on the Pyrddin without too much trouble. Sgwd Einion-Gam is to be found around half a mile further upriver, but getting there can be more troublesome. It involves 5 river crossings, which would be little problem in low water. However, on this day we struggled to keep out of the water. There were just traces of path, and you need to make a judgment as to when the time has come to cross the river. I found that my walking poles were a real help in balancing across the well spaced and slippery rocks, but Mark eventually got wet boots and legs, so from then on he just walked straight through the river! There is a short awkward rock scramble just before the falls.

Sgwd Einion-Gam is well worth the effort. See the picture above and below centre.