Day 22 - Melincourt Fall

Neath Valley, South Wales

Section of an eight vertical shot panorama of the nearly dry Melincourt Fall

It was a cold, frosty morning, but I chose to go out later instead. Missing the bright blue skies, by the time I went out it had started raining, so a waterfall was the obvious choice. Although I'd grabbed my waterproof jacket, I foolishly forgot to bring my brolly-pod, and I only had my digital camera with me. Luckily I found a plastic bag in the boot of my car and so I managed to rig up a makeshift waterproof cover for my G3.

Although the end of October is approaching, most of the leaves on the trees are still green, in spite of the large numbers of fallen leaves that litter the valley floor. These are making the riverbeds very interesting at the moment, although there's still very little water in them after the long dry spell.

The Melincourt Fall is located in a small gorge half way up the Neath Valley, near Resolven. It's not far from the Ystradfellte Falls but is quite separate, both physically and geologically. It's only a short stroll from the road though, so is easily accessible. Unfortunately it's looking pretty pathetic at the moment with so little water in the river, but the surroundings are atmospheric anyway, so it's still a nice place to visit.

The plastic bag was fiddly to use but did it's job keeping the rain off. The overcast, rainy light gave good results, and I took an eight shot 180 degree panorama of the scene, part of which is shown above. The fall is eighty foot high and very impressive in full spate, unlike the sad spectacle above. I'll return after the rains have arrived.

Distance: 1.1km - Ascent: 30m - Effort Rating: 1.4 - Duration: 37 minutes