River Teifi

The River Teifi rises at Llyn Teifi in the Elenydd hills of northern Ceredigion, 455 metres above sea level. It flows past Strata Florida Abbey, a 12th-century Cistercian house with encaustic tiles still visible on the floor. After leaving the uplands it passes Cors Caron, a wide peat bog where red bog moss grows among the sedges. The river then winds through farmland, receiving small tributaries that carve rocky gorges and tree-lined channels. The Teifi is one of Wales’s longest rivers entirely within the country, measuring 122 kilometres. Naturalists once recorded water-crowfoot, Atlantic salmon, otters and wetland birds along its banks. Bottlenose dolphins have been seen where the river meets Cardigan Bay. The gorge between Llechryd and Cilgerran is steep-sided and thickly wooded, with wood-rush under the canopy. The river is protected as a Site of Special Scientific Interest covering 773 hectares. Visitors can walk the riverbank paths from Tregaron to Newcastle Emlyn, passing old coracle fishing spots. At Cenarth a weir and ancient coracle tradition remain, though licences are rare today. The estuary below Cardigan broadens to sandy beaches at Poppit and Gwbert where the Teifi meets the sea.