Cenarth Falls

Cenarth Falls is a series of cascades on the River Teifi, just above the road bridge in the village of Cenarth. The village sits where three Welsh counties meet: Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire. The falls form the first major obstacle that salmon and sea trout meet on their journey upstream to spawn. Their leaping at the falls draws visitors each autumn when the fish are most active. The setting is a wooded valley that adds to the natural beauty of the scene. The site has been important since the 13th century when a water-powered mill was first recorded there in 1298. The present mill building dates from the late 18th century and operated until 1939. Water was diverted from behind the falls to power another mill upstream during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The mill was restored between 1954 and 1964 and again in the mid-1980s to become a tourist attraction. It still contains a full set of late 18th- and early 19th-century mill machinery. Visitors find the falls and the old mill set in a quiet wooded valley. The path along the riverbank allows clear views of the cascades and the leaping fish in autumn. The restored mill building houses displays of historic machinery and offers a glimpse of past industry. The surrounding woodland and the nearby Henllan Falls provide peaceful walks upstream. The dramatic 1878 painting of the falls by Frank Miles is now in Nottingham City Museum.