Llyn Brianne
The Llyn Brianne dam is the highest dam in Britain at 300ft in height, situated north of Llandovery on the borders of the counties of Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire and Powys. It was was originally built to satisfy the growing demands of heavy industry in and around Swansea for water, notably the tin plate works at Felindre and a smelting plant at Llansamlet. Both of these have since closed down and water from Llyn Brianne is now supplied across South and West Wales and as far east as Cardiff. The three turbines at the base of the dam generate around 4.3MW during the winter months.
Llyn Brianne is set in beautiful and dramatic scenery, an ideal place to stop for a picnic, go fishing or to explore the area on foot or by bicycle (there are a number of way marked trails and also incorporated rides suitable for all cyclists). Near Rhandir-mwyn is an RSPB nature reserve which is a good place to spot Red Kites.
The massive spillway at Llyn Brianne was recently made famous by some kayakers who filmed themselves going down it at crazy speeds, there is now CCTV in place to try to prevent that happening again.
Llyn Brianne is well signposted, Llyn Brianne Viewpoint offers an amazing panoramic view of the reservoir and surrounding forest. There is ample parking, picnic tables and a BBQ.