Lower Swansea valley Lower Swansea valley The Lower Swansea valley () is the lower half of the valley of the River Tawe in south Wales. It runs from approximately the level of Clydach down to Swansea docks, where it opens into Swansea Bay and the Bristol Channel. This relatively small area was a focus of industrial innovation and invention during the Industrial Revolution, leading to a transformation of the landscape and a rapid rise in the population and economy of Swansea. Today the area is in the final stages of regeneration. Modern Industrial units and housing has replaced the pollution of the metallurgical
Swansea Canal culvert through large metal grids. There was a short tramway from below the lock to Ynys-penllwch Graig-ola Colliery. Mond Lock was next, with the B4603 crossing the tail of the lock. Below the bridge is the Mond Nickel Works, set up in 1900 after the chemist Dr Ludwig Mond discovered a process for producing pure nickel. Nickel ore was imported from Canada, and the site was chosen because there were supplies of anthracite coal, water, transport links to Swansea, and an available labour force. The canal crosses the Lower Clydach River on an aqueduct, which discharges water into the river,