Swansea Vale Railway nineteenth century, when land transport was limited to what pack animals could carry on their backs. At that time the extraction of copper in Cornwall became an important industry, and as a great deal of coal is required to smelt copper, it became the practice to bring the copper to Swansea by ship and smelt it there. This specific sector of the metal industry became so dominant that Swansea was given the nickname "Copperopolis". The works engaged in this industry were located on the banks of the River Tawe at first, but the construction of the Swansea Canal, opened in
Swansea University Rowing Club of the 3 km of rowable water, with two long straight sections. Land-based training takes place at the University Sports Centre, along the seafront and sometimes on the beach in Swansea Bay itself. Although the club has few of its own facilities due to the extensive redevelopment along the river by Swansea City Council, the members use the facilities kindly provided by Swansea Yacht and Sub Aqua Club to launch and change. The Sail Bridge, with its 40m high mast, is one of the recent additions to the river, having been opened in 2003. The club competes at a number