AN exhibition looking back at more than 200 years of history of the Swansea Canal is on tour throughout the Swansea Valley.

The Swansea Canal is 225 years old and a special exhibition has been made to highlight the importance of the canal as a transport route and providing water and power for trade and industry. The 16-mile canal was built to serve collieries, iron works and copper works in the Tawe Valley.

Today, it is a walking and cycling route with five miles being fully navigable by boats although Glandŵr Cymru is working with the Swansea Canal Society to work on the full restoration of the remaining sections of the canal.

The exhibition has been created in partnership with Glandŵr Cymru, the Canal & River Trust in Wales and Swansea Canal Society and has been on display at the National Waterfront Museum and thanks to funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund in Wales.

It has now gone on tour and is on display at The Welfare, Ystradgynlais, until October 12 and will be at Pontardawe Heritage Centre from October 12 until October 29 before visiting Craig y Nos Country Park between October 30 and November 12.

David Morgan, Glandŵr Cymru’s development manager for Wales, said: “After a successful exhibition at the National Waterfront Museum we are now taking the exhibition in partnership with Swansea Canal Society out into the community to the people who live alongside the Swansea Canal.

“The tour is a great exciting opportunity for local people who have not had the chance to visit the museum to see the exhibition and discover more about the role the canal has played in Swansea’s history, and to raise awareness of its impact today and the importance of our work to ensure that we continue to keep canals alive.”

There will be a talk on the history of the canal at Pontardawe Heritage Centre by Glandŵr Cymru’s heritage advisor David Viner and Bannau Brycheiniog National Park’s Alan Bowring on October 18. They will also be doing the talk at Craig y Nos Country Park on November 9. Both talks take place between 2pm and 4pm.

More about the Swansea Canal 225th anniversary can be found at www.canalrivertrust.org.uk