Prior to the opening of the Briton Ferry Bridge in 1955, the river was crossed by ferry, located at the village of Neath a couple of miles upstream from Briton Ferry. With the coming of the industrial revolution came the South Wales Railway, designed and built by none other than Isambard Kingdom Brunel. In the 1850's, he also created the floating Briton Ferry Docks which were constructed using a floating caisson designed by Isambard's father, Sir Marc Brunel. With the closure of all the main industries over the year, including the floating docks, Briton Ferry exists now primarily as a suburb for Swansea and Port Talbot.
The Neath Canal was opened in 1795, the Tennant Canal, a re-development of the Glan-y-wern Canal, was opened in 1818. Relying on local industries for business, the canals, in common with other canals in Great Britain, faced great competition with the coming of the railways, finally facing demise in the early 1880's (Neath) and the 1890's for the Tennant. Over time, various sections of the canals were lost to development, primarily in industry and transport (roads). In more recent times, efforts have been made to restore the canals and various sections have been restored and reopened. The section from Jersey Marine to about level with the King's Dock in Swansea was certainly better than walking on the main road, albeit the undergrowth was thick and high and very wet.
More recently, an application was made to create the world's first tidal power lagoon in Swansea Bay. The project would have used the retreating tide to spin turbines to creat energy that would then go to the national grid. The project, which was estimated to cost £1.3 billion, went through various scoping and planning phases before being rejected by the government on the grounds of both cost and the fact that the efficacy of the technology was still a relative unknown.
Fortunately for us, it never did rain as we walked but held off until after we had finished. Despite the angry clouds, it remained reasonably warm and we finished dressed as we had started in light clothing. Although the views were overcast, it was still possible to see the beauty of Swansea Bay and to imagine what it must look like on a fine day. We were laid up for the night in the small Shoreline Hotel which looks directly across the bay and we had some fine sights coming and going to the hotel.