0:00:02 > 0:00:04This is the River Taff in South Wales.
0:00:04 > 0:00:07It runs from the wild summits of the Brecon Beacons
0:00:07 > 0:00:10to the capital city, Cardiff.
0:00:10 > 0:00:13I love this river, I absolutely love it.
0:00:13 > 0:00:1640 years ago the Taff was declared officially dead,
0:00:16 > 0:00:19killed by centuries of heavy industry.
0:00:19 > 0:00:22But today it's one of the finest fishing rivers in Wales.
0:00:24 > 0:00:26How is that fish still on?
0:00:26 > 0:00:30My name is Will Millard. I'm a writer and a fisherman.
0:00:30 > 0:00:34I want to see how this river has come back to life.
0:00:34 > 0:00:35It's so cold!
0:00:35 > 0:00:39It may be short, you can walk the length of the Taff in three days
0:00:39 > 0:00:44but it runs through a stunning landscape packed with history.
0:00:44 > 0:00:49I want to get to know this river from source to sea.
0:00:49 > 0:00:51Salmon from the city centre.
0:00:51 > 0:00:53What a river!
0:00:53 > 0:00:57This is the story of the River Taff.
0:01:03 > 0:01:07I'm on the final stretch of my journey down the River Taff
0:01:07 > 0:01:10and this is a voyage through modern Wales.
0:01:10 > 0:01:14I'm heading south from Pontypridd towards Cardiff
0:01:14 > 0:01:19and the Bristol Channel, where the Taff empties into the sea.
0:01:19 > 0:01:23I've teamed up with canoeist and conservationist Paul Kent.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26How long have you been on the Taff, Paul?
0:01:26 > 0:01:30Well, either working or taking my leisure on it, probably,
0:01:30 > 0:01:32- 20-odd years now.- Really?
0:01:32 > 0:01:37Basically, I've either walked or paddled, in some cases, even swam
0:01:37 > 0:01:39the entire length of it,
0:01:39 > 0:01:42so I do know it very well from that point of view.
0:01:42 > 0:01:44What do you love about it, Paul?
0:01:44 > 0:01:50It's a wild place in the middle of a very urban environment.
0:01:51 > 0:01:55The banks of the river here are lined with warehouses, factories
0:01:55 > 0:01:56and office buildings.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59But from the water, they're completely hidden.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04All it takes is that thin band of trees, ten metres or so of trees
0:02:04 > 0:02:08and it's gone from an urban environment
0:02:08 > 0:02:10to a rural river.
0:02:10 > 0:02:14- Yeah.- It's an area to come and have a bit of peaceful recreation and
0:02:14 > 0:02:17on another time have a good thrill.
0:02:20 > 0:02:22First rapid on the River Taff.
0:02:23 > 0:02:25I'm pretty nervous.
0:02:26 > 0:02:29Certainly won't be the first time I've ever capsized.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34Forget that thought, Will. Forget that thought.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37The Taff is one of the steepest rivers south of the Scottish border.
0:02:37 > 0:02:41It descends almost 900 metres in just 40 miles.
0:02:41 > 0:02:45Rain that falls in Merthyr Tydfil can be in Cardiff Bay within
0:02:45 > 0:02:47just four hours.
0:02:47 > 0:02:48Straighten.
0:02:48 > 0:02:49Straighten.
0:02:52 > 0:02:54Damn!
0:02:57 > 0:02:59Downstream lean.
0:03:03 > 0:03:08- Well done.- C plus.- You didn't end up upside down, that's good enough.
0:03:10 > 0:03:12'This is a great way to see the Taff,
0:03:12 > 0:03:15'but make sure you have permission from local landowners
0:03:15 > 0:03:17'and angling clubs before hitting the water.'
0:03:17 > 0:03:20Doesn't seem to matter how far I come down this river, I'm still
0:03:20 > 0:03:24constantly, constantly impressed at just how little effort it takes
0:03:24 > 0:03:29to feel like you're in a really nice, wild, natural spot.
0:03:34 > 0:03:38Do you think people's perception of the river has changed at all?
0:03:38 > 0:03:40Probably not.
0:03:40 > 0:03:41Probably not.
0:03:41 > 0:03:45A lot of people still regard it as the industrial sewer it
0:03:45 > 0:03:47was for 150 years.
0:03:47 > 0:03:51The disregard to the Taff can be seen in the towns that
0:03:51 > 0:03:52line its banks.
0:03:52 > 0:03:56Historically, the people of the valley literally turned their backs
0:03:56 > 0:03:59on the polluted river, with the houses built facing away
0:03:59 > 0:04:00from its waters.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05I guess, when the houses were built and the factory units were built,
0:04:05 > 0:04:08the river wasn't important.
0:04:08 > 0:04:10The important thing was the road, in front.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13So, the houses all back on to the river.
0:04:13 > 0:04:17As we make our way down the Taff the river begins to change.
0:04:17 > 0:04:19It's wider and slower.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22A river fit for a capital city.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30There's a constant drone in the background here.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34Like one that we've not actually experienced
0:04:34 > 0:04:37so far on this paddle and that can mean only one thing,
0:04:37 > 0:04:40which is that we're approaching Cardiff and we're approaching
0:04:40 > 0:04:41the M4 bridge.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47Passing beneath the motorway, I'm now on the outskirts of the city
0:04:47 > 0:04:51and I've got a very early start in the morning.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06It's eight o'clock on Saturday morning
0:05:06 > 0:05:10and I'm wondering around the bushes in a park in Cardiff, dressed in
0:05:10 > 0:05:13rubber because I'm hoping I'm going to meet a group of Cardiff
0:05:13 > 0:05:17residents that celebrate the River Taff in their own very unique way.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20And I really do hope that they're here, otherwise I'm going to
0:05:20 > 0:05:23make some very special friends, or get arrested.
0:05:25 > 0:05:27Thank goodness for that.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29- Morning, everybody.- Hello!
0:05:29 > 0:05:33I'm Will, nice to meet you all.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36- So, what's the plan? - We're going to go swimming!
0:05:36 > 0:05:38We're going to go swimming - brilliant!
0:05:38 > 0:05:40I've come prepared.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45These are the members of the Living Taff Project, a group of dedicated
0:05:45 > 0:05:48enthusiasts and academics who've made it their mission to re-connect
0:05:48 > 0:05:51people with the river.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54One of the reasons behind the Living Taff is to make people aware of
0:05:54 > 0:05:57what a beautiful resource it is because it was forgotten for
0:05:57 > 0:06:01hundreds of years because it had become the deposit for the
0:06:01 > 0:06:03Industrial Revolution.
0:06:03 > 0:06:09We were feeding the world with coal, with iron and suddenly things have
0:06:09 > 0:06:12changed and the nature has come back again.
0:06:12 > 0:06:14This is all very lovely, isn't it?
0:06:16 > 0:06:19I'd probably just be getting up now,
0:06:19 > 0:06:22making myself a cup of tea but instead I'm just about to get
0:06:22 > 0:06:24into the River Taff for a swim...
0:06:24 > 0:06:26with a new group of friends.
0:06:26 > 0:06:27She's brave!
0:06:31 > 0:06:33THEY LAUGH AND SHRIEK
0:06:38 > 0:06:41It must've snowed on the Brecon Beacons last night.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47Even the dog's feeling the cold.
0:06:47 > 0:06:49LAUGHTER
0:06:50 > 0:06:53What is it about wild swimming that, you know,
0:06:53 > 0:06:57gets you down here in the morning when most people are in bed?
0:06:57 > 0:07:00It just makes me feel really alive!
0:07:00 > 0:07:04- Absolutely!- You're out of the comfort bubble of a heated house
0:07:04 > 0:07:08and a carpeted room and you're amongst elements, like,
0:07:08 > 0:07:13look at the water and stone and leaves and sunlight!
0:07:13 > 0:07:15I'll be honest,
0:07:15 > 0:07:19I do feel like my heart's about to burst out of my wetsuit!
0:07:24 > 0:07:26That is bracing!
0:07:27 > 0:07:30Yeah, it's amazing the range of things your body can feel
0:07:30 > 0:07:32that normally you don't feel.
0:07:32 > 0:07:34Your body can feel a range of things right now?
0:07:34 > 0:07:37LAUGHTER I can't feel anything!
0:07:40 > 0:07:42For many of the people here, there is more to
0:07:42 > 0:07:44the Taff than just fun and games.
0:07:44 > 0:07:48They recognise the vital role rivers play in our landscape.
0:07:48 > 0:07:52When you guys aren't swimming in the Taff, what do you do for a living?
0:07:52 > 0:07:54I work doing environmental engineering,
0:07:54 > 0:07:57so it's a lot of work to do with the river itself
0:07:57 > 0:08:00and trying to improve water quality.
0:08:00 > 0:08:03- How about yourself?- So, I actually work with Rosie, lurking out
0:08:03 > 0:08:05sewerage overflows into rivers.
0:08:05 > 0:08:08- Do you?- Trying to monitor and control that.
0:08:08 > 0:08:12So, yeah, dipping in the river before work kind of motivates me
0:08:12 > 0:08:14to work a bit harder during the day.
0:08:14 > 0:08:18Lots of the problems come from increased urbanisation
0:08:18 > 0:08:19and the amount of run-offs.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22People are paving over their driveways, of course,
0:08:22 > 0:08:24all the water that falls on there washes
0:08:24 > 0:08:27straight into the sewerage system, then washes off into the rivers.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30So, you get lots catchment problems with the amount of sediment
0:08:30 > 0:08:32going into the river.
0:08:32 > 0:08:34The sewerage systems are overloaded and it causes flooding.
0:08:34 > 0:08:38Over the years, Cardiff has seen its fair share of flooding.
0:08:38 > 0:08:42Heavy rains and high tides would cause havoc in the city streets.
0:08:42 > 0:08:46Part of Cardiff were under water, including the city's historic
0:08:46 > 0:08:49Victorian thoroughfare, Cathedral Road.
0:08:50 > 0:08:54Now, with the threat of climate change, we're at last beginning
0:08:54 > 0:08:58to understand the importance of our natural river systems.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01There's lots of schemes now where we're looking at green
0:09:01 > 0:09:04infrastructure in the towns and cities, in catchments like this.
0:09:04 > 0:09:08So, instead of having only grey, hard infrastructure like pipes
0:09:08 > 0:09:13and concrete, we're using nature to do its work for us.
0:09:13 > 0:09:17So, creating big, green basins where the water can rush into
0:09:17 > 0:09:21and sit there for a while, before it slowly goes back into the river.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24So there's loads of really exciting work being done in Wales.
0:09:24 > 0:09:26So, on three, yeah?
0:09:26 > 0:09:28One, two, three!
0:09:28 > 0:09:30CHEERING
0:09:36 > 0:09:39We've been conditioned to be afraid of our rivers,
0:09:39 > 0:09:44to hide them from view and in doing so we neglect them
0:09:44 > 0:09:48but they're special places that need our help.
0:09:49 > 0:09:53And we lose touch with them at our peril!
0:09:59 > 0:10:01I'm nearly home now...
0:10:01 > 0:10:04a few miles from the city centre.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07On this stretch of the river there is one group of people
0:10:07 > 0:10:11who have never forgotten the treasures of the Taff.
0:10:11 > 0:10:15The river draws a die-hard bunch of anglers to its banks year round.
0:10:15 > 0:10:18- You all right, Rich?- Hi, Will, you OK?- How's it going, mate?
0:10:18 > 0:10:21- Yeah, good, mate.- You had any luck?- Not yet.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24- Good to see you, pal.- Soon will, though, don't worry about that.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27Good of you to give me the downstream peg, Rich.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30Ah, well, I've got to be nice to you at some point, haven't I?
0:10:30 > 0:10:34Rich Cox is from Gabalfa, a large estate that backs onto the river.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37He works in the local tackle shop and has been selling me bait
0:10:37 > 0:10:39since I moved to Cardiff.
0:10:40 > 0:10:42That smells like hot sick!
0:10:42 > 0:10:45- The barbel absolutely love these things.- Really?
0:10:45 > 0:10:49I'm hoping he can help me catch a fish that has so far alluded me,
0:10:49 > 0:10:52the barbel.
0:10:52 > 0:10:56Tried all through last season, June, July, nothing.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59I think I probably put in getting on for 100 hours now
0:10:59 > 0:11:00without even a bite.
0:11:00 > 0:11:04There are a lot of big fish in this water but it's just finding them.
0:11:04 > 0:11:09This bottom feeding monster is often nicknamed "the golden torpedo".
0:11:09 > 0:11:13It's a tricky fish to catch, even if you hook one, it can be a real
0:11:13 > 0:11:15fight to land it.
0:11:15 > 0:11:19The record on the Taff is a whopping 19 pounds, two ounces.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22But the best barbel spots are a closely guarded secret.
0:11:22 > 0:11:26It's like a little social group, isn't it, the barbel fishermen
0:11:26 > 0:11:28of Gabalfa? I've heard them be called the Taffia.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31HE LAUGHS
0:11:31 > 0:11:34See your rod-tip bouncing around now. See, I'd be striking those,
0:11:34 > 0:11:36that's probably where I've been going wrong.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39Catching leaves. HE LAUGHS
0:11:39 > 0:11:41There's half a trolley down here, Rich.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43- Nothing new.- Yeah.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45It used to be full up on the rocks, you couldn't fish the rock pool
0:11:45 > 0:11:47at some points because there'd be so many cars
0:11:47 > 0:11:50and the police would be down, pulling them out.
0:11:50 > 0:11:53It was a constant feature, motorbikes, push bikes,
0:11:53 > 0:11:55trolleys, everything.
0:11:55 > 0:11:57The river was like a jungle.
0:11:57 > 0:11:59We had to push a float through a trolley or around a trolley, around
0:11:59 > 0:12:02a motorbike and try to find fish hiding behind obstacles
0:12:02 > 0:12:04in the water.
0:12:04 > 0:12:06It was quite rough in those days.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09Really totally different from what it is now.
0:12:09 > 0:12:10Cardiff born and bred,
0:12:10 > 0:12:14Rich hasn't only seen a change in the river but in the city too.
0:12:14 > 0:12:18Everything is new and it just keeps growing and growing.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21I think that's why it's attracted so many people to come here now.
0:12:21 > 0:12:26- Much better now, much nicer city to live in.- Wow, water's coming up.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33- Still makes my... - Heart's in your mouth.- Yeah.
0:12:35 > 0:12:40I actually thought that was a fish then, it's not, it's got to be weed.
0:12:40 > 0:12:43We're not having much luck.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46- Another leaf fish. - Another leaf fish.
0:12:46 > 0:12:47The river is flowing fast
0:12:47 > 0:12:50and a lot of leaves are getting tangled in our lines.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53I don't think we've got much time left here, have we, Rich?
0:12:53 > 0:12:57Not at all, the river's rising quite fast, mate.
0:12:57 > 0:12:59Oh, dear, I might have to chalk
0:12:59 > 0:13:02another one up to the River Taff here, I think.
0:13:03 > 0:13:04Beaten again.
0:13:05 > 0:13:09I've been incredibly lucky fishing the Taff.
0:13:09 > 0:13:13But it looks like the Cardiff barbel will remain the one that got away.
0:13:17 > 0:13:20As you follow the Taff south towards the city centre,
0:13:20 > 0:13:24the river flows through vast parklands.
0:13:24 > 0:13:28A green heart to the city, and testament to the vast wealth
0:13:28 > 0:13:32that once flowed down from the valleys and out to sea.
0:13:32 > 0:13:36The river that was once a black, industrial sewer
0:13:36 > 0:13:38is now a place of leisure.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41Cardiff's seen huge investment in recent years.
0:13:41 > 0:13:45It's now a vibrant city, and it's sport that draws many visitors.
0:13:45 > 0:13:49It's days like today I absolutely love being in Cardiff.
0:13:49 > 0:13:51- There's a match day on... - Go, France!
0:13:51 > 0:13:54..there's at least five or six different nationalities
0:13:54 > 0:13:57walking up and down the street. It's a great, great atmosphere.
0:13:57 > 0:13:59But where I'm stood, right here,
0:13:59 > 0:14:02the River Taff used to flow right through this area.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05That's actually Quay Street over there.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08It was straightened so they could put the railway line in.
0:14:08 > 0:14:10And now we have this fantastic stadium,
0:14:10 > 0:14:13quite possibly one of the best stadiums in the world,
0:14:13 > 0:14:14right on the banks.
0:14:14 > 0:14:18Opened in 1999, as the Millennium Stadium.
0:14:18 > 0:14:21Cardiff's Coliseum draws huge crowds.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24But it was the Taff that made Cardiff.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27The city's role as a port put it on the world stage.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30It was a hub for trade and people.
0:14:30 > 0:14:32I'm a migrant myself here, of course.
0:14:32 > 0:14:34I moved here for work, found work.
0:14:36 > 0:14:38Found a lady, settled down.
0:14:38 > 0:14:42And, you know, that's what capital cities are all about, really -
0:14:42 > 0:14:44it's opportunity, commerce, you know?
0:14:44 > 0:14:47Lots of people have come here historically over the years
0:14:47 > 0:14:49looking for the same sorts of opportunities.
0:14:49 > 0:14:52And a lot of people have made Wales their home as a result of that.
0:14:52 > 0:14:56And that's sort of, you know, the story of a river mouth, really.
0:14:56 > 0:14:59Big port towns bring people in. Bring people together.
0:15:01 > 0:15:05By the end of the 19th century, Cardiff had transformed
0:15:05 > 0:15:09from one of the smallest towns in Wales to the largest.
0:15:09 > 0:15:13And its port was handling more coal than anywhere else in the world.
0:15:14 > 0:15:18On the eve of the First World War in 1913,
0:15:18 > 0:15:22coal exports reached their peak at over ten million tonnes.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25And at Cardiff's grand coal exchange,
0:15:25 > 0:15:29the world's first million-pound cheque was signed.
0:15:29 > 0:15:31People came from all over the Empire
0:15:31 > 0:15:34and beyond to work on the ships and in the vast docks.
0:15:34 > 0:15:37And many never left.
0:15:37 > 0:15:41This is the Red Sea House in the Butetown area of the city.
0:15:41 > 0:15:45It's home to a group of men who came to Wales in the '50s and '60s,
0:15:45 > 0:15:49from Somalia, Somaliland, Djibouti and the Yemen.
0:15:49 > 0:15:53What was Cardiff like when you first arrived in the '50s?
0:16:12 > 0:16:16By the 1940s, the city was home to people from all over the world.
0:16:16 > 0:16:21With over 50 nationalities living side-by-side in Cardiff's Tiger Bay,
0:16:21 > 0:16:24including one of the oldest Muslim communities in Britain.
0:16:24 > 0:16:28And these old seamen remember Cardiff as a very different place.
0:16:28 > 0:16:29IN OWN LANGUAGE:
0:17:24 > 0:17:28From the mean streets of Cardiff, they sailed the seven seas.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33Between them, there's hardly a continent on Earth
0:17:33 > 0:17:34they haven't been to.
0:18:04 > 0:18:06While they travelled the world,
0:18:06 > 0:18:09their families remained in their home countries.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12But what money they earned would be sent back.
0:18:12 > 0:18:13Cardiff became their home.
0:18:14 > 0:18:16IN ENGLISH:
0:18:53 > 0:18:54But when they retired,
0:18:54 > 0:18:58many chose not to return to live with their loved ones.
0:18:58 > 0:19:00Preferring instead to settle here,
0:19:00 > 0:19:03alongside the men they shared their adventures with.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10At the end of the Second World War, demand for coal slumped,
0:19:10 > 0:19:13and international markets were lost as other countries
0:19:13 > 0:19:16developed their own steel industries.
0:19:16 > 0:19:19Shipping trade was increasingly lost to container ports,
0:19:19 > 0:19:23and by the 1960s, coal exports in Cardiff had virtually ceased.
0:19:26 > 0:19:28The docks are still here,
0:19:28 > 0:19:31but they tell the story of a very different economy.
0:19:31 > 0:19:35Where once we exported the coal that fuelled the Industrial Revolution,
0:19:35 > 0:19:38now we import petrol and diesel for our cars.
0:19:38 > 0:19:42Welsh iron and steal once left these docks to help build the new world,
0:19:42 > 0:19:45now we export our waste for recycling.
0:19:46 > 0:19:49Quite hard now to imagine what this place was like
0:19:49 > 0:19:52when Cardiff was such a big coal port.
0:19:52 > 0:19:54But it was coal that made Cardiff,
0:19:54 > 0:19:56and it was coal that built this port, essentially.
0:19:57 > 0:19:59But now, that's all changed.
0:19:59 > 0:20:01This is a service sector economy,
0:20:01 > 0:20:06and Cardiff Bay is all restaurants, pubs and coffee shops.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12But it wasn't always like this.
0:20:12 > 0:20:14By the early 1980s, Cardiff Bay had become
0:20:14 > 0:20:18a wasteland of crumbling docks and tidal mudflats.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21The people of Cardiff Bay suffered too.
0:20:21 > 0:20:25The community where so many of the dockworkers had lived
0:20:25 > 0:20:28became blighted by poverty and unemployment.
0:20:28 > 0:20:30It was decided that something had to be done
0:20:30 > 0:20:33to breathe new life into the area.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35The plan was to flood the mudflats
0:20:35 > 0:20:38and create a 200-hectare freshwater lagoon.
0:20:40 > 0:20:43A barrage was built across the mouth of the Taff,
0:20:43 > 0:20:47and Cardiff Bay would become a model for urban regeneration.
0:20:49 > 0:20:51When I first came here in the mid-'70s, I suppose,
0:20:51 > 0:20:56this area was just a reliced area.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59You could see the vestiges of the Industrial Revolution
0:20:59 > 0:21:02gradually disappearing or collapsing,
0:21:02 > 0:21:03and being left where they fell.
0:21:03 > 0:21:06Pete Gough works with Natural Resources Wales,
0:21:06 > 0:21:10and has been involved with the Taff and the Bay for over 25 years.
0:21:10 > 0:21:13I think it's nice they've left some of the residual bits
0:21:13 > 0:21:15of the port here like this.
0:21:15 > 0:21:20It reminds everyone exactly what the heritage of this place is.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24While remnants of the past remain,
0:21:24 > 0:21:26little is left of the natural environment.
0:21:26 > 0:21:29The mudflats were a Site of Special Scientific Interest,
0:21:29 > 0:21:33hosting over 8,000 wintering wading birds.
0:21:33 > 0:21:36When the plan was approved, that habitat was flooded.
0:21:36 > 0:21:40And with a price tag of £200 million, many questioned
0:21:40 > 0:21:45if the development was worth the environmental and financial cost.
0:21:45 > 0:21:49Today, the Bay is strictly regulated, and around £6 million per
0:21:49 > 0:21:52year is spent on maintaining this man-made landscape.
0:21:54 > 0:21:58The Cardiff Bay Barrage Act specified a water quality standard
0:21:58 > 0:21:59for Cardiff Bay.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02It's probably one of the most trying standards
0:22:02 > 0:22:05in terms of water quality I've ever heard of.
0:22:07 > 0:22:12They had to ensure that dissolved oxygen never fell below
0:22:12 > 0:22:15five milligrams per litre, anywhere, ever.
0:22:15 > 0:22:19Most environmental standards are set in terms of percentiles,
0:22:19 > 0:22:22you know, 98% of the time, it mustn't be this or that.
0:22:22 > 0:22:26But here it is absolute, 100%. That's a real challenge.
0:22:27 > 0:22:31For fish, one of the most crucial parts of Cardiff Bay
0:22:31 > 0:22:34is contained within the barrage itself.
0:22:34 > 0:22:36The whole of the River Taff and the River Ely,
0:22:36 > 0:22:40and its salmon and sea trout and eel and lamprey populations,
0:22:40 > 0:22:44all depend on that structure working to its design specification.
0:22:46 > 0:22:50Since the barrage was completed in 2001, this fish pass has allowed
0:22:50 > 0:22:55migratory fish species to pass from the saltwater of the Bristol Channel
0:22:55 > 0:22:58into the freshwater of the Bay, before continuing upriver.
0:23:00 > 0:23:01It's estimated that every year,
0:23:01 > 0:23:04up to 600 salmon travel through the pass.
0:23:06 > 0:23:10How do you know so precisely that those fish are coming through?
0:23:10 > 0:23:13They travel through a fish-counting system.
0:23:13 > 0:23:16Which is called a Vaki system.
0:23:16 > 0:23:19It consists of parallel plates,
0:23:19 > 0:23:21and the fish swim through those plates.
0:23:21 > 0:23:25And as they do so, they intercept infrared beams.
0:23:26 > 0:23:30An object passing through it triggers a count,
0:23:30 > 0:23:35but also produces a profile image of whatever triggered that count.
0:23:35 > 0:23:38Work has been done all the way up the Taff to allow fish
0:23:38 > 0:23:39to return to the river.
0:23:39 > 0:23:43The old industrial weirs have been modified with fish ladders,
0:23:43 > 0:23:46and the river has been stocked with farmed fish.
0:23:46 > 0:23:49Some of those fish were fitted with radio tags,
0:23:49 > 0:23:54and in 2013, one of them, salmon 66,
0:23:54 > 0:23:57was tracked as far north as Merthyr.
0:23:57 > 0:24:01Those stocked fish are breeding, and for the first time in 200 years,
0:24:01 > 0:24:04salmon are spawning in the upper reaches of the Taff.
0:24:04 > 0:24:09Everyone recognises that salmon indicate good environmental quality,
0:24:09 > 0:24:11and that's nearly always true.
0:24:11 > 0:24:17So, knowing that salmon are thriving in the River Taff
0:24:17 > 0:24:20is really important to the residents of Merthyr Tydfil
0:24:20 > 0:24:22and Pontypridd and Cardiff.
0:24:22 > 0:24:26Their river is clean enough for these fish to do well again.
0:24:29 > 0:24:34This is a genuine example of a river that was biologically dead,
0:24:34 > 0:24:36and today it's thriving.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39And that's a testament to an enormous amount of work
0:24:39 > 0:24:41by a lot of people.
0:24:41 > 0:24:45It's testament to the decline and demise of heavy industry
0:24:45 > 0:24:49as well, of course, and we shouldn't forget that.
0:24:49 > 0:24:52But the river itself has done the job at the end of the day.
0:24:52 > 0:24:55It just shows you how resilient nature can be.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58With the river and the Bay behind me,
0:24:58 > 0:25:02I'm heading through the barrage and into the Bristol Channel.
0:25:02 > 0:25:05This is it, this is the end of the River Taff's journey,
0:25:05 > 0:25:08and it's the end of my journey.
0:25:08 > 0:25:10Through a giant pair of lock gates.
0:25:12 > 0:25:16I've reached the end of an amazing journey down an incredible river.
0:25:19 > 0:25:20This is it.
0:25:20 > 0:25:24This is the source of the River Taff.
0:25:24 > 0:25:28The story of the Taff is the story of South Wales.
0:25:28 > 0:25:29It's pretty wild out here.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32From the ancient summits of the Brecon Beacons,
0:25:32 > 0:25:37the river flows through a landscape shaped by over 200 years of history.
0:25:37 > 0:25:39It wasn't just of huge significance to Merthyr,
0:25:39 > 0:25:42it was of huge significance to the world, essentially.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45The river has borne witness to a vast amount of change.
0:25:45 > 0:25:50Iron and coal brought people to the Taff, but together they killed it.
0:25:50 > 0:25:53The river, in those days, would be black.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56Now, with people and nature working in harmony,
0:25:56 > 0:26:00the river runs clear once more.
0:26:00 > 0:26:02The Taff is alive.
0:26:02 > 0:26:04I'm back to where I started,
0:26:04 > 0:26:08my favourite fishing spot on my favourite river,
0:26:08 > 0:26:09in the centre of Cardiff.
0:26:11 > 0:26:12Oh, it's a rock!
0:26:14 > 0:26:15When that reel goes...!
0:26:15 > 0:26:19And this glorious, abused and resilient little river
0:26:19 > 0:26:21has one last surprise for me.
0:26:24 > 0:26:25I do not believe it!
0:26:25 > 0:26:27It's a salmon.
0:26:27 > 0:26:28Ooh, he knows he's hooked!
0:26:30 > 0:26:32Please stay on.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35Aw, come on now!
0:26:35 > 0:26:36Gently, gently.
0:26:38 > 0:26:40Oh...
0:26:40 > 0:26:42Blimey, this is the worst bit now, you see,
0:26:42 > 0:26:45in amongst these shallow rocks...
0:26:45 > 0:26:47Oh, it's a good fish!
0:26:47 > 0:26:49Come on, now, get his head up.
0:26:49 > 0:26:51Keep his head up. Head up.
0:26:54 > 0:26:55Turn back.
0:26:56 > 0:26:58Oh, now, you're joking, man!
0:27:04 > 0:27:05Come on.
0:27:07 > 0:27:09I don't believe it.
0:27:09 > 0:27:11I do not believe it.
0:27:14 > 0:27:15What a fish.
0:27:18 > 0:27:20That's not long out the sea.
0:27:20 > 0:27:21It's still very silver.
0:27:23 > 0:27:25And he's on his way back upstream to spawn.
0:27:26 > 0:27:29Do you know, that was a tremendous fight.
0:27:29 > 0:27:31I'm shaking like a leaf.
0:27:32 > 0:27:35It's amazing - we're in the middle of Cardiff,
0:27:35 > 0:27:38and here I am, cradling the king of fish.
0:27:40 > 0:27:42This river was declared officially dead,
0:27:42 > 0:27:46and if you're looking for any other sign that this river has truly,
0:27:46 > 0:27:51truly made the most remarkable comeback of all rivers,
0:27:51 > 0:27:54it's this fish that I'm cradling right here.
0:27:54 > 0:28:00Cast-iron evidence that this river is back from the dead.
0:28:00 > 0:28:03Thank you very much, my friend. I'm going to give you a little kiss.
0:28:03 > 0:28:05Good luck on your journey.
0:28:05 > 0:28:06Say hello to Merthyr.
0:28:10 > 0:28:11There it goes.
0:28:16 > 0:28:18Salmon from the city centre.
0:28:18 > 0:28:19What a river.