Craig Goch Dam in the Elan Valley of Wales

© Stephen Taylor/Alamy

Craig Goch Dam in the Elan Valley of Wales

The masonry dam is the highest upstream of four dams in the Elan Valley region. It turns the River Elan into the Craig Goch Reservoir. With its curved retaining wall and series of arches, the Craig Goch Dam, often called the Top dam, is widely considered the most elegant of the Elan Valley Reservoirs. Together, they were built to provide clean drinking water for Birmingham in the West Midlands of England and add points of interest to the 70 square miles of natural scenery in this region that is sometimes called the ‘Welsh Lake District’.