No actual location to park your vehicle at so be aware you could be parking on someone property to that street/estate. But follow the paths through a gate and easy enough up.. I MEAN IT This has to be seen to be believed!! Utterly stunning. Up over a shrub-covered hilltop, you find yourself peering down at a pristine body of turquoise-blue water. Surrounded by dense fir trees and rolling hills, you’d be forgiven for thinking you were in middle of a Scandinavian forest, or perhaps somewhere in New Zealand. You’re not. This is the BROMBIL reservoir in the valleys of Margam, south Wales. The reservoir is a flooded colliery (coal mine) and has turned that bright shade of blue because of algae. Catch it in the right light and it almost seems to glow. The UK doesn’t have many glacial lakes, but Brombil does a damn good impression of one. With its rich turquoise hue and secluded surroundings, But though the 100-foot-deep reservoir might look very nice for a dip, be wary. The cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) that colour the water are dangerous to dogs, and they can also cause rashes and gastrointestinal issues in humans. It’s best to leave any swimming to the nearby beach at Port Talbot.
Brombil's History
There was once a colliery at Brombil which was owned by Vivian & Sons of Taibach. Both Brombil Colliery & Morfa Colliery were owned by this company. These collieries supplied the coal needed for the Copper Works at Taibach. Small coal levels were opened in Cwm-yr-Afr & Cwm Brombil between 1777 and 1780. The coal produced was conveyed to Taibach in carts. Circa 1814 another small level was opened in the Brombil Valley to help the Goytre Level. As the same coal seam was worked in Brombil as it was in Goytre the miners worked to meet each other. Eventually the Brombil acted as an airway for the Goytre Level, at this time the coal extracted from here wa carried along the main road to the Copper works in Taibach. The Brombil Colliery's output was large enough not only to keep the works operational but sufficient enough to allow thousands of tons to be exported to Ireland and other locations. Mr Edward Daniel was the manager of Brombil Colliery at the time of its closure c.1880 when it was listed as "Not Working."