The Welsh Coracle

The Tradition of Coracle Fishing in Wales

Coracle fishing on the rivers of Wales has been a vital daily activity for man throughout the ages, both as a means of obtaining food and an income to support the home and family.

Today the practice of coracle fishing has all but disappeared. However, these ingenious crafts can still be seen at work on the historic Welsh rivers of the Teifi, Tywi and the Taf.

Waterfalls of Wales

Castles of Wales

The Haven Waterway

Manordeifi Church

Welsh National Parks

Pembrokeshire Coast Path

Pre Norman Welsh History

St Davids Cathedral

Surfing Wales

Welsh Period Cottages

Gardens of Wales

Steam Railways of Wales

The Coracle Tradition

The word coracle can be traced back to the Celtic language and, it is almost certain that the coracle dates as far back as the Dark and the Middle ages. One of the oldest remaining descriptions we have of the coracle appears in 1188 when, travelling through Wales, Gerald de Barry describes the existence of river boats of willow, round in shape and covered by skins.

It is also thought that similar types of wickerwork boats covered with hides were used by Caesar as he fought against the Spanish in 49BC. In 1360, during the reign of Edward III, we are provided with another mention of these fascinating boats by a character called Froissart, stating that the invasion army from England to France carried small boats of boiled leather used for fishing.

A traditional Teifi coracle at Cenarth Falls - Pembrokeshire

The coracle also appears in the Mabinogion, Welsh folk tales dating from the thirteenth century. References are found in these tales to ‘leather bag’ boats that are used on the local rivers. Until the 1920s and 30s, coracles were still seen on the rivers of the Dee, Severn and the Cleaddau. During the last Century, the coracle was more widespread and could also be found on the rivers Usk, Nyfer, Gwy and Llwchwr.
Fish were caught using a pair of coracles where each person held a cork and led line between the two boats. The nets were placed in natural gaps and crevices in the rocks where salmon and trout usually hid. Long sticks were then used to stir up water in these natural gaps, thus tricking the fish to swim into the nets. The coracle fishers were aware of the repercussions of intensive fishing and ensured that all of their nets were not spun too tightly enabling a plentiful supply of spawning fish to remain and produce the following generation.

Coracle fishing on the River Teifi

The River Teifi is perhaps the most historic of all coracle fishing rivers in Wales. Traditionally, along the river each village fished from had it’s very own coracle maker. Coracle makers can still be found today in the villages of Cenarth, Llechryd and Cilgerran.

Despite the prohibition of coracle fishing at Cenarth, it still has a major coracle maker from a line of makers unbroken for many hundreds of years. Bernard Thomas is the traditional coracle maker of Llechryd and, in his 80s still fishes on the river everyday of the open season. He is also locally famous for achieving the seemingly impossible feat of paddling his coracle across the English channel to France during the 1970s!

Coracle Construction

To construct the River Teifi coracle, poles from the willow are cut into strips of about 8ft long and split down the middle. Using traditional tools, the split willow is shaved down to a thickness of about a 1/4 of an inch.

The strips are then immersed in water for about a week allowing them to be bent and shaped more easily. A pine seat about 12 inches wide is then attached to the lathers and interlaced at right angles with two diagonal lathers crossing in the centre. The weaving is begun using hazel rods in pairs.

Additional support is added behind the seat by a semi-circular plait of rods, unique to this type of coracle. Weaving is continued until 3 layers have been produced. The covering is then made for the frame. Traditionally the covering was of flannel for this type of coracle, but later calico was employed and is still in use today. The boat was then waterlogged with tar/bitumen paint. The paddle was traditionally made form the outside of an ash tree.