The small river that runs through the park is the docks feeder, it comes off the river Taff by Black Weir. If you look to the other side of the weir you will see a little stream coming off with a lock gate onto it and that was built to feed the docks with water. That river goes under Churchill Way, right under town. You used to be able to see it in places, on Churchill Way for example, but now they have built a platform over the top of it. Before Churchill way would have been two roads one either side of the docks feeder.
Children would have swum in there, there was a case when my husband was in the police force, of a child falling in and getting caught underneath one of the concrete slabs. A policeman dived in there to save the boy from drowning.
The other bridge on Kingsway boys used to stand on the top of that and encourage people to throw pennies in and then dive into the canal and pick them up.
It was quite dangerous, at least one child every year would drown in the Canal, water attracts children, it always has. I always remember holding onto my children's hands very, very tightly around there!