Abergynolwyn

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Abergynolwyn
Abergynolwyn - 2008-03-18.jpg
Abergynolwyn
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Abergynolwyn
Location within Gwynedd
OS grid reference SH679070
Community
Principal area
Ceremonial county
Country Wales
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town TYWYN
Postcode district LL36
Dialling code 01654
Police North Wales
Fire North Wales
Ambulance Welsh
UK Parliament
Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament
List of places
UK
Wales
Gwynedd
52°38′38″N3°57′11″W / 52.644°N 3.953°W / 52.644; -3.953 Coordinates: 52°38′38″N3°57′11″W / 52.644°N 3.953°W / 52.644; -3.953

Abergynolwyn (English: Mouth of the River with a Whirlpool) is a village in southern Gwynedd, Wales, located at the confluence of the Nant Gwernol and the Afon Dysynni. [1] The population of the community which is named after the village of Llanfihangel-y-Pennant was 339 at the 2011 census.

Contents

History

Abergynolwyn around 1880, showing the village incline VillageIncline.jpg
Abergynolwyn around 1880, showing the village incline

Historically, the village was part of Merionethshire and its main industry was slate quarrying. The village was founded in the 1860s to house workers at the nearby Bryn Eglwys quarry. The quarry brought in migrant workers from other areas of Wales and at one time the village had an Anglican church and three nonconformist chapels. The slate was shipped to the coast on the Talyllyn Railway. A decline in the demand for Welsh slate caused reductions in the workforce, and the quarry finally closed in 1948. Today farming, forestry and tourism are the major local industries. [2]

Talyllyn Railway

The village pub, the Railway Inn, is named after the Talyllyn Railway whose narrow gauge branch once reached into the heart of the village down an incline from a ledge on the hillside above. The railway now terminates at Nant Gwernol station above the village, although for many years the terminus was at Abergynolwyn Station outside the village. [3]

Local attractions

Llyn Mwyngil (Tal-y-llyn Lake), just upstream from Abergynolwyn is an unspoilt lake created when a massive landslide blocked the valley long ago. [4] Hiking trails to the summit of Cadair Idris start from here. The Iron Age fort on Craig yr Aderyn shows that the area was strategically important in prehistoric times. In 1221, the mediaeval Welsh castle of Castell y Bere near Llanfihangel-y-pennant was built by Llewellyn the Great, occupied by the Welsh and later besieged by forces under Edward I of England in 1282. [2]

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The Talyllyn Railway is a narrow gauge preserved railway in Wales running for 7+14 miles (12 km) from Tywyn on the Mid-Wales coast to Nant Gwernol near the village of Abergynolwyn. The line was opened in 1865 to carry slate from the quarries at Bryn Eglwys to Tywyn, and was the first narrow gauge railway in Britain authorised by Act of Parliament to carry passengers using steam haulage. Despite severe under-investment, the line remained open, and in 1951 it became the first railway in the world to be preserved as a heritage railway by volunteers.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tal-y-llyn Lake</span> Lake in Gwynedd, North Wales

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Llanfihangel-y-Pennant</span> Human settlement in Wales

Llanfihangel-y-Pennant is a hamlet and wider, very sparsely populated community in the Meirionnydd area of Gwynedd in Wales. It is located in the foothills of Cadair Idris, and has a population of 402, reducing to 339 at the 2011 Census.

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Bryn Eglwys quarry was a slate quarry and mine near Abergynolwyn, in Merionethshire, Wales. More than 300 men worked at the site, making it the principal employer in the area. Two veins of slate, known as the Broad Vein and the Narrow Vein, were worked. The geology continues eastwards towards Corris and Dinas Mawddwy, and westwards towards Tywyn. It was one of many quarries that worked these veins.

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The existence of a slate industry in Wales is attested since the Roman period, when slate was used to roof the fort at Segontium, now Caernarfon. The slate industry grew slowly until the early 18th century, then expanded rapidly until the late 19th century, at which time the most important slate producing areas were in northwest Wales, including the Penrhyn Quarry near Bethesda, the Dinorwic Quarry near Llanberis, the Nantlle Valley quarries, and Blaenau Ffestiniog, where the slate was mined rather than quarried. Penrhyn and Dinorwig were the two largest slate quarries in the world, and the Oakeley mine at Blaenau Ffestiniog was the largest slate mine in the world. Slate is mainly used for roofing, but is also produced as thicker slab for a variety of uses including flooring, worktops and headstones.

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Dolgoch railway station is a station on the Talyllyn Railway between Tywyn and Abergynolwyn, Gwynedd in north-Wales. It is 4 miles 72 chains from Tywyn Wharf. Unlike most places on the line, the station was built for tourist traffic, for visitors to the local Dolgoch Falls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abergynolwyn railway station</span> Heritage railway station in Gwynedd, Mid-Wales

Abergynolwyn railway station is a station on the Talyllyn Railway near Abergynolwyn, Gwynedd, in Mid-Wales. It is 6.55 miles (10.54 km) from Tywyn Wharf. The name 'Abergynolwyn' means 'Mouth-of-the-River-with-a-Whirlpool'.

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Nant Gwernol railway station is the eastern terminus of the Talyllyn Railway near Abergynolwyn, Gwynedd in mid-Wales. It is 7 miles, 28 chains (11.83 km) from Tywyn Wharf. Nant Gwernol station was opened in 1976; before 1976 this upper part of the line had only been used for goods services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Dysynni</span> River in Gwynedd, Wales flowing from Tal-y-llyn Lake to Cardigan Bay north of Tywyn

The River Dysynni is a river in mid Wales. Its source is the Tal-y-llyn Lake just south of the Cadair Idris massif and its mouth is in the Cardigan Bay area of the Irish Sea to the north of Tywyn. It measures about 16 mi (26 km) in length.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afon Fathew</span> River in Gwynedd, Wales

The Afon Fathew is a river in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. The river is downstream from the Dolgoch Falls which is a popular nature site, and is followed for much of its course by the Talyllyn Railway.

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Tarren y Gesail is a mountain in Snowdonia, north Wales. It is one of the Marilyns of the Cadair Idris group.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tal-y-llyn, Gwynedd</span> Human settlement in Wales

Tal-y-llyn, or Talyllyn, is a small hamlet and former parish in Gwynedd, Wales, situated at the end of Tal-y-llyn Lake close to the village of Abergynolwyn. The parish covered an area of 36,000 acres (15,000 ha). The River Dysynni flows out of the lake at this point, flowing down to enter Cardigan Bay north of Tywyn. Another lake known as Llyn y Tri Greyenyn or Llyn Bach was formerly located close to the border with the parish of Dolgellau.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dolgoch quarry, Gwynedd</span> Disused slate quarry in Mid Wales

Dolgoch slate quarry was a slate quarry in Mid Wales, approximately halfway between Bryn-crug and Abergynolwyn. The quarry was named after a nearby stream, the Nant Dolgoch. 'Dol goch' is Welsh for 'red meadow'.

References

  1. "Landranger 124: Dolgellau and surrounding area", 1.25 inch map, Ordnance Survey
  2. 1 2 Taylor, Scott. "Abergynolwyn: Past and present". Archived from the original on 7 April 2016. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
  3. "Things to Do". Talyllyn Railway . Retrieved 26 April 2016.
  4. Stephens, Nicholas (1990). Natural Landscapes of Britain from the Air. CUP Archive. pp. 64–65. ISBN   978-0-521-32390-1.