The Dyfi hills (sometimes anglicised to Dovey hills) are a range situated in the southernmost area of Snowdonia, bounded by the River Dyfi on the east and south sides, by the Afon Dulas on the west and the Afon Cerist to the north. [1] They lie to the west of the Aran Fawddwy range, north-east of the Tarren y Gesail range and are a subgroup of the Cadair Idris group.
The highest peaks of the Dyfi hills are Maesglase (2,218 feet (676 m)), Waun-oer (2,200 feet (670 m)) and Cribin Fawr (2,162 feet (659 m)) which lie at the north of the range. Further south the peaks are lower and the hills more gently rounded.
Two major veins of commercial quality slate run through the Dyfi hills, from Aberllefenni in the west, to Dinas Mawddwy in the north-east. Several commercial quarries worked these veins during the 19th and the first half of the 20th centuries. Major quarries in the area include Ratgoed on Mynydd Llwydiarth and Cymerau on Mynydd Cymerau in the west; Hendre Ddu on Mynydd Hendre-ddu, Gartheiniog on Mynydd Gartheiniog in the centre of the hills; and Minllyn on Foel Dinas just south of Dinas Mawddwy. [2]
The majority of the area of the Dyfi Hills was planted with forests by the Forestry Commission. Planting started in 1926, and huge areas of land were purchased between the Wars and into the 1950s and 1960s. The trees planted were mainly Sitka Spruce and Japanese Larch, though a large number of other species were also tried. The trees are regularly felled for commercial use and replanted. [3] This forested area forms the major part of the Dyfi Forest. [4] [5]
They were used as a special stage during the 2013 Wales Rally GB.
The Preseli Hills or, as they are known locally and historically, Preseli Mountains is a range of hills in north Pembrokeshire, west Wales, mostly within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.
Aberangell is a village in Gwynedd, Wales.
The River Dyfi, sometimes anglicised to River Dovey, is an approximately 30 mi (48 km) long river in Wales.
Dinas Mawddwy is a town in the community of Mawddwy in south-east Gwynedd, north Wales. It lies within the Snowdonia National Park, but just to the east of the main A470, and consequently many visitors pass the village by. Its population is roughly 600. The village marks the junction of the unclassified road to Llanuwchllyn which climbs up through the mountains to cross Bwlch y Groes at its highest point, the second highest road pass in Wales. This minor road also provides the closest access to the mountain Aran Fawddwy and is the nearest settlement to Craig Cywarch.
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.
The Hendre-Ddu Tramway was a 2 ft narrow gauge industrial railway built in 1867 in Mid-Wales to connect the Hendre-Ddu slate quarry to Aberangell station on the Mawddwy Railway. It consisted of a main line 3+1⁄2 miles (5.6 km) long and several branch lines and spurs serving other quarries, local farms and the timber industry.
The Mawddwy Railway was a rural line in the Dyfi Valley in mid-Wales that connected Dinas Mawddwy with a junction at Cemmaes Road railway station on the Newtown and Machynlleth Railway section of the Cambrian Railways.
Aberangell railway station was an intermediate railway station on the Mawddwy Railway which ran from Cemmaes Road to Dinas Mawddy in the Welsh county of Merionethshire. The station was opened by the Mawddwy Railway in 1867 and closed to all goods traffic in 1908. The railway re-opened in 1911 with all services run by the Cambrian Railways. It was amalgamated into the Great Western Railway in 1923 as part of the grouping of British railways, and remained open to passenger and freight traffic until 1931 and 1952, respectively. The station was the transshipment point between the branch and the Hendre-Ddu Tramway.
Sir Edmund Buckley, 1st Baronet was a British landowner and Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1865 to 1878.
The Afon Angell is a river in Gwynedd, Mid Wales.
Mynydd Dolgoed or Craig Portas is a mountain in southern Snowdonia, Wales. It is a long ridge running from a low summit between the valleys of the Afon Angell and the Nant Ceiswyn, north east to the cliff of Craig Portas above Dinas Mawddwy. The next mountain in the ridge to south-east is Mynydd Hendre-ddu, while to the south lie Mynydd Llwydiarth and Mynydd Cymerau.
The Nant Ceiswyn is a small river in Mid Wales. It flows from the northern flank of Mynydd Dolgoed down to Pont Cymerau, north-east of Aberllefenni. Here it joins the Nant Llwydiarth to form the Afon Dulas that flows south to the Afon Dyfi. There was an ancient bridge at Pont Cymerau.
The Nant Llwydiarth is a small river in Mid Wales. It flows from the southern flank of Mynydd Hendre-ddu down to Pont Cymerau, north-east of Aberllefenni. Here it joins the Nant Ceiswyn to form the Afon Dulas that flows south to the Afon Dyfi. There was an ancient bridge at Pont Cymerau.
Mynydd Hendre-ddu or Mynydd Hendreddu is a mountain in southern Snowdonia, Wales. It is one of a line of mountains running from Mynydd Dolgoed in the north, through Mynydd Llwydiarth to Mynydd Hendre-ddu and on to Mynydd y Foel, Y Grug, Mynydd Tri-Arglwyd and Mynydd Gwyn to the south of the village of Aberangell. It forms the watershed between Nant Llwydiarth, which flows to the south-west and into the Afon Dulas, and streams flowing into Afon Angell to the north, which flow east into the River Dyfi.
Mynydd Gartheiniog is a mountain in southern Snowdonia, Wales. It is a long ridge running south from the cliff of Craig Portas above Dinas Mawddwy and parallel to Mynydd Dolgoed which lies to the west.
The Broad Vein Mudstone Formation is an Ordovician lithostratigraphic group in Mid Wales. The rock of the formation is silty mudstone, intensely bioturbated in places. It varies in colour from a pale to a medium blue. This formation has been commercially quarried as slate in several locations along its length. The formation is between 400 metres (1,300 ft) and 560 metres (1,840 ft) thick and runs from Dinas Mawddwy south-west to Cardigan Bay at Tywyn.
The Narrow Vein Mudstone Formation is an Ordovician lithostratigraphic group in Mid Wales. The rock of the formation is silty, homogeneous or finely-laminated mudstone. It generally a medium blue colour. This formation has been commercially quarried as slate in several locations along its length. The formation is between 400 metres (1,300 ft) and 560 metres (1,840 ft) thick and runs from Dinas Mawddwy south-west to Cardigan Bay at Tywyn.