Lledr Valley

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The Afon Lledr from the bridge at Pont-y-Pant PontypantP6073141.JPG
The Afon Lledr from the bridge at Pont-y-Pant

The Lledr Valley (Welsh : Dyffryn Lledr) is a valley in Snowdonia in north Wales. It runs from the top of the Crimea Pass, north of Blaenau Ffestiniog down to Betws-y-Coed.

The A470 road follows the line of the valley, as does the railway line from Blaenau Ffestiniog to Llandudno, and within the valley there are stations at Roman Bridge, Dolwyddelan, and Pont-y-Pant.

Dolwyddelan is the main settlement in the valley.

The river Lledr, which gives its name to the valley, joins the River Conwy to the south of Betws-y-Coed.

Industry

During the Victorian period the valley was renowned for its slate quarries, which were concentrated around Dolwyddelan. [1] These quarries worked the Nod Glas Formation, which extended across Mid and North Wales. It was primarily a bed of soft, black shale, but in the area of the Dolwyddelan syncline it was partially metamorphisised into slate. The principle quarries in the valley were: [2]

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Dolwyddelan Village in Wales

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Conwy Valley line Railway line in North Wales

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Betws-y-Coed railway station Railway station in Conwy, Wales

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Roman Bridge railway station Railway station in Conwy, Wales

Roman Bridge railway station is a request stop passenger station in the Lledr Valley, Wales, on the Conwy Valley Line from Llandudno Junction to Blaenau Ffestiniog, which is operated by Transport for Wales Rail. It is sited 5 miles (8.0 km) north of Blaenau Ffestiniog and is the last station in the Lledr valley before the 2.2 miles (3.5 km) long Ffestiniog tunnel is reached.

Pont-y-Pant railway station Railway station in Conwy, Wales

Pont-y-Pant railway station is a single platform passenger station in the Lledr Valley, Wales, on the Conwy Valley line from Llandudno Junction to Blaenau Ffestiniog, which is operated by Transport for Wales Rail. The station house is well maintained and used as a private dwelling.

Afon Lledr River in north-west Wales and the second major tributary of the River Conwy

The Afon Lledr is a river in north-west Wales and the second major tributary of the River Conwy. It is about 10 miles or 16 km long, and flows in a generally easterly direction.

Slate industry in Wales Tentative World Heritage site in the United Kingdom

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Cwt y Bugail quarry

The Cwt y Bugail quarry is a former slate quarry located east of Blaenau Ffestiniog in Wales. It was first worked as a trial pit around 1840. Continuous production began in 1863 and continued until closure in 1961. The quarry was connected to the Ffestiniog Railway at Duffws Station via the Rhiwbach Tramway.

Bro Machno Human settlement in Wales

Bro Machno is a community in Conwy County Borough, in Wales, formed from the former civil parish of Penmachno. It covers the Penmachno Valley, through which runs the Afon Machno, and includes the villages of Penmachno and Cwm Penmachno. To the south west borders Gwynedd, and is located 4.8 miles (7.7 km) south of Betws-y-Coed, 21.8 miles (35.1 km) north west of Corwen, and 19.4 miles (31.2 km) south of Conwy. The whole of the community is within the Snowdonia national park, while much of it forms part of Gwydir Forest. According to the 2011 census, the population of the Bro Machno Parish was 617, of whom 342 (55%) were able to speak Welsh and 214 (34%) had no skills in Welsh.

Blaenau Ffestiniog North railway station

Blaenau Ffestiniog North was the London and North Western Railway's (LNWR's) second passenger station in Blaenau Ffestiniog, then in Merionethshire, now in Gwynedd, Wales.

Nod Glas Formation

The Nod Glas Formation is an Ordovician lithostratigraphic group in Mid Wales. The rock of the formation is made up of pyritous, graptolitic mudstone that is generally black in colour. It weathers to a soft, very well cleaved and coal-like material. The formation runs from Conwy in the north, down to Cardigan Bay in the area around Aberdyfi and Tywyn, though it is not a continuous over this area.

Prince Llewellyn quarry

The Prince Llewellyn quarry was a slate quarry that stands on the west side of the Lledr Valley, ENE of Dolwyddelan. It was worked from around 1820 to 1934.

Chwarel Ddu quarry was the earliest slate quarry in the Lledr Valley. It was working before 1810, and continued in sporadic operation until the late 1920s. It is about 0.5 miles (0.80 km) west of Dolwyddelan, just beneath Dolwyddelan Castle.

Rhiw-goch quarry, Conwy Former slate quarry in Carnarvonshire, Wales

Rhiw-goch quarry was a slate quarry that was worked from the 1860s to 1908. It stands on the north side of the Afon Lledr, on the opposite side of the valley from Pont-y-Pant railway station.

Owen Gethin Jones

Owen Gethin Jones, was a Welsh building contractor, quarry owner and prominent poet.

Penmachno quarry

The Penmachno quarry was a slate quarry near Cwm Penmachno, Conwy, North Wales. It was directly below the Rhiwbach Quarry. It was worked between 1818 and 1962.

References

  1. The Gentleman's Magazine. Bradbury, Evans. 1890. pp. 90–.
  2. Richards, Alun John (1999). The Slate Regions of North and Mid Wales and Their Railways. Gwasg Carreg Gwalch. ISBN   978-0-86381-552-2.

Coordinates: 53°04′N3°52′W / 53.06°N 3.87°W / 53.06; -3.87