Pont Aberglaslyn is a stone arch bridge over the Afon Glaslyn and the surrounding hamlet, located near Beddgelert and Nantmor in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. A well-known beauty spot, according to Peter Bishop it was "one of the most visited sites in north Wales" at the end of the eighteenth century; an 1883 guidebook wrote that it "has occupied the artist's pencil perhaps more than any other". [1] [2] [3]
Pont Aberglaslyn is located near the downstream end of the Aberglaslyn Pass. [4] While the location is rocky with the river running through rapids just upstream, it is not far above sea level. The river was tidal and navigable up to around Pont Aberglaslyn until the early nineteenth century, when the construction of the Cob seawall near Porthmadog prevented the tide from reaching it. [5] Below the bridge is Llyn Glas (Blue Lake), a former harbour site used for loading copper mined nearby. [6] [7] [8]
The bridge was formerly on the border between Caernarfonshire on the west side of the river and Merionethshire on the east. [9] [10] [11] It is now the meeting-place of the A498 and A4085.
The bridge was perhaps built in the 17th century, then extensively rebuilt and widened in 1795–6. It is Grade II listed. [12] As with many older bridges, folklore had claimed that it was constructed by the Devil or by the Romans (described as "highly dubious" by a National Trust survey); a stone with the marking "W M 1656" scratched on it was found during reconstruction, providing a terminus ante quem . [13] [14] Another possibly medieval bridge spans a small stream that is a tributary of the Glasyn nearby. [6]
Nearby is Bridge House (Ty Bont), a lodge for the nearby Aberglaslyn Hall estate. This is also listed at grade II. [15]
Archaic spellings for the site included "Pont Abberglasslyn" and "Pont Abberglaslyn". [16]
Beddgelert is a village and community in the Snowdonia area of Gwynedd, Wales. The population of the community taken at the 2011 census was 455, and includes Nantmor and Nant Gwynant. It is reputed to be named after the legendary hound Gelert. The community is large and sparsely populated and covers 86 square kilometres.
The River Usk rises on the northern slopes of the Black Mountain, Wales, in the westernmost part of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Initially forming the boundary between Carmarthenshire and Powys, it flows north into Usk Reservoir, then east by Sennybridge to Brecon before turning southeast to flow by Talybont-on-Usk, Crickhowell and Abergavenny after which it takes a more southerly course.
Llanrwst is a market town and community on the A470 road and the River Conwy, in Conwy County Borough, Wales, and the historic county of Denbighshire. It developed round the wool trade and became known also for the making of harps and clocks. Today, less than one mile from the edge of Snowdonia, its main pursuit is tourism. Notable buildings include almshouses, two 17th-century chapels, and the Parish Church of St Grwst, which holds a stone coffin of Llywelyn the Great. The 2011 census gave it a population of 3,323.
Cilgerran is both a village, a parish, and also a community, situated on the south bank of the River Teifi in Pembrokeshire, Wales. It was formerly an incorporated market town.
William Gilpin was an English artist, Church of England cleric, schoolmaster and author. He is best known as a travel writer and as one of those who originated the idea of the picturesque.
Samuel Lewis was the editor and publisher of topographical dictionaries and maps of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The aim of the texts was to give in 'a condensed form', a faithful and impartial description of each place. The firm of Samuel Lewis and Co. was based in London. Samuel Lewis the elder died in 1865. His son of the same name predeceased him in 1862.
Penrhyndeudraeth is a small town and community in the Welsh county of Gwynedd. The town is close to the mouth of the River Dwyryd on the A487 nearly 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Porthmadog, and had a population of 2,150 at the 2011 census, increased from 2,031 in 2001. The community includes the villages of Minffordd and Portmeirion.
The Afon Glaslyn is a river in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. While not of great significance in terms of its length, it is one of Gwynedd's primary rivers, and has greatly influenced the landscape in which it flows.
The River Dyfi, also known as the River Dovey, is an approximately 30-mile (48-kilometre) long river in Wales.
Nant Gwynant is a valley in northern Wales. The A498 road descends 600 feet (180 m) into the valley in about two miles (3 km) from Pen-y-Gwryd; it follows the Nant Cynnyd, the Afon Glaslyn and alongside Llyn Gwynant, then beside the Nant Gwynant river to Llyn Dinas and passing below Dinas Emrys to Beddgelert. The road continues through the Aberglaslyn Pass to Porthmadog.
The Aberglaslyn Pass is a narrow gorge of considerable beauty in Snowdonia, Gwynedd, north Wales. The A498 road/A4085 road follows a relatively level route along the Afon Glaslyn through the pass from Beddgelert to Prenteg and then continues at the edge of the Traeth Mawr via Tremadog to Porthmadog.
Tal-y-Bont is a small village in Conwy County Borough, Wales and lies in the Conwy Valley, west of the River Conwy, on the B5106 road, 6 mi (9.7 km) from the town of Conwy to the north, and six miles from Llanrwst to the south, and in the community of Caerhun. It lies adjacent to the village of Dolgarrog to the south, and below the small settlement of Llanbedr-y-Cennin to the west. The population is around 400.
Llanwrthwl is a village and community in Powys, mid Wales, and the historic county of Brecknockshire. Llanwrthwl lies off the A470 road, north by road from Builth Wells and Newbridge-on-Wye and south of Rhayader. It lies on the River Wye and River Elan and the village is accessed by a bridge over the Wye. In 1833, its population was 517; its population in 1841 was 568; in 1845, its population was 563.
Aberglaslyn Hall is an outdoor learning centre near Beddgelert, North Wales on the edge of the Snowdonia National Park. The hall was purchased by Leicestershire County Council in 1962. It offers dormitory style accommodation for up to 48 people and serves as a residential centre for groups wishing to participate in outdoor activities and environmental education.
Philip Brannon was an artist, engraver, writer, printer, architect and civil engineer. In the 1850s he wrote and illustrated various guidebooks to Southampton, Bournemouth and other south coast places. He designed the Church of the Saviour in Southampton (1859), and a concrete bridge over the River Axe at Seaton, Devon (1877) which pioneered the use of the material. He was granted patents relating to the use of concrete in building design, and also for “navigable balloons”, of which he was a keen advocate.
Pont Cysyllte, also known as Cysylltau Bridge or Bont Bridge, is a 17th-century road bridge crossing the River Dee near the village of Trevor, Wrexham County Borough, Wales. It lies 200 m west of Thomas Telford's Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and, carrying the B5434 road, is the main connection between Trevor and nearby Froncysyllte.
Watkin George (1759-1822) was an carpenter, engineer and ironmaster from Trevethin in Monmouthshire. He rose from humble beginnings as a carpenter to have a major influence on ironworks at Cyfartha and Pontypool and is responsible for the design of early cast-iron bridges.
Dulas Bridge spans Dulas Brook, a tributary of the River Wye in Hay-on-Wye, Powys, Wales.
Peter Bishop was an English painter specialising in the mountain landscape of north Wales and was an art historian.
The Afon Ysgethin is a short river in Gwynedd, Wales. Flowing entirely within Snowdonia National Park it rises beneath the peaks of Y Llethr and Diffwys within the Rhinogs mountain range and runs in a generally ESE direction towards Cardigan Bay.