Visit Blaenau Ffestiniog Places

Welcome to Visit Blaenau Ffestiniog Places
The Walkfo guide to things to do & explore in Blaenau Ffestiniog

  

Blaenau Ffestiniog Places Overview: History, Culture & Facts about Blaenau Ffestiniog

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Blaenau Ffestiniog history

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Farming (before 1750)

Present-day Blaenau Ffestiniog was a farming region with scattered farms working the uplands below the cliffs of Dolgaregddu and Nyth-y-Gigfran. A few of the historic farmhouses survive at Cwm Bowydd, Neuadd Ddu, Gelli, Pen y Bryn and Cefn Bychan.

Slate (1750–1850)

In 1765, two men from the long-established Cilgwyn quarry near Nantlle began quarrying in Ceunant y Diphwys to the north-east of the present town. In 1800, William Turner and William Casson from the Lake District bought the lease and expanded production. In 1819, quarrying began on slopes at Allt-fawr near Rhiwbryfdir Farm, on land owned by the Oakeley family. Further off, Cwmorthin and Wrysgan quarries were dug to the south of the town, while a series of quarries started at Rhiwbach, Cwt y Bugail and Blaen y Cwm.

Urbanization (1851–1900)

By 1881, Blaenau Ffestiniog’s population had reached 11,274. The slate boom gave way to a sharp decline in the town’s slate industry.

Slate decline (1901–1950)

The slate industry recovered only partly from the recession of the 1890s. The First World War sent many quarrymen into the armed forces and production fell. There was a short post-war boom, but the long-term trend was towards mass-produced tiles.

Since 1945

The remaining quarries served by the Rhiwbach Tramway closed in the 1950s and 1960s. The population of Blaenau Ffestiniog fell to 4,875 in 2011. Tourism became the town’s largest employer, with Gloddfa Ganol and the Slate Caverns at Llechwedd.

Blaenau Ffestiniog geography / climate

Blaenau Ffestiniog consists of distinct areas, several taking their names from settlements that predate the town. The town is in the centre of the Snowdonia National Park but the boundaries exclude it and its slate-waste heaps. The mountains round the town form a watershed between the River Lledr and the River Dwyryd.

You can visit Blaenau Ffestiniog places with Walkfo Blaenau Ffestiniog to hear history at Blaenau Ffestiniog’s places whilst walking around using the free digital tour app. Walkfo Blaenau Ffestiniog has 42 places to visit in our interactive Blaenau Ffestiniog map, with amazing history, culture & travel facts you can explore the same way you would at a museum or art gallery with information audio headset. With Walkfo, you can travel by foot, bike or bus throughout Blaenau Ffestiniog, being in the moment, without digital distraction or limits to a specific walking route. Our historic audio walks, National Trust interactive audio experiences, digital tour guides for English Heritage locations are available at Blaenau Ffestiniog places, with a AI tour guide to help you get the best from a visit to Blaenau Ffestiniog & the surrounding areas.

“Curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 42 audio facts unique to Blaenau Ffestiniog places in an interactive Blaenau Ffestiniog map you can explore.”

Walkfo: Visit Blaenau Ffestiniog Places Map
42 tourist, history, culture & geography spots

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Blaenau Ffestiniog historic spots	Blaenau Ffestiniog tourist destinations	Blaenau Ffestiniog plaques	Blaenau Ffestiniog geographic features
Walkfo Blaenau Ffestiniog tourism map key: places to see & visit like National Trust sites, Blue Plaques, English Heritage locations & top tourist destinations in Blaenau Ffestiniog

  

Best Blaenau Ffestiniog places to visit

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Blaenau Ffestiniog has places to explore by foot, bike or bus. Below are a selection of the varied Blaenau Ffestiniog’s destinations you can visit with additional content available at the Walkfo Blaenau Ffestiniog’s information audio spots:

Glynllifon Street railway station Glynllifon Street railway station was a temporary northern terminus station of the Festiniog and Blaenau Railway (F&BR) sited between the street of the same name and Cwmbowydd Road. It was never named.

Ffestiniog Memorial Hospital Ffestiniog Memorial Hospital is a health facility in Blaenau, Gwynedd, Wales. It is managed by the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board.

Car gwyllt The car gwyllt is a Welsh invention used by quarrymen to ride downhill on the steep inclined planes of a slate quarry. The invention was invented by Welsh quarrymen in the 1930s.

Blaenau Ffestiniog Amateur F.C. Blaenau Ffestiniog Amateur Football Club are a Welsh football club. Founded in 1883, they are given the nickname “The Quarrymen” due to the quarry history around the town. The Quarry Men play their home games at Cae Clyd.

Ffestiniog Power Station The Ffestiniog Power Station is a 360-megawatt (480,000 hp) pumped-storage hydroelectricity scheme. The station, commissioned in 1963, was the first major pumped storage system in the UK. The scheme has the capacity to power the whole of North Wales for several hours.

Conglog quarry Conglog quarry was a small enterprise situated to the north-west of Tanygrisiau, near Blaenau Ffestiniog in Wales. It was overshadowed by the much bigger Rhosydd quarry a little further to the west.

Visit Blaenau Ffestiniog plaques