Tanygrisiau is a village and area within Blaenau Ffestiniog in the upper end of the

Vale of Ffestiniog The Vale of Ffestiniog is a valley in the Snowdonia National Park in Gwynedd, North Wales. It stretches from Ffestiniog in the east and runs in a westerly direction towards Tremadog Bay, terminating near Porthmadog. The Afon Dwyryd runs throug ...

in the county of Gwynedd, north-west

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

(). It can be found along the southern side of the Moelwyn mountain range and dates to around 1750. It joins onto the semi-urban area of Blaenau Ffestiniog, and is in the

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, ...

Ffestiniog Ffestiniog () is a community in Gwynedd in Wales, containing several villages, in particular the settlements of Llan Ffestiniog and Blaenau Ffestiniog. It has a population of 4,875. History Ffestiniog was a parish in Cantref Ardudwy; in 1284 ...

; located between and above sea level. it is in the electoral ward of Bowydd and Rhiw which had a 2011 census population of 1878. The village itself has a population of around 350.

Geography

The Moelwyns protect the village from much of the wind from northerly gales in the winter and give the village a pleasant southerly aspect with relatively mild weather considering its location high in Snowdonia. However rainfall in the upper end of the Ffestiniog valley can be very high all year around.

Industrial Past and Present

Tanygrisiau, or more properly 'Tan y grisiau', is Welsh for "below the steps", referring to the stepped cliffs above the village. Tanygrisiau was famous for its slate mining, producing a high quality black slate that was used across the world. The major quarries above the village were Cwmorthin, Wrysgan and Conglog. Tanygrisiau railway station is on the Ffestiniog Railway, a narrow gauge railway built to carry slate from the mines down to the sea at

Porthmadog Porthmadog (; ), originally Portmadoc until 1974 and locally as "Port", is a Welsh coastal town and community in the Eifionydd area of Gwynedd and the historic county of Caernarfonshire. It lies east of Criccieth, south-west of Blaenau Ff ...

where it was shipped all around the world, mostly for use in roofing. The nearby Ffestiniog power station, the high Stwlan Dam and Llyn Ystradau, colloquially known as Tanygrisiau Reservoir, are part of a

pumped storage hydroelectricity Pumped-storage hydroelectricity (PSH), or pumped hydroelectric energy storage (PHES), is a type of hydroelectric energy storage used by electric power systems for load balancing. The method stores energy in the form of gravitational potential ...

installation. Much nearer the railway station is a

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in severa ...

on the Afon Cwmorthin and below the falls, and powered by a different water source, is a very small hydro-electric

power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many ...

. The closure of the slate mines during the late 1970s led to massive depopulation of the area from which it has only recently (2005) begun to recover. Tanygrisiau has close links with the regiment of the

Royal Welch Fusiliers The Royal Welch Fusiliers ( cy, Ffiwsilwyr Brenhinol Cymreig) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, and part of the Prince of Wales' Division, that was founded in 1689; shortly after the Glorious Revolution. In 1702, it was designate ...

Language

Welsh is the predominant language of the area and the medium of instruction in all local schools.

Leisure

The village is a starting point for walks into the Moelwyns, especially if the intention is to climb Moelwyn itself. Care should be taken as there are numerous mine shafts in the area. As a result of the slate mining, when the Snowdonia National Park was created, Tanygrisiau, Manod and Blaenau Ffestiniog were left outside, thus creating a doughnut-shaped area excluded from the National Park.

Gallery

Image:FR Ystradau 1.jpg, Llyn Ystradau, looking down towards the dam. Image:Cwmorthin6293201.jpg, Cwmorthin Falls taken from the Porthmadog train leaving Tanygrisiau File:FR TYG sign.jpg, The sign at the car park for Tanygrisiau railway station

Notable residents

* Gai Toms music artist

Noted former residents

* Gwyn Thomas, Welsh poet,

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

and the present

National Poet for Wales The post of National Poet of Wales ( cy, Bardd Cenedlaethol Cymru) was established in May 2005 by Academi – the Welsh National Literature Promotion Agency and Society for Writers. The current holder of the position is Hanan Issa, who was appoi ...

, was born in Tanygrisiau in 1936. As a boy, his family then moved to Blaenau Ffestiniog. *

Meredydd Evans Meredydd Evans (9 December 1919 – 21 February 2015), known colloquially as Merêd, was a collector, editor, historian and performer of folk music of Wales. A major figure in Welsh media for over half a century, Evans has been described as influe ...

(born Llanegryn, Wales 1919) was a collector, editor, historian and notable performer of folk music of Wales.

References

External links

*
Landscape photographs in and around Blaenau Ffestinioggeograph.co.uk
photos of Tanygrisiau and surrounding area {{authority control Villages in Gwynedd Mining communities in Wales Ffestiniog