Esgairgeiliog (also known as Ceinws) is a village in

Powys Powys ( , ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It borders Gwynedd, Denbighshire, and Wrexham County Borough, Wrexham to the north; the English Ceremonial counties of England, ceremo ...

(formerly

Montgomeryshire Montgomeryshire ( ) was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was named after its county town, Montgomery, Powys, Montgomery, which in turn was named after ...

), Wales, UK. It is situated at the junction of the

Afon Glesyrch This is a list of rivers of Wales, organised geographically. It is taken anti-clockwise from the Dee Estuary to the M48 Bridge that separates the estuary of the River Wye from the River Severn. Tributaries are listed down the page in an upstrea ...

's and

Afon Dulas The Afon Dulas, or North Dulas, is a river forming the border between Merionethshire/Gwynedd and Montgomeryshire/Powys in Wales. Another river called Afon Dulas joins the Dyfi from the south, upstream of its confluence with the North Dulas: loca ...

' valleys. Behind the village is the former Era slate quarry, in the Glesyrch valley, and the

Centre for Alternative Technology The Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) () is an ecology, eco-centre in Montgomeryshire, Powys, Wales dedicated to demonstrating and teaching sustainable development. CAT, despite its name, no longer concentrates its efforts exclusively on al ...

lies about a mile south of the village.

History

The minor road on the east side of the Afon Dulas is believed to be of Roman origin. In 1910, this road was still mostly cobbled, with sections that crossed bedrock showing deep wheel ruts. Ceinws Camp - geograph

Immediately after the Second World War, the

Forestry Commission The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the management of publicly owned forests and the regulation of both public and private forestry in England. The Forestry Commission was previously also respons ...

established the Dovey Forest (later known as the Dyfi Forest) in the land between

Corris Corris is a village in the county of Gwynedd, Wales, about north of the town of Machynlleth. The village lies on the west bank of the Afon Dulas (which here forms the boundary with Powys), around that river's confluence with the Afon Deri. ...

and

Aberangell Aberangell () is a village in Gwynedd, Wales. Geography Aberangell stands at the confluence of the Afon Angell and the Afon Dyfi, and lies within Dinas Mawddwy community. On the north side of the village, the long ridge of Pen y Clipau runs d ...

. A major camp was established on the east side of Esgairgeiliog.

Murder of April Jones

In 2012, Mark Bridger, a resident of Ceinws, abducted and murdered five-year-old April Jones from the nearby town of Machynlleth. Bridger was sentenced to a whole life sentence. His house was subsequently demolished and a memorial garden to April Jones was constructed on the site.

Railway station

Esgairgeiliog railway station Esgairgeiliog (also known as Ceinws) is a village in Powys (formerly Montgomeryshire), Wales, UK. It is situated at the junction of the Afon Glesyrch's and Afon Dulas' valleys. Behind the village is the former Era quarry, Era slate quarry, in t ...

was a station on the narrow-gauge

Corris Railway The Corris Railway () is a narrow gauge railway based in Corris on the border between Merionethshire (now Gwynedd) and Montgomeryshire (now Powys) in Mid-Wales. The line opened in 1859 as a horse tramway, running from quays on the River Dyfi ...

, although it was the opposite side of the

river from the village, making the station in the county of

Merionethshire Merionethshire, or Merioneth ( or '), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was located in the North West Wales, north-west of Wales. Name 'Merioneth' is a ...

(now

Gwynedd Gwynedd () is a county in the north-west of Wales. It borders Anglesey across the Menai Strait to the north, Conwy, Denbighshire, and Powys to the east, Ceredigion over the Dyfi estuary to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The ci ...

) as opposed to the village, which was in

(now

). A steeply-graded branch line crossed the river and led to the Era quarry, where slate could be taken from for transport to

Machynlleth Machynlleth () is a market town, community and electoral ward in Powys, Wales and within the historic boundaries of Montgomeryshire. It is in the Dyfi Valley at the intersection of the A487 and the A489 roads. At the 2001 Census it had a po ...

for

transshipment Transshipment, trans-shipment or transhipment is the shipment of goods or containers to an intermediate destination, then to another destination. One possible reason for transshipment is to change the means of transport during the journey (e.g. ...

. The station was opened in 1884, and closed at the end of passenger services in December 1930. The station was structurally and cosmetically restored in the early 1980s. The

Corris Railway Society The Corris Railway () is a narrow gauge railway based in Corris on the border between Merionethshire (now Gwynedd) and Montgomeryshire (now Powys) in Mid-Wales. The line opened in 1859 as a horse tramway, running from quays on the River Dyfi at ...

is now restoring the line, through Esgairgeiliog. The station at Esgairgeiliog is the basis for Ulfstead Road, one of the Mid Sodor Railway's stations in

The Railway Series ''The Railway Series'' is a series of British books about a railway known as the North Western Railway, located on the fictional Sodor (fictional island), Island of Sodor. There are 42 books in the series, the first published in May 1945 by Wi ...

References

External links

Photos of Esgairgeiliog and surrounding area on geograph.org.uk

Eco Dyfi Valley Partnership
Villages in Powys {{More categories, date=September 2024