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48148

Blaenau Ffestiniog in Gwynedd, North Wales.

Before the slate industry developed, the area now known as Blaenau Ffestiniog was a farming region, with scattered farms working the uplands below the cliffs of Dolgaregddu and Nyth-y-Gigfran. A few of these historic farmhouses survive at Cwm Bowydd, Gelli, Pen y Bryn and Cefn Bychan. Much of the land was owned by large estates.

During the 1860s and 1870s the slate industry in Blaenau Ffestiniog went through a large boom. The quarries expanded rapidly, as did the nascent town of Blaenau Ffestiniog. The town gained its first church and first school and saw considerable ribbon development along the roads.

By 1881, the town's population had soared to 11,274. The boom in the slate industry was followed by a significant decline. The 1890s saw several quarries lose money for the first time, and several failed entirely, including Cwmorthin and Nyth-y-Gigfran.

Although the slate industry partly recovered from the recession of the 1890s, it never fully recovered. The First World War saw many quarrymen join the Armed Forces, and production fell. There was a short post-war boom, but the long-term trend was towards mass-produced tiles and cheaper slate from Spain.

Oakeley Quarry took over Cwmorthin, Votty & Bowydd and Diphwys Casson, while Llechwedd acquired Maenofferen. Despite this consolidation, the industry continued to decline. The Second World War saw a further loss of available workers. In 1946, the Ffestiniog Railway closed.

The slate quarries continued to decline steadily after 1950. The remaining quarries served by the Rhiwbach Tramway closed during the 1950s and 1960s. Oakeley closed in 1970, with the loss of many local jobs. It re-opened in 1974 on a much smaller scale and was worked until 2010. Maenofferen and Llechwedd continued to operate, but Maenofferen finally closed in 1998. Llechwedd is still a working quarry, working the David Jones part of Maenofferen (level two-and-a-half).

As the slate industry declined, the population of Blaenau Ffestiniog has also declined, to 4,875 in 2011. At the same time the tourism industry has become the town's largest employer. The revived Ffestiniog Railway and the Zip World Slate Caverns are popular tourist attractions, as is the Antur Stiniog downhill mountain biking centre. Recent attractions include the Zip World Titan zip-line site, which also now features the Bounce Below slate mine activity centre.

Information Source:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaenau_Ffestiniog

Taken in: UK / Wales / Ffestiniog / Tanygrisiau (show map)

Taken on: September 11, 2019

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Sets appears in: • Gwynedd • Blaenau Ffestiniog more » • Wales « less

Groups appears in: • Wales • Gwynedd more » • Snowdonia • Wales and the Welsh • North Wales, UK • North Wales • Unlimited! • Snowdonia, Wales • Blaenau Ffestiniog- then and now. • The Vale of Ffestiniog • Wales, UK • Ffestiniog • (A) BEAUTIFUL VILLAGE RETREAT • The Very Great Outdoors • CYMRU COUNTRY • Flickr Photo Album Unlimited & Instant Posting « less

Camera: Nikon D7200, f/6.3, 1/640 sec, 300mm (=450mm), ISO 800 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D7200
Aperture:	f/6.3
Exposure Time:	0.002 sec (1/640)
Focal Length:	300mm (35mm equivalent: 450mm)
ISO:	800
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Not Defined
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Gain Control:	Low gain up
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Windows Photo Editor 10.0.10011.16384
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