Icon	Description
	There are options to zoom in and out at the top right of the map (alternatively you can use the mouse scroll wheel or touchscreen gestures)
	At the top right of the map there is a layers button which allows you to choose different map styles

Blaenau Ffestiniog, Gwynedd. Open daily. Free entry.

❰ View on Map Updated: 1 week ago

Details

Accessibility:

There are dropped kerbs with tactile surfaces at many points through the town. There are accessible public toilets near the Information Centre. The town has two accessible car parks: at the station (Station car park) and near the Welcome Centre (Diffwys car park), both with disability spaces. The train station has a tactile warning strip on the platform. There are pavements with tactile surfaces but no dropped kerbs at some points.

Brief Description:

Blaenau Ffestiniog has for as long as anyone can remember been known as "the town that roofed the world". Slate was how Blaenau made its name, and the town is immensely proud of its industrial heritage.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaenau_Ffestiniog

2024: "Blaenau Ffestiniog (Welsh pronunciation: [ˈbleɨ̯naɨ̯ fɛstˈɪnjɔg]) is a town in Gwynedd, Wales. Once a slate mining centre in historic Merionethshire, it now relies much on tourists, drawn for instance to the Ffestiniog Railway and Llechwedd Slate Caverns. It reached a population of 12,000 at the peak development of the slate industry, but fell with the decline in demand for slate. The population of the community, including the nearby village Llan Ffestiniog, was 4,875 at the 2011 census: the fourth most populous in Gwynedd after Bangor, Caernarfon and Llandeiniolen. The population not including Llan is now only about 4,000.[1][2]

The meaning of Blaenau Ffestiniog is "uplands of Ffestiniog". The Welsh word blaenau is the plural of blaen "upland, remote region". Ffestiniog here is probably "territory of Ffestin" (Ffestin being a personal name) or could possibly mean "defensive place".[3][4] The English pronunciation of Blaenau Ffestiniog suggested by the BBC Pronouncing Dictionary of British Names is /ˈblaɪnaɪ fɛsˈtɪnjɒɡ/,[5] but the first word is pronounced [ˈbleɨna] in the area, reflecting features of the local Welsh dialect.

The remaining quarries served by the Rhiwbach Tramway closed in 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 reworked until 2010.[15] Maenofferen and Llechwedd continued, but Maenofferen finally closed in 1998.[16] Llechwedd is still a working quarry, working the David Jones part of Maenofferen (level two-and-a-half).

As the slate industry shrank, so did the population of Blaenau Ffestiniog, which fell to 4,875 in 2011. Tourism became the town's largest employer, with the development of Gloddfa Ganol in the Oakeley quarry and the Slate Caverns at Llechwedd quarry. The revived Ffestiniog Railway and Llechwedd remain popular attractions, as does the Antur Stiniog downhill mountain-biking centre,[17] and more recently the Zip World Titan zip-line site, which includes the Bounce Below slate-mine activity centre.

Blaenau Ffestiniog's tourist attractions include the Ffestiniog Railway and the Llechwedd Slate Caverns, a former slate mine open to visitors. Llechwedd is often placed among Wales's top five visitor attractions.[21] Near Blaenau Ffestiniog there are miles of mountain landscape with derelict quarries, rivers, various lakes and walking routes.

Several mountain biking trails have been created, some suitable for competitions. Bikes are available for hire.The town centre has recently been regenerated, as funding from organisations, grants and the Welsh Government of £4.5 million are spent. A new bus station has been built along with new viewing areas for neighbouring mountain ranges. Several slate structures have been built with poetry engraved on them. These are about 40 ft tall and intended to respond visually to the slate hills and mountains. Poetry and local sayings have also been engraved on slate bands set in pavements in the town centre.[22]

Various walkways have been installed, and a series of downhill mountain biking trails by Antur Stiniog.[23] A kilometre-long zip-wire has been erected at Llechwedd Slate Caverns, which is popular with thrill-seekers.

If plans go ahead, Blaenau Ffestiniog will have the UK's first vélo-rail, which is popular in France.[24] "

Further Information:

Address:

Blaenau Ffestiniog, Gwynedd, LL41 3NB

The Ffestiniog Town Council: Cyngor Tref Ffestiniog Town Council

Y Ganolfan Gymdeithasol

Ffordd Wynne

Blaenau Ffestiniog LL41 3UF

Email:

web@blaenauffestiniog.org

The Ffestiniog Town Council: https://www.cyngortrefffestiniog.cymru/en/contact/

Phone: