Barmouth
Encyclopedia
Barmouth is a town
in the county
of Gwynedd
, north-western Wales
, lying on the estuary
of the River Mawddach
and Cardigan Bay
.
The town is served by Barmouth railway station
.
industry, and more recently as a seaside resort
. Notable buildings include the mediaeval Tŷ Gwyn tower house
, the 19th century Tŷ Crwn roundhouse prison
and St John's Church. There is also a new Lifeboat Visitors' Centre, where visitors can purchase souvenirs, and take a look at the RNLI lifeboat
from the viewing gallery. The busy harbour plays host to the annual Three Peaks yacht race
. The famous mountaineer and sailor Bill Tilman
lived in Barmouth for many years.
Barmouth Bridge
, which takes the Cambrian Line
over the River Mawddach, was also formerly at the end of the GWR
Ruabon Barmouth line
, which passed through Bala
and Dolgellau
. The southern end of the bridge is now the start of the Mawddach Trail, a cycle path and walk way that utilises the old trackbed.
Ferries
sail from Barmouth to Penrhyn Point, where they connect with the narrow gauge
Fairbourne Railway
for the village of Fairbourne
.
William Wordsworth
, a visitor to Barmouth in the 19th century, described it thus: "With a fine sea view in front, the mountains behind, the glorious estuary running eight miles inland, and Cadair Idris
within compass of a day's walk, Barmouth can always hold its own against any rival."
Barmouth is (geographically) the closest seaside resort
to the English
West Midlands
and a large proportion of its tourist visitors, as well as its permanent residents, are from Wolverhampton
, Birmingham
, Dudley
and other parts of the Black Country
.
One of Barmouth's star attractions for the last 25 years or so has been the Arousal Cafe. Originally the 'Carousal Cafe', the letter C was stolen soon after the sign was put up. The owner replaced the C numerous times, only to find it stolen again. He has since ceased his attempts to fix the sign.
, the team competes in the Welsh Alliance league
and is generally well supported by residents.
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
in the county
County
A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...
of Gwynedd
Gwynedd
Gwynedd is a county in north-west Wales, named after the old Kingdom of Gwynedd. Although the second biggest in terms of geographical area, it is also one of the most sparsely populated...
, north-western Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, lying on the estuary
Estuary
An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....
of the River Mawddach
River Mawddach
The River Mawddach is a river in North Wales which has its source in a wide area north of Dduallt in Snowdonia. The river is much branched and many of the significant tributaries are of a similar size to the main river...
and Cardigan Bay
Cardigan Bay
Cardigan Bay is a large inlet of the Irish Sea, indenting the west coast of Wales between Bardsey Island, Gwynedd in the north, and Strumble Head, Pembrokeshire at its southern end. It is the largest bay in Wales....
.
The town is served by Barmouth railway station
Barmouth railway station
Barmouth railway station serves the seaside town of Barmouth in Gwynedd, Wales. The station is on the Cambrian Coast Railway with passenger services to Harlech, Porthmadog, Pwllheli, Tywyn, Aberdovey, Machynlleth and Shrewsbury...
.
History
The town grew around the shipbuildingShipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to before recorded history.Shipbuilding and ship repairs, both...
industry, and more recently as a seaside resort
Seaside resort
A seaside resort is a resort, or resort town, located on the coast. Where a beach is the primary focus for tourists, it may be called a beach resort.- Overview :...
. Notable buildings include the mediaeval Tŷ Gwyn tower house
Tower house
A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation.-History:Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountain or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strategic points with reduced forces...
, the 19th century Tŷ Crwn roundhouse prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
and St John's Church. There is also a new Lifeboat Visitors' Centre, where visitors can purchase souvenirs, and take a look at the RNLI lifeboat
Lifeboat (rescue)
A rescue lifeboat is a boat rescue craft which is used to attend a vessel in distress, or its survivors, to rescue crewmen and passengers. It can be hand pulled, sail powered or powered by an engine...
from the viewing gallery. The busy harbour plays host to the annual Three Peaks yacht race
Three peaks yacht race
The Three Peaks Yacht Race is held each year in June in the United Kingdom since 1977. It is based on an idea of the late Bill Tilman, who had advocated a Three Peaks Challenge route without using motorised transport...
. The famous mountaineer and sailor Bill Tilman
Bill Tilman
Major Harold William "Bill" Tilman, CBE, DSO, MC and Bar was an English mountaineer and explorer, renowned for his Himalayan climbs and sailing voyages.-Early years and Africa:...
lived in Barmouth for many years.
Barmouth Bridge
Barmouth Bridge
The Barmouth Bridge is a single-track largely wooden railway viaduct that crosses the estuary of the Afon Mawddach river on the coast of Cardigan Bay between Morfa Mawddach and Barmouth in Gwynedd, Wales...
, which takes the Cambrian Line
Cambrian Line
The Cambrian Line is a railway from Shrewsbury to Welshpool, Aberystwyth and Pwllheli. The railway runs first through the central part of Wales and then along the coast of Cardigan Bay....
over the River Mawddach, was also formerly at the end of the GWR
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
Ruabon Barmouth line
Ruabon Barmouth Line
The Ruabon to Barmouth Line was a standard gauge branch line of the Great Western Railway across the north of Wales which connected Ruabon, in the east, with Barmouth on the west coast.-Connections:...
, which passed through Bala
Bala, Gwynedd
Bala is a market town and community in Gwynedd, Wales, and formerly an urban district of the historic county of Merionethshire. It lies at the north end of Bala Lake , 17 miles north-east of Dolgellau, with a population of 1,980...
and Dolgellau
Dolgellau
Dolgellau is a market town in Gwynedd, north-west Wales, lying on the River Wnion, a tributary of the River Mawddach. It was the county town of the former county of Merionethshire .-History and economy:...
. The southern end of the bridge is now the start of the Mawddach Trail, a cycle path and walk way that utilises the old trackbed.
Ferries
Barmouth Passenger ferry
The Barmouth Ferry provides a passenger service across the River Mawddach and connects the town of Barmouth with Penrhyn Point and Barmouth Ferry railway station, the northern terminus of the Fairbourne Railway. The journey takes approximately five minutes. There are two ferry operators on the...
sail from Barmouth to Penrhyn Point, where they connect with the narrow gauge
Narrow gauge
A narrow gauge railway is a railway that has a track gauge narrower than the of standard gauge railways. Most existing narrow gauge railways have gauges of between and .- Overview :...
Fairbourne Railway
Fairbourne Railway
The Fairbourne Railway is a gauge miniature railway running for from the village of Fairbourne on the Mid-Wales coast, alongside the beach to the end of a peninsula at Barmouth Ferry, where there is a connection with a pedestrian ferry across the Mawddach estuary to the seaside resort of...
for the village of Fairbourne
Fairbourne
Fairbourne is a village on the coast of Barmouth Bay to the south of the estuary of the River Mawddach in Gwynedd, surrounded by the Snowdonia National Park. Before the seaside resort was built the coastal area was known as Morfa Henddol, while the outcrop now occupied by the Fairbourne Hotel was...
.
William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth was a major English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with the 1798 joint publication Lyrical Ballads....
, a visitor to Barmouth in the 19th century, described it thus: "With a fine sea view in front, the mountains behind, the glorious estuary running eight miles inland, and Cadair Idris
Cadair Idris
Cadair Idris or Cader Idris is a mountain in Gwynedd, Wales that lies at the southern end of the Snowdonia National Park. The peak, which is one of the most popular in Wales for walkers and hikers, is composed largely of Ordovician igneous rocks, with classic glacial erosion features such as...
within compass of a day's walk, Barmouth can always hold its own against any rival."
Seaside resort
A seaside resort is a resort, or resort town, located on the coast. Where a beach is the primary focus for tourists, it may be called a beach resort.- Overview :...
to the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
West Midlands
West Midlands conurbation
The West Midlands conurbation is the name given to the large conurbation that includes the cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton and the large towns of Dudley, Walsall, West Bromwich, Solihull, Stourbridge, Halesowen in the English West Midlands....
and a large proportion of its tourist visitors, as well as its permanent residents, are from Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, Dudley
Dudley
Dudley is a large town in the West Midlands county of England. At the 2001 census , the Dudley Urban Sub Area had a population of 194,919, making it the 26th largest settlement in England, the second largest town in the United Kingdom behind Reading, and the largest settlement in the UK without...
and other parts of the Black Country
Black Country
The Black Country is a loosely defined area of the English West Midlands conurbation, to the north and west of Birmingham, and to the south and east of Wolverhampton. During the industrial revolution in the 19th century this area had become one of the most intensely industrialised in the nation...
.
One of Barmouth's star attractions for the last 25 years or so has been the Arousal Cafe. Originally the 'Carousal Cafe', the letter C was stolen soon after the sign was put up. The owner replaced the C numerous times, only to find it stolen again. He has since ceased his attempts to fix the sign.
Sport
Barmouth has one major association football team: Barmouth & Dyffryn UnitedBarmouth & Dyffryn United
Barmouth & Dyffryn United Football Club is a Welsh football club based in the coastal town of Barmouth, Gwynedd. The club currently ply their trade in the Welsh Alliance League. Although in the past the club often had crowd numbers in the high hundreds, local interest and therefore support has...
, the team competes in the Welsh Alliance league
Welsh Alliance League
The Welsh Alliance Football League is a football league formed in 1984...
and is generally well supported by residents.
Notable people
- Herbert Tudor BucklandHerbert Tudor BucklandHerbert Tudor Buckland was a British architect, best known for his seminal Arts and Crafts houses , the Elan Valley model village, educational buildings such as the campus of the Royal Hospital School in Suffolk and St Hugh's College in Oxford.-Biography:Buckland was born in...
, architect (1869–1951) - Charlie (Charlene) BrooksCharlie BrooksCharlene "Charlie" Brooks is a Welsh actress, best known for playing Janine Butcher on the BBC soap opera EastEnders.-Acting career:...
, actress (EastEnders) (1981-) - Tommy NutterTommy NutterTommy Nutter , was a British tailor, famous for reinventing the Savile Row suit in the 1960s.Born in Barmouth, Merioneth, he was raised in Edgware, Middlesex, where his father owned a local High Street Cafe. After the family moved to Kilburn, Nutter and his brother David attended Willesden...
, fashion designer - Johnny WilliamsJohnny Williams (boxer)Johnny Williams was a British former professional boxer in the 1940s and 1950s and was at one time both the British and Empire heavyweight champion....
, boxer (1926–2007) - Harold LoweHarold LoweCommander Harold Godfrey Lowe RD RNR was the Fifth Officer of the .-Early years:Harold Lowe was born in Eglwys Rhos, Caernarfonshire, North Wales on 21 November 1882, the third of eight children, born to George and Harriet Lowe...
, 5th officer, RMS Titanic
External links
- Barmouth community website latest news from Barmouth and historical photo gallery and much more.
- Barmouth.org
- Mawddachestuary.co.uk What's on in Barmouth
- Illustrated Guide to Barmouth
- Sunset at Barmouth and Barmouth Evening by Christopher WilliamsChristopher Williams (Welsh artist)Christopher David Williams was a Welsh artist.He was born in Maesteg, Wales. His father Evan Williams intended him to be a doctor, but he disliked the idea. A visit to the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, in 1892, where he spent some hours in front of Frederick Leighton's "Perseus and Andromeda,"...
, painted in 1910s and exhibited at National Library of WalesNational Library of WalesThe National Library of Wales , Aberystwyth, is the national legal deposit library of Wales; one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies.Welsh is its main medium of communication...
. - Aerial photograph of Barmouth
- www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Barmouth and surrounding area
