Lledr Valley facts for kids
The Lledr Valley (which is called Dyffryn Lledr in Welsh) is a beautiful valley located in Snowdonia, a famous national park in north Wales. This valley stretches from the top of the Crimea Pass, which is north of Blaenau Ffestiniog, all the way down to the town of Betws-y-Coed.
The A470 road, a main road in Wales, runs through the valley. A railway line also follows the valley, connecting Blaenau Ffestiniog to Llandudno. Along this railway, you'll find stations at Roman Bridge, Dolwyddelan, and Pont-y-Pant.
The biggest village in the Lledr Valley is Dolwyddelan. The valley gets its name from the River Lledr, which flows through it and eventually joins the River Conwy just south of Betws-y-Coed.
A Look at the Valley's Past: Industry
During the Victorian era (from 1837 to 1901), the Lledr Valley was very well known for its slate quarries. Most of these quarries were located around Dolwyddelan.
These quarries dug out a special type of rock called the Nod Glas Formation. This rock was mostly a soft, black rock called shale. However, in the Dolwyddelan area, this shale was naturally changed by heat and pressure into slate, a harder rock that could be split into thin sheets. Slate was very valuable for roofing houses and other buildings.
Some of the most important slate quarries in the valley included:
- Prince Llewellyn quarry and Chwarel Fedw
- Chwarel Ddu
- Ty'n-y-bryn quarry and Penllyn
- Rhiw-goch quarry
