Esgairgeiliog (also known as Ceinws) is a village in

Powys Powys (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh succession of states, successor state, petty kingdom and princi ...

(formerly

Montgomeryshire Montgomeryshire, also known as ''Maldwyn'' ( cy, Sir Drefaldwyn meaning "the Shire of Baldwin's town"), is one of thirteen historic counties of Wales, historic counties and a former administrative county of Wales. It is named after its county tow ...

), Wales, UK. It is situated at the junction of the Afon Glesyrch'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) ( cy, Canolfan y Dechnoleg Amgen) is an eco-centre in Powys, mid-Wales, dedicated to demonstrating and teaching sustainable development. CAT, despite its name, no longer concentrates its efforts exclu ...

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 respon ...

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. Its ...

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 torn down and a memorial garden to April Jones was erected on its site.

Railway Station

Esgairgeiliog railway station was a station on the narrow-gauge

Corris Railway The Corris Railway ( cy, Rheilffordd Corris) is a narrow gauge preserved 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, runni ...

, although it was the opposite side of the

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

Merionethshire , HQ= Dolgellau , Government= Merionethshire County Council (1889-1974) , Origin= , Status= , Start= 1284 , End= , Code= MER , CodeName= ...

(now

Gwynedd Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, and C ...

) 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 popul ...

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 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 Island of Sodor. There are 42 books in the series, the first published in May 1945 by the Rev. Wilbert Awdry. Twen ...

References

External links

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

Eco Dyfi Valley Partnership
Villages in Powys {{Powys-geo-stub