Llangrannog (sometimes spelt as Llangranog) is both a village and a

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...

Ceredigion Ceredigion ( , , ) is a county in the west of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire. During the second half of the first millennium Ceredigion was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. Cere ...

, Wales, southwest of

New Quay New Quay ( cy, Cei Newydd) is a seaside town (and electoral ward) in Ceredigion, Wales, with a resident population of around 1,200 people, reducing to 1,082 at the 2011 census. Located south-west of Aberystwyth on Cardigan Bay with a harbour a ...

. It lies in the narrow valley of the

River Hawen The River Hawen ( cy, Nant Hawen) is the main stream that flows through Llangrannog, Ceredigion, Wales into Cardigan Bay.Ordnance Survey of Great Britain It falls as a waterfall near the centre of the village, then flows to the beach through a v- ...

, which falls as a

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several wa ...

near the middle of the village. Llangrannog is on the

Wales Coast Path The Wales Coast Path ( cy, Llwybr Arfordir Cymru) is a designated long-distance trail which follows, or runs close to, the coastline of Wales. Launched in 2012, the footpath is long and was heralded as the first dedicated coast path in the wor ...

Demographics

Population

According to the 2011 census, Llangrannog's population was 775. This was a 2.6% decrease since the 796 people noted in

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

. It is estimated that Llangrannog's population decreased further to 759 in 2019.

Welsh language

The 2011 census showed 46.5% of the town's population could speak

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

, a fall from 51.8% in 2001.

Geography

The large rock between Llangrannog and Cilborth Beaches is Carreg Bica, a stack of

Ordovician The Ordovician ( ) is a geologic period and System (geology), system, the second of six periods of the Paleozoic Era (geology), Era. The Ordovician spans 41.6 million years from the end of the Cambrian Period million years ago (Mya) to the start ...

rock weathered by the sea, one of many along the coastline. A large piece of Carreg Bica fell away some years ago. Llangrannog's

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shel ...

has received

Blue Flag beach The Blue Flag is a certification by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) that a beach, marina, or sustainable boating tourism operator meets its standards. The Blue Flag is a trademark owned by FEE, which is a not-for-profit non-gov ...

status. An

RNLI The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. It i ...

lifeguard service is provided. Two streams flow down the beach to the sea - the Hawen and the smaller Nant Eisteddfa. There is a waterfall on the Hawen, known as Y Gerwn. Located within the community is the tiny island of Ynys Lochtyn.

Legend

According to

legend A legend is a Folklore genre, genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human valu ...

, ''Carreg Bica'' (trans: Bica's rock)the large sea-weathered stack of

rock on the beachis the tooth of the

giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: '' gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fr ...

''Bica''. He lived in Ceredigion and was forced to spit his tooth onto the beach when suffering a bad toothache.

Notable people

Edward Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

once spent a holiday in Llangrannog. Welsh artist Christopher Williams visited and painted here. His painting "Holidays - Village Girls at Llangrannog" is in the collection of the

National Library of Wales The National Library of Wales ( cy, Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru), Aberystwyth, is the national legal deposit library of Wales and is one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies. It is the biggest library in Wales, holding over 6.5 million boo ...

. *

Dylan Thomas Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer whose works include the poems "Do not go gentle into that good night" and "And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Under ...

visited Llangrannog whilst he was living in New Quay in 1944–45. He came to the Ship Inn with Tommy Herbert, the

Aberaeron Aberaeron, previously anglicised as Aberayron, is a town, community, and electoral ward between Aberystwyth and Cardigan, in Ceredigion, Wales. Ceredigion County Council offices are in Aberaeron. The name of the town is Welsh for ''mouth of the ...

vet, and with

Ira Jones Ira Jones (July 10, 1923 – July 11, 2004) was an author, best known as the first sergeant in charge of Elvis Presley for a portion of the time Elvis served in the army. Early life and family Ira Jones was born in Johnson county, Arkansas the ...

, the World War One fighter ace. *

Sarah Jane Rees Sarah Jane Rees (9 January 1839 – 27 June 1916), also known by a bardic name as "Cranogwen", was a Welsh teacher, poet, editor, master mariner and temperance campaigner. She had two romantic friendships with women, first with Fanny Rees, until ...

was born in Llangrannog and is buried in the church yard. A precocious child, by the age of 15 she had learned navigation from her sea captain father and went on to obtain her Masters Certificate. She taught navigation in a school she founded to help local seamen better themselves. In 1865 she won the crown in the Aberystwyth National Eisteddfod under the bardic name of Cranogwen. She became a popular lay-preacher and eventually gave up school teaching to concentrate on preaching and on establishing the South Wales Women's Temperance Union in 1901 to counter the harm done by alcohol among the working classes.

Sport and leisure

Crannog, Llangrannog's

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

team, play in the

Ceredigion League The Ceredigion League (known as ''The Costcutter Ceredigion League'' for sponsorship purposes) is a Welsh football league for the county of Ceredigion. It is at the fifth level of the Welsh football league system. It was founded in 1921 as the ...

References

Welcome to Llangrannog website

Bibliography

* *

External links

* {{authority control Beaches of Ceredigion Coast of Ceredigion Villages in Ceredigion Seaside resorts in Wales