Cwm Penmachno (historically called Tre-Gynwal) is a village at the head of Cwm Machno in

North Wales North Wales ( cy, Gogledd Cymru) is a regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders Mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, ...

History

The village was built in the 1860s as a quarry settlement. The

Penmachno quarry The Penmachno quarry (also known as Cwm Machno quarry, Rhiwfachno quarry, or Tan-y-Rhiw quarry) was a slate quarry near Cwm Penmachno, Conwy, North Wales. It was directly below the Rhiwbach Quarry. It was worked between 1818 and 1962. His ...

lay immediately south and above the settlement. Higher up the valley was the Rhiwbach slate quarry, which was formerly linked by the Rhiwbach Tramway to the

Ffestiniog Railway The Ffestiniog Railway ( cy, Rheilffordd Ffestiniog) is a heritage railway based on narrow-gauge, located in Gwynedd, Wales. It is a major tourist attraction located mainly within the Snowdonia National Park. The railway is roughly long a ...

Blaenau Ffestiniog Blaenau Ffestiniog 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 ...

. Streams flow from the steep-sided valley, forming the source of the

River Machno River Machno ( cy, Afon Machno) is a river in Snowdonia in north-west Wales. It is the first major tributary of the River Conwy, which it joins south of Betws-y-coed, past the Pandy Falls and the Machno Falls. It has its source in the slopes ...

, which flows through the larger village of Penmachno before joining the

River Conwy , name_etymology = , image = Boats in River Conwy.jpg , image_size = 300 , image_caption = Boats in the river estuary at Conwy , map = , map_size = , map_caption = , pus ...

south of

Betws-y-Coed Betws-y-coed (; '' en, prayer house in the wood'') is a village and community in the Conwy valley in Conwy County Borough, Wales, located in the historic county of Caernarfonshire, right on the boundary with Denbighshire, in the Gwydir Forest. ...

Facilities

The village attracts tourists, particularly mountain bikers, kayakers, canoeists and walkers. The Penmachno Mountain Bike Trail starts at the car park located between Cwm Penmachno and Penmachno. There is a community centre and Heritage Room in the village at the former Shiloh Chapel. Situated near the end of the valley is

The Latymer School ("He who endures wins") , established = , type = Voluntary aided grammar school , religion = , president = , head_label = Headteacher , head = Maureen Cobbett , r_head_label = , r_head = , chair_lab ...

's outdoor centre, Ysgol Latymer Outdoor Pursuits Centre (occupying the buildings of the former primary school). The school runs residential trips each year for year 7 and year 9 pupils, as well as various Geography and PE trips. The Latymer School purchased this centre in Snowdonia National Park so that its pupils could get to know each other better and to discover their individual skills. File:Rhiw Bach Terrace - geograph.org.uk - 749540.jpg, Terraced housing built for quarry workers (Rhiw Bach Terrace). Image:cwmpenmachno1969.jpg, Cwm Penmachno from the south (quarry in foreground), 1969. File:The head of Cwm Machno - geograph.org.uk - 559910.jpg, The head of Cwm Machno, the village and quarry in the background. File:Capel Shilo, Cwm Penmachno - geograph.org.uk - 750478.jpg, Capel Shiloh, Cwm Penmachno. File:Ysgol_Centre,_The_Latymer_School_(London,_2005).jpg, The Ysgol Latymer Outdoor Pursuits Centre.

References

External links

Photographs of Cwm Penmachno Slate Quarry
Bro Machno Villages in Conwy County Borough {{Conwy-geo-stub