The Lledr Valley () is a valley in

Snowdonia Snowdonia or Eryri (), is a mountainous region in northwestern Wales and a national park of in area. It was the first to be designated of the three national parks in Wales, in 1951. Name and extent It was a commonly held belief that the na ...

north North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. It runs from the top of the Crimea Pass, north of Blaenau Ffestiniog down to

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. ...

. The

A470 road The A470 (also named the Cardiff to Glan Conwy Trunk Road) is a trunk road in Wales. It is the country's longest road at and links the capital Cardiff on the south coast to Llandudno on the north coast. While previously one had to navigate ...

follows the line of the valley, as does the railway line from Blaenau Ffestiniog to Llandudno, and within the valley there are stations at

Roman Bridge The ancient Romans were the first civilization to build large, permanent bridges. Early Roman bridges used techniques introduced by Etruscan immigrants, but the Romans improved those skills, developing and enhancing methods such as arches and ...

Dolwyddelan Dolwyddelan ( ; ; ) – in Victorian times, often spelled Dolyddelen – is a village and community in Conwy county borough, Wales, on the main A470 road between Blaenau Ffestiniog and Betws-y-Coed. As a community, the population of Dol ...

, and Pont-y-Pant.

is the main settlement in the valley. The

river Lledr The ( en, River Lledr, italic=yes) is a river in north-west Wales and the second major tributary of the River Conwy. It is about 10 miles or 16 km long, and flows in a generally easterly direction. The has its source on the eastern slo ...

, which gives its name to the valley, joins 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 ...

to the south of

Industry

During the Victorian period the valley was renowned for its slate quarries, which were concentrated around Dolwyddelan. These quarries worked the

Nod Glas Formation The Nod Glas Formation (also known as the Nod Glas Black Shale, the Cadnant Shale, the Penarwel Mudstones or just Nod Glas) is an Ordovician lithostratigraphic group (a sequence of rock strata) in Mid Wales. The rock of the formation is made up of ...

, which extended across Mid and North Wales. It was primarily a bed of soft, black shale, but in the area of the Dolwyddelan syncline it was partially metamorphisised into slate. The principle quarries in the valley were: *

Prince Llewellyn quarry The Prince Llewellyn quarry (also known as Bwlch Cynnud quarry, Y Foel quarry, Hendre Ddu quarry, or Prince Llywelyn quarry) was a slate quarry that stands on the west side of the Lledr Valley, ENE of Dolwyddelan. It was worked from around 1820 ...

and Chwarel Fedw *

Chwarel Ddu Chwarel Ddu quarry was the earliest slate quarry in the Lledr Valley. It was working before 1810, and continued in sporadic operation until the late 1920s. It is about west of Dolwyddelan, just beneath Dolwyddelan Castle. History The quar ...

Ty'n-y-bryn quarry Ty'n-y-bryn quarry (also known as Bwlch y Llan quarry or Lledr Vale quarry) was a slate quarry that was worked from the 1840s to about 1914. It stands on the south-east edge of Dolwyddelan. History The original workings at Ty'n-y-bryn were ...

and Penllyn *

Rhiw-goch quarry Rhiw-goch quarry (also known as Brandreath quarry) was a slate quarry that was worked from the 1860s to 1908. It stands on the north side of the Afon Lledr, on the opposite side of the valley from Pont-y-Pant railway station. History The qua ...

References

{{Coord, 53.06, -3.87, type:landmark_region:GB_dim:10000, display=title Valleys of Conwy County Borough