Bro Trawsfynydd
Pigion Bro
- Pigion Bro
The ancient town of Trawsfynydd is steeped in history with Bronze-age, Roman and Norman ruins to catalogue its vibrant past. With fewer than a thousand inhabitants, the town is a stronghold of the Welsh language and over 80% of the population is Welsh- speaking.
The village was home to the famous Welsh poet, Hedd Wyn, who died in the first war never knowing that he had won the Eisteddfod Chair – one of the most prestigious prizes at the National Eisteddfod of Wales. These days the village is perhaps best known for its nuclear power station and the man-made reservoir Llyn Trawsfynydd which was created to cool its reactors.
Alwyn Ellis - Stone Waller
Iolo and Shân venture onto the fields to meet Trawsfynydd local, Alwyn Ellis who makes stone walls in Trawsfynydd and the surrounding area. A rare skill these days, his stone walls are famous and are a prominent part of the landscape in the area.
Eleri Wyn Jones – Veterinarian
Shân visits the Coed-y-Rhygen farm which is situated beside the Trawsfynydd lake to meet Eleri Wyn Jones who now works as a veterinary surgeon in Dolgellau. The family’s Islyn Stud is famous breeding horse in the area, and Eleri and her family have tasted great success in shows and competitions over the years.
Shân gets the chance to ride one of the horses as Eleri takes her on a trip beside Trawsfynydd lake, taking in the wonderful views of the area as they ride.
Carys Wyn Edwards - Bee keeper
The tradition of bee keeping has been in Carys Wyn Edwards’ family for years, but she began to show an interest in bee keeping when she was fourteen years old. Today, Carys has some twenty hives in total, all scattered in different places. She makes a variety of products from the hives – honey, mead, candles and blocks of wax and polish.
Since 2004 she has competed in several shows with her honey and in the Royal Welsh Show 2009, she won twelve first prizes, six second prizes and six third prizes – the most successes the show has ever seen.
Shân gets the chance to see Carys at work as she visits the bee hives at her home in the Ganllwyd area.
Richard Foxhall - Trawsfynydd Power Station
Iolo gets the chance to venture beyond the doors of the famous Trawsfynydd Nuclear Power Station to see what exactly happens there. Building work began on the power station 50 years ago, the only inland power station in the United Kingdom. Since 1991, the production work has ceased, and now the site is in the process of being decommissioned and the waste is being disposed of. Although this is the case, the power station continues to be one of the main employers in the area as Iolo will hear from one of the power station’s staff, Richard Foxhall.
Dewi Prysor - Hanesydd
Dewi Prysor will be guiding Iolo and Shân on a historical journey in the Trawsfynydd area. He is best known as an author and musician but he first earned his living as a stonemason. Born and brought up in the area, he now lives in Llan Ffestiniog with his wife and three sons.
Iolo and Shân are taken to an old cottage – Dolddinas, which sits on the banks of the Llafar River on a piece of land in the middle of a wild open mountain. Here lie remains of Roman practise camps, and they also visit Prysor Castle – which is situated at the top of Cwm Prysor. The site itself is so much more than just the remains of the castle on the cliff, and the only surviving reference to Castell Prysor is a letter written by Edward I, addressed from Castell Prysor, in 1284.
Twm Elias - Plas Tan-y-Bwlch
Iolo calls in at Plas Tan-y-Bwlch, the Snowdonia National Park Environmental Studies Centre to see what goes on there. The centre aims to provide courses which are of interest to all lovers of the countryside, and one of the centre’s staff, Twm Elias, tells Iolo about the centre’s interesting courses, referring specifically to a course about bats.
Dewi Williams - Llechi Ithfaen
Dewi Williams and his brother run Cwmni Ithfaen Meirionnydd, the Meirionydd Granite Company. The company makes all manner of products out of granite including furniture, plaques, and floors. They used to take their raw material from Cwrt y Bugail quarry but the quarry closed two years ago. As a consequence of this, several local companies would been forced to close as they would be unable to source vital materials. Dewi and his brother decided therefore to buy the quarry and keep it open to keep supplying granite to a number of other companies who depend on the resource.
Iolo calls in to meet Dewi to hear about his company’s history.
Trawsfynydd Show
One of the most important events in Trawsfynydd and the surrounding area is the annual agricultural show, and Shân visits the show to meet some of the characters, who include Gwyn Moss who is demonstrating the craft of shearing sheep the old-fashioned way with shears.