Porthdinllaen
| Porthdinllaen | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Coordinates | 52 ° 57 ′ N , 4 ° 34 ′ W | ||
| OS National Grid | SH276416 | ||
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| administration | |||
| Post town | Pwllheli | ||
| ZIP code section | LL53 | ||
| prefix | 01758 | ||
| Part of the country | Wales | ||
| Preserved County | Gwynedd | ||
| Unitary authority | Gwynedd | ||
Porthdinllaen (also spelled Porth Dinllaen in English ) is a small village on the coast of the Lleyn Peninsula in Gwynedd , Wales . It lies on a narrow headland a good three kilometers west-northwest of Nefyn and historically belonged to Caernarfonshire .
The site has been owned by the National Trust since 1994 . There are only about two dozen buildings in Porthdinllaen, including the Ty Coch pub in the center of the village.
Access to the village is only permitted for residents with a special permit. Visitors have to walk the last one and a half kilometers either along the beach or over the golf course at the top of the headland.
port
Porthdinllaen was originally a fishing village, which is located in a natural harbor on the western edge of a bay over two kilometers wide, which offers more than 40 hectares of safe anchorage. The harbor is protected from all winds (except from the northeast) by a promontory to the north. It is the only such port on the Lleyn Peninsula and has been used for many centuries for trade and as a haven from a storm.
In May 1806 a parliamentary resolution allowed the construction of new buildings as it appeared that Porthdinllaen would be chosen as the port for the route to Ireland instead of Holyhead on Anglesey . Porthdinllaen is almost as far to the west as Holyhead, but Holyhead was more accessible thanks to road construction by Thomas Telford . In 1808 the Porthdinllaen Harbor Company was founded, but the draft law to select Porthdinllaen as the port for traffic with Ireland failed in Parliament in 1810.
The pig was a major economic player on the Lleyn Peninsula and Porthdinllaen the main port for export to Liverpool . In 1830 the local shipowners and traders applied for the construction of a pier in order to be able to use steamships instead of the usual sailors, but this was rejected by the owners of the port. Nevertheless, the first steamer was used in 1832. Porthdinllaen also had flourishing trade relations with Ireland. In addition to other goods, cattle, manure and large quantities of salt (for salting herring) were imported, while the export to Ireland consisted mainly of salted herring in barrels.
Plans for a railway connection
After the proposal for a ferry port to Ireland failed, there were various proposals for the construction of a railway to connect the port in Porthdinllaen. However, none of them was realized:
- 1845: The Worcester and Porth-Dynllaen Railway applies to Parliament for building permission for a line from Worcester to Porthdinllaen
- 1845: The North Wales Railway plans to build a 45 km stretch from Bangor to Porthdinllaen
- 1860: The Aberystwith and Welsh Coast Railway intends to build a stretch of Aberystwyth after Porthdinllaen, but only up Pwllheli will be built
- 1877: The Cambrian Railways Act renews the building permit for the missing section from Pwllheli to Porthdinllaen
Lifeboat station
In the 19th century Wales lacked good roads, so many places were easiest to get to by sea. Porthdinllaen on the north coast of the Lleyn Peninsula, thanks to its sheltered location on a bay open to the north, became an important refuge from storms and a lively trading port that was used by over 700 ships in 1861. After the storms of 1863, the local pastor wrote to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution asking for a lifeboat to be stationed in the harbor.
The boathouse and slipway went into operation in 1864. The station has been manned continuously since then; it is the only lifeboat station where Welsh is the common language of the crew.
Location
Thanks to its ancient yet well-preserved condition, Porthdinllaen regularly serves as a location for film and television. In September 2004, it portrayed a Scottish fishing village in the romantic thriller Half Light with Demi Moore.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Porthdinllaen. Rhiw.com, accessed March 22, 2014 .
- ↑ a b Porthdinllaen. (No longer available online.) Archives Network Wales, archived from the original on April 13, 2014 ; accessed on March 22, 2014 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Half Light Film. Ty Coch Inn, accessed March 22, 2014 .
