Porthmadog ( Wall. Porthmadog , English Porthmadog ) - a city and community in the county of Guineth , in the north of Wales . It has been known since 1811 as a seaport , which provided for the export of products from the surrounding shale quarries. Located at the mouth of the Glaslin River on the banks of the Gulf of Tremadok . To the north and east of Portmadog is the Snowdonia National Park, connected to the city by the historical railways : the Festiniog and Welsh Uplands . This location makes Portmadog an attractive tourist destination.
| City | |
| Portmadog | |
|---|---|
| wall. Porthmadog Porthmadog | |
| A country |  Great Britain |
| Region | Wales |
| County | Guinet |
| History and Geography | |
| First mention | 1811 |
| Former names | Inis-i-Tiuin until 1821 , Port Madoc in 1821 - 1902 , Portmadoc in 1902 - 1974 |
| Digital identifiers | |
| Postcode | |
The community, led by Portmadog, includes several surrounding villages: Tremadog , Bort-i-Gest and Morva-Bihan . The community is small and, according to 2001 data, has 4187 inhabitants [1] .
History
The history of Portmadog, as well as the surrounding villages, began in November 1811, when William Madox , a wealthy Welshman from Denbishir , completed the construction of a dam in the Gulf of Tremadok [2] . The dam , built since 1807 and colloquially called the “Cob”, separated the mouth of the Glaslin River from the sea, thereby forming the Great Sands ( Traeth Mawr ) polder . The river received a new channel and was passed to the Gulf of Tremadok under the bridge connecting the western end of the dam with the mainland. Portmadog, then bearing a different name: Inis-i-Tiuyn ( Ynys-y-Tywyn ), began to be built in this place - next to the natural harbor , passable for sea vessels [3] .
In 1821, the Parliamentary Act on the new city name was released - Inis-i-Tiuin became Port Madoc ( Port Madoc - English version of the pronunciation of the name), and in 1825 the first private pier appeared in Port Madoc, where the company that built it began to take the oil shale she extracted [2] . Soon, the entire coast from Port Madoc to almost the village of Bort-i-Guest turned into a series of private berths, where slates were lowered from the mountains and then loaded onto sailing ships [4] .
In 1836 , when the Festiniog Railway was carried out from Port Madoc to Blainai Festiniog , the local center of the mining industry, the transportation of oil shale was considerably facilitated and reached very significant volumes. In 1857 and 1864, two more narrow gauge lines arrived at the Festiniog Road: Gorseddau Tramway and Croesor Tramway tram lines, which later became an integral part of the Welsh Upland Railway, and in 1867 the future Cambrian Line extended to the city Stephenson gauge, and already in 1873 the export of oil shale through Port Madoc reached 117800 tons [5] .
Vessels for transporting shale were built here in Port Madoc. These were three-masted schooners called the “ Western Ocean Yachts ”. The last of these schooners came off the Portmadog slipways in 1913 [3] , shortly before the demand for shale fell sharply. Following the decline in demand, shale railroads began to close: in 1937 - Welsh Mountain, in 1946 - Festiniogskaya [6] .
With the reopening of the Festiniog Road in 1955 - already historic - Port Madoc began to gradually develop as a tourist center, and in 1974 it received the current name, similar in pronunciation to Welsh, Portmadog.
Geography
The county capital, Carnarvon , lies 32 kilometers north of Portmadog and is connected to it by the A487 regional highway, as well as the Welsh Highland Railway . Blainai Festiniog - 18 kilometers northeast on the same highway. In addition, the Festiniog Railway , which runs through the territory of the Snowdonia National Park, runs from Portmadog to it. The Cambrian national railway line connects the city in the west with the small town of Pullheli , and in the east with Welshpool and England .
The urban climate is temperate marine , formed under the influence of the closely flowing Gulf Stream . The mouth of the Glaslin River contains sediments brought from the mountains at the end of the last ice age and serving as a haven for migratory birds: magpie , red-footed warblers , curlew and, in summer, spotted tern .
Attractions
The main attraction of Portmadog is its harbor, which has changed little since the 19th century and allows you to see how a port adapted for the export of minerals was built in those days. Here are preserved - partly in a rebuilt form - the buildings of the customs and offices of Pen Kei ( Pen Cei ) [7] . In the harbor is the station of the Festiniog Railway - Portmadog Port Station. From here there is a connecting branch to the railways: the Welsh Upland and the Welsh Upland Museum , - laid right along the city streets. The Welsh Upland Museum Road Station is located next to the Cambrian Coast Line Station.
See also
- Festiniog Railway
- Welsh Highland Railway
- Welsh Upland Museum Railway
Notes
- ↑ Census 2001: Parish Profile: People: Porthmadog
- ↑ 1 2 Beazley, Elisabeth. Madocks and the Wonder of Wales London, 1967
- ↑ 1 2 John Dobson, Roy Woods. Ffestiniog Railway Traveler's Guide. Festiniog Railway Company, Porthmadog, 2004
- ↑ Gwynedd Archaelogical Trust: Porthmadog (link not available) . Date of treatment May 31, 2010. Archived October 18, 2012.
- ↑ Porthmadog: Gateway to Snowdonia
- ↑ Boyd, James IC The Festiniog Railway 1800-1974; Vol. 1 - History and Route. - Blandford: The Oakwood Press, 1975. ISBN 0-8536-1167-X .
- ↑ Porthmadog harbor. Historic background (inaccessible link) . Date of treatment June 1, 2010. Archived October 18, 2012.
Links
- Porthmadog, Gateway To Snowdonia . Porthmadog.co.uk. - The city site of Porthmadog. Date of treatment November 16, 2010. Archived April 26, 2012.
- Welcome to Porthmadog . Porthmadog.com - Portmadog's travel site. Date of treatment November 16, 2010. Archived April 26, 2012.
- Welsh Highland Heritage Railway . - Site of the Welsh Mining Museum Railway. Date of treatment November 16, 2010. Archived April 26, 2012.
- The Welsh Highway Railway Project . - Site of the Welsh Mining Railway. Date of treatment November 16, 2010. Archived April 26, 2012.
- Ffestiniog Railway ( inaccessible link) . - Site of the Festiniog Railway. Date of treatment November 16, 2010. Archived October 26, 2006.