Community and Heritage
Stretching from the vale of Ffestiniog down towards Corris; Meirionnydd is host to some of the most spectacular scenery in Wales, with nearly the entire old county included in the Snowdonia National Park.
Meirionnydd has been populated since before the Neolithic period, the Neolithic-bronze age (c.4000BC-c.3000BC) saw the development of basic farming and agriculture techniques, wood has a valuable and useful resource for fuel, construction, tools, and played a major part in day to day life.
By the Iron Age (c.1000BC) Meirionnydd was inhabited by the Ordovician tribe, and later by the Celtic era, Wales was developing its own language and identity. Welsh is amongst one of the oldest languages in Europe. Although Wales has faced many invasions in its history, the north west of Wales is seen as a stronghold of the language and traditions of the country.
Today Meirionnydd is a predominantly Welsh speaking area, with all day to day business carried out in Welsh. There are measures in place to protect the language and promote its use, all schools in the area teach through the medium of Welsh, and all public and most private bodies provide a bilingual service.
The people of Meirionnydd have always had a very important relationship with the land and landscape, from the continuous development of agriculture and forestry, through to the slate quarries of the nineteenth century. The oakwoods sites are full of clues that show how our relationship with the oak trees and the land has developed. These range from old farmsteads, mines, lime kilns and bloomeries – these old structures and mines provide the perfect place for bats, mosses, ferns and lichens, which contribute to the biodiversity of the Meirionnydd oakwoods. It is clear from the history of the woodlands that they have been in constant management by people, whether it be positive or damaging. These forests have played an important role in the economic development of the area and continue to do so today.
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Glasdir is the best site in the world…
It provides a home for some amazing plants that aren’t found anywhere else on the globe!. This group of plants known as bryophytes were amongst the first to develop after the last ice age 14,000 years ago! and they’re still here now. The oak trees, the steep gorge and the river rushing down the valley creates the perfect habitat for these amazing plants
This area is situated between two patches of oakwood. Three years ago we cleared the conifers, leaving the site open for development into a community woodland for everyone. Joining these two areas of oakwood will expand the habitat and allow the rare species to colonise new ground helping to safeguard their future. |
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The Meirionnydd oakwoods habitat management project adopted the site and since 2004 the local community has started work to turn this area from bare ground back into a vibrant oakwood. So if you want to get involved? Give the project team a call on 0845 604 0845 or send us an e-mail.
Why not come and have a go at
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One of the main reasons that the oakwoods have survived so long in Meirionnydd is down to their strength and durability as a material and their value to people. The woods were managed as part of agriculture alongside livestock like cows, goats and pigs until the 17th century, in fact, the mast, or “crop of acorns” from the trees was used to fatten up the pigs and was a valuable food source to livestock. Oak was also an important part in the leather industry of the area, with the bark from the tree used for the tanning process because of its high levels of tannic acid. Timber from the Meirionnydd oakwoods played an important part in the ship building industry of Porthmadog, which shipped the slate from the quarries in Blaenau Ffestiniog all around the world. |
When we look at the history and heritage of these oak woodlands we cannot overlook the role played by the great estates of Meirionnydd. The Oakley estate; located in the northern reaches of the oakwoods made up part of the lands owned by the Oakley family. The family were involved with the running of many of the mines in Meirionnydd and had a great impact on the development of the area, including the building of a new road between Harlech and Maentwrog, and the building of a new church in Maentwrog.
Click to visit the Meirionnydd Quarries web pages.
The great Nannau estate makes up a large part of what is known as Coed y Brenin today. Founded in 1100 by Cadwgan; the prince of Powys, it was bought by the Forestry Commission in 1922.
These old estates provide us with some of our older specimens of oak, but they also provide us with an enormous problem. In the 19th century there was a great fashion for collecting rare and exotic plant species and growing them on the estate grounds, one such plant is Rhododendron. Rhododendron ponticum is a major pest species today, suffocating the under-storey of the oakwoods and preventing re-growth. These invasive plants with their bright pink flowers are a noted characteristic of the landscape in Meirionnydd, some people love them for their beautiful pink flowers, while others hate them and see them as a major threat to the biodiversity of the area (see Invasive Species page).
Today the oakwoods are prized for their amenity value as well as their timber, with oak still fetching a high price on the timber market. The oakwoods are an important resource for the community, providing employment, use as an educational, and recreational facility for local community and a boost to tourism in the area.
