The Elan Valley, near Rhyader in Mid Wales has arranged a series of events for this bank holiday weekend to commemorate its 120th anniversary of the official opening of the dams.
Coach tours on Saturday (August 24) will allow guests to uncover the “rich history and breath-taking landscapes of the stunning Mid Wales estate”, with a knowledgeable guide on hand to provide information for all fascinated guests.
The first tour will take guests through the Peny y Garregg Dam, with the first 120 visitors of the day also being treated to a cream tea and a complimentary cupcake. The historic tour of the valley will depart at 10am and conclude at midday.
The celebration continues throughout the weekend with bank holiday pop-up stalls on both Saturday (August 24), and Sunday (August 25).
The stalls will feature local Welsh artisans, who will showcase their creativity in food, drink, arts and crafts for all visitors.
Elan Valley is a renowned area in Mid Wales known for its stunning landscapes, rich history, and remarkable engineering heritage. The valley is home to a series of dams and reservoirs that have provided water to Birmingham for over a century, making it a vital part of the region’s history and development.
The Elan Valley, which is home to 70 square miles of dams and reservoirs, boasts incredible views of across the Welsh landscape, and has been a popular tourist destination for many years.
The area was once used to provide Birmingham with clean water, but today, the dams and reservoirs provide visitors with a natural scenery to enjoy, and allow natural habitats to thrive with numerous species of flora and fauna.
Elan Valley has arranged an event this Bank Holiday to celebrate the 120th Anniversary of the official opening of the dams – as many around Wales remember their clearances to provide water for Birmingham.
Events
The first tour departs at 10:00am and concludes at midday, with a second tour running from 1:30pm to 3:30pm. Each tour includes a knowledgeable guide, a special viewing inside Pen y Garreg Dam, a cream tea, free parking, and a complimentary cupcake for the first 120 visitors.
This opportunity to explore one of mid Wales’ most iconic landmarks costs £20 per person and is perfect for history enthusiasts, nature lovers, or simply those looking for a fun and enriching weekend activity.
The ‘celebration’ continues throughout the weekend with Bank Holiday pop-up stalls on both Saturday, 24 August, and Sunday, 25 August from 9:00am to 5:00pm.
This array of stalls will feature Welsh artisans proudly showcasing their creativity in food, drink, arts and crafts.
Further information about the tour and pop-up market may be found here.
Elan Valley also offers a range of activities for the whole family. Visitors can hire bikes (or bring their own) to explore nine scenic trails, take walks in historic landscapes or enjoy a drink and cake at the café.
Brutal history
Jon Gower reviewed a landmark book titled The Elan Valley Clearance back in 2020 which goes into painstaking detail into the lost places and communities that, to this day, remain largely forgotten – with Tryweryn becoming an often sole-remembered figurehead of a process of Welsh resource extraction that continues to this day.
Jon wrote at the time: “The fate of Tryweryn, and the inundation of the Welsh speaking community at Capel Celyn to slake the city of Liverpool’s thirst for water is well known and the name reverberates even today.
“But the dispossessions in the catchments of the rivers Elan and Claerwen in mid Wales are much less known, or remarked upon, or mourned.
“David Lewis Brown in chronicling – as the cover blurb has it – “The fate of the people and places flooded by the 1892 Elan Valley Reservoir Scheme” reveals those tight threads of community which were frazzled or sometimes cut entirely when the rapidly-expanding city of Birmingham managed to get an Act of Parliament passed.
“It allowed it to tap the waters of the rivers Elan and Claerwen, flooding parts of their watersheds.
“The city swiftly bought over 45,000 acres of land and set about clearing remote, upland valleys where almost 300 men and women and children lived before the engineers moved in.”
Read more about David Lewis Brown’s book, The Elan Valley Clearance here.
Elan Valley has arranged a special event this Bank Holiday to celebrate the 120th Anniversary of the official opening of the dams. On Saturday, 24th August, guided coach tours uncover the rich history and breath_taking landscapes of the stunning Mid Wales estate.
The first tour departs at 10:00am and concludes at midday, with a second tour running from 1:30pm to 3:30pm. Each tour includes a knowledgeable guide, a special viewing inside Pen y Garreg Dam, a cream tea, free parking, and a complimentary cupcake for the first 120 visitors.
This opportunity to explore one of Mid Wales’ most iconic landmarks costs £20 per person and is perfect for history enthusiasts, nature lovers, or simply those looking for a fun and enriching weekend activity.
The celebration continues throughout the weekend with Bank Holiday pop-up stalls on both Saturday, 24th August, and Sunday, 25th August from 9:00am to 5:00pm. This array of stalls will feature Welsh artisans proudly showcasing their creativity in food, drink, arts and crafts.
Further information about the tour and pop-up market may be found here.
Elan Valley also offers a range of activities for the whole family. Visitors can hire bikes (or bring their own) to explore nine scenic trails, take walks in historic landscapes or enjoy a drink and cake at the café. For more information, visit https://elan-valley.co.uk/.
Visitor Centre Opening Hours: Monday – Sunday, 09:00 – 17:00
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