Trefor, Gwynedd
| Trefor | |
|---|---|
.jpg) St. George's Church, Trefor | |
  Trefor Location within Gwynedd | |
| Population | 814 |
| OS grid reference | SH371467 |
| Community | |
| Principal area | |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | CAERNARFON |
| Postcode district | LL54 |
| Dialling code | 01286 |
| Police | North Wales |
| Fire | North Wales |
| Ambulance | Welsh |
| UK Parliament | |
| Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament | |
Trefor is a village on the north coast of the Llŷn Peninsula in Gwynedd, Wales. With nearby Llanaelhaearn it makes up Llanaelhaearn community, which has a combined population of 1,117. Trefor is the larger of the two settlements, with a population of 814 as of 2011 census. It is in the historic county of Caernarfonshire.
Location and amenities
Trefor is 9 miles (14 km) north of Pwllheli and 13 miles (21 km) south of Caernarfon. It is surrounded by the sea and mountains, overlooking Caernarfon Bay.
Located just off the main A499 road, Trefor has a small harbour and a beach with some sand. At the top of the beach is an emergency telephone to summon help in the event of a maritime emergency. The land behind the beach is made of boulder clay deposited during the last glaciation, and is being slowly eroded by the sea.
Rising steeply behind the village is Yr Eifl, a range of three hills that dominate the skyline. A granite quarry, Known to the locals as 'Y Gwaith Mawr' (The large works), Trefor Granite Quarry or the Yr Eifl Quarry, opened in 1850. The industrial narrow gauge railway—Trefor Quarry railway—opened in 1865 and brought mined rock from the quarry to the coast where it was later crushed within a refinery which was located on the pier, where it was later transported onto ships , but the railway was gradually replaced by road transport. 1960 saw the end of the large scale industry with its closure, and with its closure began the clean up, many of the buildings were demolished, rubbles were either discarded beside the roads or/and buried, the majority of the rail tracks were removed and reused as fence and gate posts which are still seen today around the village.
Due to the rare properties of the granite within the quarry, it is the perfect material to produce curling stones for the winter olympics, along with Ailsa Craig Island in Scotland, Trefor is one of only two locations this particular granite is found for the use for this game.[1]
Tre'r Ceiri, the second highest of the hills, has on it one of the best examples of a Stone Age or Neolithic settlement in Europe on its summit. Views from the summits, on a clear day, extend to Ireland, the whole of Cardigan Bay, Anglesey, Snowdonia, and the northern mountains of England. The central peak, the tallest at 561 metres (1,841 ft), is called Garn Ganol; the summit nearest the sea, and the lowest, is Garn For, home to the quarry.
There is one school in Trefor, a primary school called Ysgol yr Eifl.
There was a football club in Trefor, which was re-established in the 2000–01 season. It has won one cup in its history, in the 2001–02 season.
There are two retail outlets in Trefor: a village shop which opens between 7.00 am and 7.00 pm Monday to Friday with shorter hours at the weekend, and a post office. To the north end of the village is a children's play area. It is possible to go on a pushchair-friendly circular walk, starting at the play area, down to the beach, across the headland and back into the village again.
Visitors can surf the other side of the harbour wall at Trefor. It can be a nice left-hand point over a stony reef thrown off the headland. There is a small pier next to the harbour; it has been deemed unsafe so is currently closed to the public.
Since 2015 a cycle club has been established in the village and surrounding area called Clwb Beicio'r Eifl.[2] Its members regularly take part in sportives and club rides.
Gallery
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Quarry at Trefor, 1956 -
Stryd Galch (Lime Street) -
Overlooking Trefor village and beach -
Photograph of a group of wild mountain goats grazing at Trefor by Yr Eifl, Penrhyn Llŷn
.jpg)
References
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 10 October 2006. Retrieved 13 October 2006.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Croeso i Glwb Beicio'r Eifl!" (in Welsh). Glwb Beicio'r Eifl. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
External links
