Welcome to The Dyfi Valley;
A thriving bilingual community with a reputation for sustainability.
Based on the following ideas:
- Strengthening the local economy is the key to meeting social needs.
- Tourism and farming are the most important local industries.
- The only kind of tourism that will succeed here is sustainable tourism. Short-term fixes will not do. Equally, the only kind of farming that will succeed here is sustainable farming.
- Local distinctiveness is the key to success in many markets nowadays, particularly in tourism and increasingly in local produce (including foodstuffs).
- Food, holiday and other products will all benefit from being associated with a clean, green image of the valley – where the Dyfi valley is a leader in sustainable community regeneration.
- Globalisation of production and distribution systems leads to unsustainable levels of resource use and waste creation and makes local economies more vulnerable to external factors. Reversing this trend is sometimes called “relocalisation”.
Our Mission:
To foster sustainable community regeneration in the Dyfi valley.
Local needs must be met within a long-term vision. This implies attention to global as well as local environmental sustainability, to the robustness of the local economy and to the capacity of local people to take responsibility.
The Dyfi Valley assumes a role far greater than its short length might suggest.
Widely accepted as being the natural border between North and South Wales, the road system on the Western side of Wales forces the North-South traveller to cross the Dyfi at some point, and one of the main routes into Wales from the English Midlands follows the valley for some distance, at the end of which there are the popular seaside resort villages of Aberdyfi, Ynyslas and Borth. The scenery is terrific, and of course there’s the jewel in the crown, Machynlleth, but perhaps we’re just a bit biased! There’s a great deal of history to the valley, stretching way back beyond Owain Glyndwr to Maelgwn Gwynedd, to Taliesin and Arthur, to the Romans, and into a timeless period when people lived alongside the Tylwyth Teg, did magical things, vanquished monsters and even lost an entire land to the sea.
So, come on in…
Take a look at the area in more detail, see what it’s like today, what happened just yesterday, and go back into the dim and distant past!
The Dovey rises in the small lake Creiglyn Dyfi at about 1,900 feet (580 m) above sea level, below Aran Fawddwy, flowing south to Dinas Mawddwy and Cemmaes Road, then south west past Machynlleth to Cardigan Bay at Aberdyfi. It shares its watershed with the River Severn and the River Dee before flowing generally south-westwards down to a wide estuary. The only large town on its route is Machynlleth.
Because of its origins high in the Cambrian Mountains and its relatively short length, it is prone to flooding and some roads in the lower catchment can become impassable during very wet weather. It is a relatively pristine river with few polluting inputs and is notable for its Salmon and Sea Trout (migratory Brown Trout).
The catchment area was notable for its now defunct lead mines and slate quarries, especially around Corris and Dinas Mawddwy.
The Dyfi Valley Way is a long distance footpath that help is partly waymarked in the United Kingdom running through North Wales. The 108 miles (174 km) route runs from Borth to Aberdyfi via Machynlleth. The route is highly varied in character and directs the walker along seldom walked routes. A good map is required and, if it can be found, the route guide. The Dyfi valley provides the natural frontier between north and south Wales.
The Dovey Estuary was used as a location shot in Led Zeppelin’s 1976 film The Song Remains the Same. The segment of the film is where Robert Plant comes ashore on a boat, after which he rides a horse, making his way to Raglan Castle. Plant was obviously behind the choice of the location, being familiar with the area. Bron-Yr-Aur cottage is located on the edge of Machynlleth.
