Where famous Eryri mountain pass that always shuts in the snow gets its iconic name
When snow hits North Wales there is almost always one road that is the first to close. It is no surprise really given that Crimea Pass is over 1,260 feet above sea level.
The mountain pass – Bwlch y Gorddinan in Welsh – carries the A470 between Dolwyddelan and Blaenau Ffestiniog and is as bleak as it is beautiful. It cuts into the hillside in sections and rises above Blaenau before the road then dips sharply into the slate town.
At one end is forest and at the other the grey slate tips left as scars from an industry that once employed thousands in North Wales. People could be forgiven for thinking the Crimea name comes from the challenging landscape and often even more challenging weather[1] in the area. But it has a more interesting back story.
The new turnpike road(roads with tolls on them), replacing an earlier road to the west which dated back to Roman times, was constructed in the 1850s, around about the time of the Crimean War.
Britain was fighting alongside the Ottoman Empire and France against Russia in the war. While the battles were taking place more than 2,000 miles away on the Crimean Peninsula the name would have been well known due to the ongoing battles.
A sign marking the Crimea mountain pass near Blaenau Ffestiniog (Image: Penny Fray)
Two attempts to build and maintain a road between Blaenau Ffestiniog and Dolwyddelan were made, probably both along the line of the current road. The first was between 1854 and 1857.
An inn was erected after the road was completed, its name – The Crimea – commemorating the recently concluded Crimean War. There are also reports that Russian prisoners of war were held in a camp close to the current route and that they helped build the stone walls along the Welsh pass.
Contemporary accounts suggest that the road was poorly maintained and in 1864 the Portmadoc and Beaver Pool Turnpike Trust was set up to oversee the continued maintenance and construction of roads in the area.
Due to its reputation for fighting the pub itself was closed in 1881 after the police opposed the renewal of its licence. It is now a lay-by and picnic spot. Parts of the foundations of a building can still be seen by the layby according to Gwynedd[4] Archaeological Trust, which could be the inn or associated outbuildings.
While the pub did not survive the name lives on and there’s a good chance you’ll hear it again next time snow hits the region.
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References
- ^ weather (www.dailypost.co.uk)
- ^ Former directors at Gwynedd caravan park fined £150K after worker’s table saw accident (www.dailypost.co.uk)
- ^ Group wants to save ‘fortified brutalism’ on Conwy’s skyline that others call a ‘carbuncle’ (www.dailypost.co.uk)
- ^ Gwynedd (www.dailypost.co.uk)
- ^ The North Wales Live Whatsapp community for top stories and breaking news is live now – here’s how to sign up (www.dailypost.co.uk)