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The Dingle, Anglesey

LlangefniNature reserves in Anglesey
TheDingleAnglesey
TheDingleAnglesey

The Dingle (Welsh: Nant y Pandy) is a nature reserve found just to the north of Llangefni, Anglesey, north Wales. Dingle is a common placename in the English language, which means "steep wooded valley", which describes it well. However, like many similar English names for natural attractions in Wales, e.g. Fairy Glen, the English name is recent and probably coined as tourism developed. The original Welsh name, still used by locals, is Nant y Pandy (Fulling Mill Brook), as there used to be a wool processing plant in the valley. The park is naturally divided into two parts, the wooded southern half and the northern half which is in a clearing. The main entrance is by St Cyngar’s Church where there is a car park. The reserve is 25 acres (10 ha) in area and is bisected by the Afon Cefni (River Cefni). It was formed by glaciers during the last ice age as they eroded the soft rock of the area. It gained its current name in the 1830s and was designated as a local nature reserve in 1995, although there has been a blanket tree preservation order in place since 1971. In 2003 the reserve was granted £122,000 for major improvements including better disabled access, boardwalks and tree sculptures. It was awarded the UK MAB Urban Wildlife Award For Excellence in 2004 thanks to this work. The boardwalks allow visitors to make their way north to Llyn Cefni, travelling parallel to the disused tracks of the Anglesey Central Railway. Red squirrels can be found in the area.According to some stories, pumas live in Nant y Pandy. In the 1970s big cats were banned from being pets, so many people came to North Wales to let their cats loose.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article The Dingle, Anglesey (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 53.262 ° E -4.32 °
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Address

The Dingle (Nant y Pandy) Nature Reserve

Bro Caerwyn
LL77 7GF , Llangefni
Wales, United Kingdom
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Website
anglesey.gov.uk

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Nearby Places

Llangefni railway station
Llangefni railway station

Llangefni railway station was situated on the Anglesey Central Railway line from Gaerwen to Amlwch. A temporary terminus station was opened in 1864, approximately a quarter of a mile south of the current station. This station, near Glanhwfa Road, could be opened prior to the completion of bridge and cutting by which the railway travels through Llangefni. Once the portion of the line to Llanerchymedd had passed inspection in January 1866, the permanent station was opened. Little is known of the temporary station, but it may have seen some use as a goods yard after its closure to passengers.The line running through was single track and although a short loop was in existence on the Down (south) side it was never used as a passing loop.A gated track, presumably for livestock, ran diagonally down the steep hill side opposite the station and below the primary school. The gate was still there in the 1960s, with railway company plate, although the track itself was heavily overgrown. The two-storey station building was located on the Up (north) side of the track as was the small waggon shed and larger goods yard. The goods yard was used mainly for cattle as Llangefni was (and still is) the island's market town. A platform extension was undertaken in 1887 when the LNWR took over the line. All stations on the Anglesey Central line closed to passengers in 1964 as part of the Beeching Axe; goods works continued until 1993. The line itself has not been removed but the loop and the sidings have been, the latter being used as a car park. The station buildings themselves are now in private ownership. One of the best places on the island to see the remaining tracks are located in the Dingle (Nant Y Pandy) nature reserve near the station. Announced in November 2009 the Welsh Assembly Government has asked Network Rail to conduct a feasibility study on reopening the line between Llangefni on Anglesey and Bangor for passenger services. Network Rail assessed the track bed and published its report in 2010, although a business case to reopen the line is yet to be developed.On 11 October 2018, the overbridge carrying the line across the A5114 was struck by a 'convoi exceptionnel' HGV in the service of Martex; the damage to the bridge was judged too severe for it to remain in situ once the vehicle had been recovered, therefore on 14 October 2018, two 100~tonne capacity cranes attended the site, first extracting the road vehicle, then stripping off the track panels from the bridge deck, finally removing the bridge span. All recovered railway materials, including the damaged bridge, were taken to the Gwalchmai yard of Bob Francis Cranes. Thus, the previously mothballed route is now severed; the Daily Post has covered these events, mostly because the road closure has been an inconvenience locally.