Penygroes is a large village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 in northwestern Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

. The village is located to the south of Caernarfon

Caernarfon

Caernarfon is a Royal town, community and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,611. It lies along the A487 road, on the east banks of the Menai Straits, opposite the Isle of Anglesey. The city of Bangor is to the northeast, while Snowdonia fringes Caernarfon to the east and southeast...

 and north of Porthmadog

Porthmadog

Porthmadog , known locally as "Port", and historically rendered into English as Portmadoc, is a small coastal town and community in the Eifionydd area of Gwynedd, in Wales. Prior to the Local Government Act 1972 it was in the administrative county of Caernarfonshire. The town lies east of...

 along the A487. Penygroes' population

Population

A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...

 stands at 1,680, of which 88% are Welsh

Welsh language

Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...

-speaking, making it one of the most predominately Welsh-speaking areas of the country.

History and amenities

It is located in the former slate

Slate

Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...

 quarrying area of Dyffryn Nantlle

Nantlle Valley

The Nantlle Valley is an area in Gwynedd, north Wales, characterised by its large number of small settlements.Around 80% of the population of the Nantlle Valley speak Welsh as their first language. Some of the communities came into being as a result of slate quarrying in the late eighteenth or...

, although most of the quarries are now closed down. However it remains the valley's main shopping and administrative centre. Its biggest employer is a paper converting plant producing hand tissues and toilet rolls.

It lies in the parish of Llanllyfni

Llanllyfni

Llanllyfni is a small village near Penygroes in Gwynedd, North Wales.It is a largely Welsh speaking close-knit village. About over 85% of the villagers speak Welsh as their first language....

, and nearby villages are Carmel

Carmel, Gwynedd

Carmel is a small village near Y Fron in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. The village is built up mainly of Victorian homes, with a more modern area. The village has its own school, Carmel school and still has managed to keep a couple of shops, one a general store , which is run by Doris Jones, the...

, Talysarn, Nantlle, Tanrallt, Nebo, Pont Lloc and Groeslon

Groeslon

Groeslon is a small village in the community of Llandwrog in the Welsh county of Gwynedd.Nearby villages are Penygroes, Carmel and Dinas. The village lies approximately five miles south of Caernarfon. It has one primary school in the centre of the village and no secondary schools...

.

It is the site of the area's comprehensive school

School

A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...

, Ysgol Dyffryn Nantlle

Ysgol Dyffryn Nantlle

Ysgol Dyffryn Nantlle is a small bilingual secondary school in Penygroes for pupils aged 11–18. In 2009 there were approximately 530 children enrolled including about 50 pupils in the sixth form...

 (opera star Bryn Terfel

Bryn Terfel

Bryn Terfel Jones CBE is a Welsh bass-baritone opera and concert singer. Terfel was initially associated with the roles of Mozart, particularly Figaro and Leporello, but has subsequently shifted his attention to heavier roles, especially those by Wagner....

's old school), and the once-legendary football team Nantlle Vale, which used to be managed by the professional wrestler and promoter Orig Williams

Orig Williams

Orig Williams was a Welsh professional wrestler and wrestling promoter. Williams spent his wrestling career in the persona of a villainous heel under the pseudonym "El Bandito", and after retiring as a fighter he became a promoter, manager and television presenter...

, better known by his ring name of El Bandito. The club's former social complex has in recent years been demolished, and a brand new police station and arrest suite now occupies the site.

The cyclepath Lôn Eifion

Lôn Eifion

Lôn Eifion is part of Lôn Las Cymru, the Welsh National Cycle Route, which is about long.Lôn Eifion is the section which runs for from Caernarfon to Bryncir along most of the former Caernarfon to Afon Wen line. This line was that of the Carnarvonshire Railway , and joined with the Cambrian Coast...

 passes through the village, following the path of the former Bangor-to-Afonwen branch railway line, which was closed in 1964.

Penygroes lies by the edge of Lord Newborough's former estate at Glynllifon, from which several medieval legends have emanated. The character Lleu Llaw Gyffes, who features in the ages-old legends of the Mabinogi (sometimes inaccurately referred to as the Mabinogion), was said to have lived in the area. The Iron Age

Iron Age

The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...

 hillfort at Dinas Dinlleu and the village of Nantlle—originally spelt as Nantlleu—are said to have been named after him.

Notable residents include the poets R. Williams Parry

R. Williams Parry

Robert Williams Parry was one of Wales' most notable poets in the twentieth century.- His life :R. Williams Parry was born in Talysarn, in Dyffryn Nantlle, a first cousin to T.H. Parry-Williams and Sir Thomas Parry...

 and Mathonwy Hughes, current British Kickboxing Champion Robin Humphreys, the popular contemporary actor and singer Bryn Fon

Bryn Fôn

Bryn Fôn is a Welsh actor and singer-songwriter .- Biography :Fôn attended Ysgol Gynradd Llanllyfni and Ysgol Dyffryn Nantlle before going on to study physical exercise and environmental studies at college. He began his career in entertainment by taking part in the opera Dic Penderyn in 1977...

, the Labour politician and former MP Betty Williams and the academic Dafydd Glyn Jones

Dafydd Glyn Jones

Dafydd Glyn Jones is a Welsh scholar and lexicographer, born in the village of Carmel, Gwynedd. He is a specialist in Middle Welsh prose, and his other interests include Welsh history, Robert Jones, Rhoslan, and the life and work of Emrys ap Iwan....

.