Cast-iron bridge, Aberogwen, Bangor
This bridge over the river Ogwen was built in 1824 using parts cast in Merthyr Tydfil. From the shore you can see its elegant arch, above which are the construction date and the words: “Cast at Penydarran Ironworks Glamorganshire”.
The bridge belonged to the Penrhyn Estate and was out of bounds to the public until July 2024, when the Wales Coast Path was diverted to cross it (see below). The bridge gave Penrhyn Castle residents and servants access to the north-east corner of the estate, where there were kennels and a pheasantry.
According to the Cambrian Archaeological Association in 1900, there was previously a fish trap downstream of the bridge, and Capel Ogwen, a little to the east, may have been built for the parish priest to give thanks for the catch. There was a large cromlech (prehistoric burial mound) by the entrance to the fish weir. The sea had eroded the land around the cromlech.
South of the bridge the Ogwen flows over several weirs. It’s thought that water was flooded over adjoining meadows in winter to freeze and be taken to Penrhyn Castle’s ice house, where food was kept cool long before modern refrigeration was invented.
The Wales Coast Path originally included a long detour around the Penrhyn Estate. A new 3.2km section along the shoreline between Aberogwen and Porth Penrhyn was opened in July 2024, following an agreement between Gwynedd Council, Richard Douglas Pennant and the trustees of the Penrhyn Settled Estates.
The new path, funded by the Welsh Government, was designed to avoid disturbance to the inter-tidal wildlife habitat. It passes through designated ancient woodland, where the aggregate was laid on special materials which protect tree roots. Bird and bat boxes were installed.
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