Y Felinheli

infobox UK place
country = Wales
welsh_name=
constituency_welsh_assembly=
official_name= Y Felinheli
latitude= 53.185413
longitude= -4.210155
map_type=
unitary_wales= Gwynedd
lieutenancy_wales= Gwynedd
constituency_westminster= Caernarfon
post_town= Y FELINHELI
postcode_district = LL56
postcode_area= LL
dial_code= 01248
os_grid_reference= SH525675
population= 2,081
map_type= location map|Gwynedd|label=|position=left|float=none|long=-4.13|lat=53.13|caption=|width=190

Y Felinheli is a village lying beside the Menai Strait ( _cy. Y Fenai) between Bangor and Caernarfon in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. The population is about 2,200.

Etymology

Etymologically its name comes from y (the), melin (mill) and heli (brine/salt-water/sea). (An alternative view is that Y Felinheli comes from Y Felinheulyn, Mill on the river Heulyn, which runs into the village.)

There are several mills in the local area dependent on the tidal power of the Menai Strait. During the late 18th century the Dinorwig quarries built an extensive harbour for the export of slate, which was transported to the quay on the purpose-built Dinorwic Railway narrow gauge railway later replaced by the Padarn Railway. It was this industrial expansion which gave Y Felinheli (Felin-hely, 1838) the alternative name of Port Dinorwig or Port Dinorwic. The demise of the slate industry and the development of the harbour for recreational sailing have recently contributed to the replacement of the name 'Port Dinorwic' in English with 'Y Felinheli', bringing English usage in line with Welsh.

The village at present

The port now provides a centre for pleasure boating and sailing, it has moorings, a marina and a well developed accompaniment of yacht support businesses, including rigging, sail making and boatyards [http://www.portdinorwic.com/marine-services.html] . The village also has holiday accommodation. The local sailing club [http://www.pdsc.org.uk] is very active, with dinghy racing held on Saturday afternoons, and Wednesday and Friday evenings. A by-pass constructed in 1993/4 has removed much of the traffic that congested the main street for many years.

Demographics

Demographically, according to the United Kingdom Census 2001, the number of speakers of the Welsh language in all age groups was 72%, with the highest percentage of Welsh speakers being in the 5-9 range (97.8%). This means that Y Felinheli is the 49th most Welsh-speaking electoral division by percentage in Wales. There is a very strong Welsh community, with almost all community activities held in the Welsh Language.

Although most villagers work in Caernarfon or Bangor, the village has a strong sense of community. The local carnival committee organise the annual " [http://www.gwylfelin.org Gwyl y Felinheli] " (Felinheli Festival), and also a superb fireworks display at the beginning of November. Both of these events are very popular in the local area, and parts of the village close down to allow the visitors proper access.

Y Felinheli boasts a number of drinking holes, most popular are "Tafarn y Fic" and "Gardd Fôn".

The Halfway House (situated exactly halfway between Bangor and Caernarfon) the "Gardd Fôn" pub and The "Pink Palace Hotel". A new restaurant recently opened in 2008 called 'Y Cei' following a boycott of the previous restaurant who denied their staff from speaking Welsh to its customers. There is a local football team, [http://www.cpdyfelinhe.li CPD Y Felinheli] , and there is a legend of a rugby union team in years gone by.

External links

* [http://www.geograph.org.uk/search.php?i=3490155 www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Y Felinheli and surrounding area]