Urgent roof tile replacement after storm damage in Coleraine Published: 29/01/2025 A roof tile has gone missing due to a storm in Coleraine. With a replacement tile ready, learn how the repair is carried out, costs involved, and how to prevent further damage. Read this article
Blaenau Ffestiniog
Blaenau Ffestiniog is a historical mining town in Wales, in the historical area of Merionethshire, although now part of the unitary authority of Gwynedd. The population of the area of Ffestiniog was 4,875 according to the 2011 census, including the neighboring village of Llan Ffestiniog, that makes it the 4th most populated area in Gwynedd, after Bangor, Caernarfon, as well as Llandeiniolen. Llan Ffestiniog's population of 864 places the population of Blaenau itself at around 4,000. Blaenau Ffestiniog went to one-time the 2nd biggest community in North Wales, behind just Wrexham. After reaching 12,000 at the peak development of the slate sector, the population fell with the decline in the need for its slate. Today the town relies heavily on travelers, who come for destinations that consist of the nearby Ffestiniog Railway and Llechwedd Slate Caverns. As the slate market decreased, the population of Blaenau Ffestiniog has actually also declined, to 4,875 in 2011. At the same time the tourism sector has become the town's largest employer. The restored Ffestiniog Railway and the Llechwedd Slate Caverns are prominent visitor attractions, as is the Antur Stiniog downhill hill biking centre. Current attractions consist of the Zip World Titan zip-line site, which also now includes the Bounce Below slate mine activity centre.