Swallow Falls

Title

Swallow Falls

Artist

Rob Hemphill

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

Swallow Falls is one of those locations that you stumble across by chance when driving through the pretty village of Betws-y-Coed in Snowdonia, Wales. The falls are located on the Afon Llugwy river near the village itself. It's thought that the English name arose from a mis-hearing of the Welsh word ewynnol (foaming) as the similar-sounding y wennol (swallow).

Betws-y-Coed is one of the honeypot locations in Snowdonia. It lies in the Snowdonia National Park, in a valley near the point where the River Conwy is joined by the River Llugwy and the River Lledr, and was founded around a monastery in the late sixth century.

It was suggested in 1899 that the falls could be used to generate electricity for the nearby village of Betws-y-Coed, as well as overhead lighting for the falls. In 1913 the second Lord Ancaster, the landowner, gave the Swallow Falls to the local council, who decided to charge for visiting it in order to pay off some of the £15,000 debt incurred through the installation of water and electricity supplies to the village. Once the debt of costs of installation was cleared the parish retained the fee, resulting in Betws-y-coed having the lowest rates in the country.

By the 1930s, the waterfall had become a popular tourist destination, although there were few visitors during the winter off-season. A writer in the Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer on 17 January 1933, described the waterfall as coming "over the rocks in a perfect torrent, peerless white in the dusk."

In 1939, Richard Morris, the former chairman of the local council, was charged with making false entries in the upkeep of the tolls. There was a total deficiency of £67 15s 6d; by the time the charge was laid, Morris had already repaid the sum. The cheap water and electricity rates ended after Local Government re-organisation in 1974.

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Featured in the following FAA Groups:

"A Gorgeous Green - Nature Only" 07/23/2020
"10 Plus" 07/02/2020
"World Landscape Lovers of Art" 06/24/2020
"No Place Like Home" 06/13/2020
"The Top 50 Features" 06/08/2020
"England Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland" 06/08/2020
"New FAA Uploads" 06/06/2020
"Your Story of Art" 06/05/2020
"Your Very Best Photography" 06/05/2020
"Just Perfect" 06/04/2020
"Exploration Photography" 06/04/2020
"Long Exposure And Night Photography" 06/03/2020
"Water Forms" 06/03/2020
"Images That Excite You!" 06/03/2020

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Uploaded

June 3rd, 2020

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