Penmachno
OS Grid Ref:- SH 7547
The village of Penmachno lies in the rural Machno Valley on the edge of the beautiful Gwydir Forest and four miles south of Betws-y-Coed. Its terraced houses cluster around a five arched stone bridge which dates from 1785 and links both parts of the village.
Penmachno was an important ecclesiastical centre in the Dark Ages. Both the village church and the holy well, which is curiously situated in the cellar of the old post office, are dedicated to St. Tudclud. The church contains the oldest Christian gravestones in Wales, dating from the late 5th and early 6th centuries.
Spring lamb
A well preserved traditional Welsh farnhouse, Tyn-y-Coed Uchaf, owned by the National Trust can be viewed by the public.
Ty Mawr Wybrant
Across the bridge from Penmachno into the valley of Afon Lledr stands the isolated Ty Mawr Wybrnant, a seventeenth century house with small mullioned windows and a traditional cottage garden resplendant with Welsh poppies in the summer.
The house occupies the site of an earlier building, the birthplace of William Morgan, Bishop of St. Asaph, who first translated the bible into Welsh. Restored to its sixteenth century appearance it houses a selection of Welsh bibles and an exhibition room.
Ty Mawr Wybrnant, the interior
A footpath leads from the house through woodland and surrounding fields, which are traditionally managed.
Opening times
30 March- 30 Sept - 12.00am- 5.00pm.1- 29 Oct, 12am- 4.00pm.