Old Colwyn
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Old Colwyn (Welsh Hen Golwyn), is a small town just to the east of Colwyn Bay, in the county of Conwy, north Wales. Prior to local government reorganisation in April 1974 it was part of the Municipal Borough of Colwyn Bay, but the reorganisation established it as a separate parish (known as a community in Wales), whose population at the 2001 census was 7,626. It hosted the National Eisteddfod in 1941. It also harbours the 3rd Colwyn Bay (Old Colwyn) Scout Group headquarters.
In Old Colwyn is an area of woodland called the 'Fairy Glen'. This area of woodland is said to contain many different spirits including fairies, hence its name, which dates from the Victorian era and is a common name from that period (e.g. the "Fairy Glen" in Penmaenmawr). This area has recently undergone a regeneration by funding of the council and it is now possible to walk through it easily. The Fairy Glen is subject to an ownership dispute between Conwy County Borough Council and the water board, Dŵr Cymru, each claiming that the maintenance of the area is the responsibility of the other.
Old Colwyn is overlooked by the (now derelict) Hotel 70 degrees, so named because of the steep incline of the cliff on which it rests. It also has easy access onto the promenade and beach, as well as a protruded cliff area known as Penmaenhead, marked by a disused stone utility house. This is a popular spot amongst teenagers for the dangerous practice of "cliff jumping" when tide is in and the water is deep enough, though to date nobody has been hurt.
Old Colwyn once had a station on the North Wales Main Line from Chester to Holyhead; the line remains open but the station closed in December 1952. There is still a "Station Road."
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