Penrhyndeudraeth

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Penrhyndeudraeth (headland/promontory with two beaches in Welsh) is a village in Gwynedd, Wales. It is located between the Traeth Mawr ("big beach"), the now largely reclaimed estuary of the River Glaslyn, and the Traeth Bach ("little beach"), the estuary of the River Dwyryd. The village is close to the mouth of the River Dwyryd on the A487 from Porthmadog.

It has two stations, Penrhyndeudraeth railway station on the southern side of the village on the Cambrian Coast Railway from Pwllheli to Shrewsbury and to the north, Penrhyn railway station, on the A4085 near the top of the hill, on the Ffestiniog railway.

The village is at the junction of the A487 with the A4085 which connects with Beddgelert. The first section of this road is very narrow and rises steeply through the village. In places it is so narrow that only a single vehicle can pass.

To the south is a toll road leading over a wooden bridge providing a short-cut to the Harlech road. This toll bridge (at Pont Briwet, grid reference SH619383) provides stunning views of the Dwyryd estuary, only spoiled by the electricity pylons crossing immediately downstream. The bridge is also shared with the main line railway.

The main manufacturing industry in Penrhyndeudraeth was established in 1872 to make Gun Cotton. It became Cook's Explosives in 1922 and was taken over by Nobel and later still by I.C.I. The works closed and the site was finally cleared in 1997 and is now a nature reserve notable for the presence in summer of Nightjars.