Farming was the main occupation of the inhabitants of the valley. For fuel, the inhabitants relied largely on peat, which was cut on the moors, and carted, or pulled on sledges, down to the houses in the valley. This simple self-sufficiency was reflected in the diet of the majority of the people, which consisted of mutton broth, porridge, gruel, and milk. That such an apparently harsh way of life could be a remarkably healthy one can be demonstrated by the longevity of many of the inhabitants in days when the average expectation of life in the rest of Britain was far below what it is today. Evans reported 21 persons in the parish of over 75 years of age in 1870, of whom one was 102. Cases of others reaching 100 were recounted to him from previous years.

Meanwhile, the City Council of Liverpool were looking for a site for a new reservoir to provide more water for the ever-expanding population of the great, sprawling urban area they controlled along the banks of the Mersey. Various sites were under consideration in northern England and Wales, but in most cases, some snag prevented them from being suitable. In the summer of 1877 Mr Deacon, the city engineer of  Liverpool, arrived in Llanwddyn to investigate the possibility of damming the river Vyrnwy at a point somewhere below the village to create a large, artificial lake capable of holding many millions of gallons of water. During his surveying of the area, a rock bar was discovered lying across the bed of the valley, at the point where it began to narrow two miles south of the village. The potential of this rock bar as a base on which to construct a dam convinced Deacon that he had, at last, discovered a good site for the creation of a reservoir.

Deacon worked swiftly and presented his report to the Liverpool Corporation on 27 November that year, 1877. It was accepted in principle, and in September 1878 trial shafts were sunk at the chosen site to see if the rock bed would provide a secure enough foundation on which to build a dam destined to hold back ahead of water of ten thousand million gallons.

I was invited to a holiday with Cynthia A. Silk and she was kind and generous and a lovely lady too.  I was invited to Lake Vrynwy Hotel and Spa.  I had my breakfast brought to the bedroom which was lovely.  We had evening meals and travelled during the day to look at the surroundings of Lake Vrynwy.  We also went to POWIS CASTLE, which was wonderful and we took pictures.  Peacocks came up to us and Cynthia took pictures of the valley or gardens there and Deers too.  We really enjoyed ourselves and met some wonderful people too.  Wales is a beautiful place to stay and live. I hope one day we will go back.  

I was watching Once Upon a Time on the television and I really enjoyed the show as I turned off the television as the show ended.  Then I saw a lady in our room who was dressed in 1800’s clothes and a man in work clothes, as well as another man who was dressed in like a suit.  I suppose the horn was a dinner break.  Times were hard then and men did work hard as well as the women.  I did not see them for long as I thought oh wow I cannot go anywhere without seeing ghosts lol.  I did ask them if they wanted to go to heaven, they declined the offer.  It was a shame as they have been there that long they had forgotten that they were dead and did not have to work on the lake anymore.

By Cindy Poulson