Hafod estate offices

Image: © Rudi Winter Taken: 2 Apr 2013

The former stables next to the ruins of the old mansion http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3575615 are used as the estate office now. People with reduced mobility are allowed to drive down the estate road and park next to the buildings, from where there is level access to the viewpoint http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3575606 over the Afon Ystwyth and other areas in the steep-sided valley. The Hafod estate lies on both sides of the Ystwyth valley and gorge between the villages of Cwmystwyth and Pont-rhyd-y-groes. Until the dissolution of the monasteries, the land belonged to Strata Florida abbey. Having been handed over to nobility, the land came to belong to the Johnes family. In the late 18th century, Thomas Johnes landscaped the gorge according to the principles of the Picturesque style. This means that any landscaping aims to accentuate rather than dominate the natural beauty of the landscape. Today, the land is managed by the Forestry Commission and the Hafod Trust http://www.hafod.org/ who have restored the scenic walks landscaped 200 years ago. Remnants of some of the architectural additions from that period (amongst them a church, an ice house, a cavern and a memorial) are still present, and some are in the process of being restored by the trust, e.g. Mrs Johnes's Garden, a one-acre enclosed flower garden located in a bend of the river Ystwyth. Although locally usually referred to as just the Hafod estate, the full name of the area is Hafod Uchtryd. A hafod is a summer dwelling and Uchtryd a mediaeval Welsh name. The National Library of Wales provides a digitised version of an 1810 book http://www.llgc.org.uk/index.php?id=tourofhafod describing a 'Tour of Havod' including 15 painted pictures of the scenery at the time.

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