Shropshire Star

Tourists flock to Lake Vyrnwy to catch a glimpse of resurfaced 'sunken village' before it disappears again

The resurfacing of an abandoned old village at a Powys beauty spot has prompted an increase in visitor numbers.

Published
Lake Vyrnwy

The old village of Llanwddyn, abandoned and submerged by the new dam in the late 1800s, re-emerged last week after river levels at Lake Vyrnwy fell.

We published stunning pictures by photographers Nigel Ogram and Steve Cort of both the lake and the village, which could be seen when the water level became extremely low during the heatwave.

Llanwddyn, a former settlement, was deliberately submerged in the late 1800s to create the reservoir to supply the Liverpool area with water.

Three years later, the Liverpool Corporation Waterworks Act was passed by Parliament, leaving the path clear for construction work to begin on the dam which is still part of the lake today, visited by thousands of people.

Tourist bosses said they have seen an increased number of visitors over the last week - partly perhaps due to the hot temperatures - but that many of them were asking for directions to 'the sunken village.'

A spokesperson said: "It has certainly created a lot of interest from people who have either seen the images that have been published or heard about it - there have been a lot of people asking about it and visitor numbers showed an increase last weekend,

"The river levels will now possibly increase after the recent dry spell and the village maybe won't become visible again but we are expecting interest at least over the next few months and have had a number of e-mails and telephone calls - a number from outside the UK to enquire about it."