waterfall
Devil's Bridge Falls
Dramatic series of waterfalls plunging through a deep wooded gorge spanned by three bridges built on top of each other across eight centuries.
16 km · about 30 min drive
EuropeUnited KingdomWales
Penparcau
Wales, United Kingdom · Europe
About Penparcau
Penparcau works well as a base: 10 minutes from Bow Street, 22km from B4574 Devil's Bridge to Cwmystwyth.
Penparcau is in Wales, United Kingdom, with about 3,100 people. You drive on the left here. The nearest town is Bow Street, about 5 km away.
Penparcau (Welsh pronunciation: [pɛnˈparkai̯]) is a village and electoral ward in Ceredigion, Wales, situated to the south of Aberystwyth.
The original village was a hamlet, but the building of extensive Art Deco style semi-detached social housing from the 1920s on transformed it. It lies in the shadow of the CelticRead more
Iron Age hill fort of Pen Dinas, and between the sea at Tan Y Bwlch beach, the River Ystwyth and the Rheidol. Penparcau has the only UNESCO Biosphere reserve in the Dyfi Biosphere. A section of the Wales Coast Path runs over Tan y Bwlch beach.
There is an Anglican church named after the Saint Anne, a Roman Catholic church named after the Welsh Martyrs, which is noted in "Architecture of Wales, Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion" and is home to a Lampedusa Cross, as well as two Methodist chapels and a Quaker meeting house. The recently closed Tollgate pub was named after the original tollgate that stood on the old toll road at the top of Penparcau and is now in St Fagans National History Museum near Cardiff.
Penparcau has its own woodland, Coed Geufron run by the Woodland Trust and its own police station. Other amenities have included a post office, two supermarkets, a garage, holiday park and hotel and two fish and chip shops. Until late 2007, it also had its own travel agent.
In 2008, Penparcau played a part in the transition town movement in Wales when it hosted the "Alternative Energy and Transport Festival" in Neuadd Goffa, attended by the local MP and mayor. At the bottom of the valley, just below Penparcau, is a Welsh Government office building, designed to house more than 550 staff.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is there to see near Penparcau?
Within an hour or so of Penparcau: Devil's Bridge Falls (16 km), Devils Bridge Falls & Biker Stop (16 km), Devil's Bridge Tea Rooms (16 km), B4574 Devil's Bridge to Cwmystwyth (22 km).
Are there any good drives near Penparcau?
The nearest famous roads are B4574 Devil's Bridge to Cwmystwyth, Cwmystwyth Mountain Road and Elan Valley Mountain Road (Rhayader to Aberystwyth).
Where is Penparcau?
Penparcau is in Wales, United Kingdom, about 5 km from Bow Street.
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Quick Information
- Population
- 3,088
- Continent
- Europe
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Region
- Wales
- Timezone
- Europe/London
- Coordinates
- 52.4033, -4.0742
Emergency & Services
Essential numbers in United Kingdom
112 also works. NHS non-emergency medical advice: 111. National Highways breakdown assistance on motorways: 0300 123 5000.
Full driving guide for United KingdomTags
Worth the detour from Penparcau
8 notable places within an hour's drive.
cafe
Devils Bridge Falls & Biker Stop
A scenic biker destination in mid-Wales where riders gather after tackling the spectacular mountain roads around Aberystwyth.
16 km · about 30 min drive
cafe
Devil's Bridge Tea Rooms
A charming tea room perched above the dramatic Devil's Bridge waterfalls in mid-Wales, a classic stop on scenic Welsh driving routes.
16 km · about 30 min drive
famous road
B4574 Devil's Bridge to Cwmystwyth
Rated among Britain's most scenic roads, a narrow climb from the Rheidol gorge onto the Cambrian moors past old lead mines.
22 km · about 25 min drive
famous road
Cwmystwyth Mountain Road
Wild, lonely mountain road from Rhayader to Aberystwyth over the Cambrian Mountains, passing the Elan Valley dams and old lead mines of Cwmystwyth. Often called one of Britain's remotest drives.
23 km · about 25 min drive
waterfall
Dolgoch Falls
Three waterfalls in a wooded ravine beside the Talyllyn Railway, with a station right at the trailhead.
25 km · about 30 min drive
natural wonder
Claerwen Reservoir
The largest of the Elan Valley reservoirs, its 1952 dam faced in stone, with an empty mountain road running west into the Cambrians.
30 km · about 35 min drive
famous road
Elan Valley Mountain Road (Rhayader to Aberystwyth)
An empty 1930s-built mountain road over the Cambrian desert past Claerwen, with cattle grids and no villages for 20 miles.
32 km · about 35 min drive
Driving roads near Penparcau
- 22 kmB4574 Devil's Bridge to CwmystwythRated among Britain's most scenic roads, a narrow climb from the Rheidol gorge onto the Cambrian moors past old lead mines.
- 23 kmCwmystwyth Mountain RoadWild, lonely mountain road from Rhayader to Aberystwyth over the Cambrian Mountains, passing the Elan Valley dams and old lead mines of Cwmystwyth. Often called one of Britain's remotest drives.
- 32 kmElan Valley Mountain Road (Rhayader to Aberystwyth)An empty 1930s-built mountain road over the Cambrian desert past Claerwen, with cattle grids and no villages for 20 miles.
- 34 kmAbergwesyn Pass (Devil's Staircase)Remote 16-mile single-track mountain road from Abergwesyn to Tregaron over the Cambrian Desert, its Devil's Staircase section stacking hairpins at 20%+ gradients. One of the emptiest drives in Britain. No fuel, little signal.
- 35 kmCadair Idris (Penygadair)A 893m mountain of huge cliffs and corries in southern Snowdonia, legendarily leaving anyone who sleeps on it a poet or a madman.
- 43 kmPrecipice Walk, DolgellauA near-level ledge path around Foel Cynwch with a full circuit view over the Mawddach estuary and Cadair Idris.
Driving in United Kingdom
- Drives on
- the left
- Petrol
- ~€1.73/litre
- Motorway tolls
- None
When to drive here
April to October
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