The water level in the village’s reservoir is so low that old Llanwddyn has reemerged, revealing the foundations of lost buildings, a bridge and dry-stone walls.
1. Llanwddyn
As reservoir levels have fallen due to drought in Llanwddyn, Wales, the village which had been flooded by a water company in 1880, has now re-emerged, revealing the foundations of the ancient village in the Vyrnwy valley in Montgomeryshire. Reports from local media state that the remnants of the village were last visible during the drought of 1976.
As the UK experiences a drought, Lake Vyrnwy in Wales is drying up & revealing a once-submerged underwater village. Llanwddyn was deserted in 1880 after a water reservoir for nearby Liverpool was approved, flooding the area. Hidden below the water, it hadn’t been seen since 1976. pic.twitter.com/FtqMdNuryl
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) August 17, 2022
2. Scorching temperatures
This time around, new scorching temperatures have led to higher levels of drought in the region, unveiling the remnants of Llanwddyn. According to the UK Met Office, record temperatures for Wales were observed on 18 July in the northeastern county of Flintshire, reaching 37.1 degrees celsius about 45 miles (72 kilometers) from Lake Vyrnwy, the reservoir in Wales.
The most amazing thing I saw was the bridge on the road that went over the stream in the village. In the 1800s it was flooded and now, 140 years on, you can see it again, almost how it looked back then.
Photographer Phil Blagg told CNN
3. Artificial reservoir
Lake Vyrnwy was the largest artificial reservoir in Europe when the 10-year construction was completed in 1891 to supply fresh water to the north England city of Liverpool. The then rapidly growing city of Liverpool needed a source of fresh water and the Vyrnwy valley was selected for the construction of a dam and reservoir. The village was demolished, the valley flooded, and the level of the new lake reached the lip of the dam on 22 November 1889, The Guardian reports.
4. Small community
Seeing the remnants and foundations of the Welsh village, one wonders about the appearance of that community more than a century ago. According to Hafren Dyfrdwy, the water and waste company that manages the reservoir, the village consisted of a Parish church, two chapels, three inns, 10 farmhouses and 37 houses, the ruins of which can be seen today.
