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Camping by the Llanberis Lake Railway

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Bill57p9

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Apologies if this has already been posted elsewhere.

https://nation.cymru/news/concern-after-campers-pitch-tent-next-to-railway-tracks-in-snowdonia/
Campers who pitched their tent next to railway tracks in Snowdonia have sparked concern from locals.


The tent was pitched in a dangerous spot, just yards from the track of the Llanberis Lake Railway over the weekend.


The railway, which runs regular services along the shores of Llyn Padarn from its base at Gilfach Ddu, is a popular tourist attraction.


Photos of the tent were posted online and drew a reaction from locals.
 
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Calthrop

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Reading the linked-to article has me feeling: not the most public-spirited behaviour ever -- but nothing to warrant "fury", in the tabloids' favourite expression. Per the picture, the tent would seem to be -- while not ideally located -- far enough from the track to be in no danger of being hit by a train (does one assume that "Fachwen", in the article, is the local nickname for the railway?).

Frankly -- my strongest reaction to the article was, irritation over the reaction of the dog-walking lady. The campers' just leaving out overnight, their leftover barbecue meat, was somewhat irresponsible -- if you must do that, pack it up in something, for heaven's sake ! -- but the woman's response re her dogs' eating the stuff and getting ill, struck a wrong chord with me. Am admittedly not a dog fan: it annoys me how some dog owners (not the majority) seem to assume that the whole world should revolve around their canine chums. If you're walking them, keep a close eye out for possible hazards: having in mind that dogs don't have skills on the human level, for weighing up possible consequences; and sometimes, anyway, in an imperfect world, "stuff happens" which one would wish did not happen !
 

Mcr Warrior

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...does one assume that "Fachwen", in the article, is the local nickname for the railway?...
It's the name of a hamlet/small village in the area; in the 19th century, there was a slate quarry at Fachwen which I believe predates the Padarn railway (the predecessor to the Llanberis Lake Railway).
 

Calthrop

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Thank you ! Being as regards Welsh, an example of "a little learning is ...": I was thinking, Welsh n/g railways tend to be known locally as "Lein Fach" -- or "Bach" -- depending on what gender assigned -- mistaken reasoning there.
 

Mcr Warrior

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Not 100% sure of the etymology, but understand that Fachwen may well mean "the white nook" in Welsh.
 

Calthrop

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It has occurred to me at times that it might be nice to have on this site, a "Welsh language class" sub-forum -- a number of participants on the Forums, are skilled in that splendid tongue. For obvious reasons, many railway enthusiasts (100% "Saxon" me, included), have a great love of Wales and things Welsh. Would in my life have done more to try to learn Welsh, if I were not, unfortunately, a highly lazy so-and-so.
 

Y Ddraig Coch

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It does indeed, and it's the more usual meaning, but the word 'bach' (feminized/soft mutated as 'fach') also has a secondary meaning in Welsh.
Interesting, not a Welsh term I have come across in my lifetime. But then Nook isn't a word I would use particularly often and I would probably just call it a corner or space when chatting in Welsh.
 

Worf

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The woman shouldn't have been walking her dog there either!! This is fenced off private property, not a public footpath. How close the tent is to the track is totally irrelevant.
The "entitled" generation should be politely informed that trespass on a railway, any railway, is not only illegal but dangerous.
 

Calthrop

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One imagines George Stephenson saying, "So much t'woss for t'pooch" :E
 

2392

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Indeed there's a legend that whilst Mr Stephenson was at the parliamentary inquiry into the Liverpool & Manchester Railway Act. A member asked.- ".....And if a cow should happen upon the line Mr Stephenson?" Mr Stephenson pondered for a moment or two and replied.-"........Would be rather unfortunate for the Cooooow, Sir!" He being a Northumbrian......
 
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Calthrop

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That's the one I was thinking of -- old George, not only a Northumbrian; but not a likely recruit for the RSPCA, if that organisation had existed at the time.
 

bramling

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I would imagine this fits within the category of a locals versus outsiders issue. Llanberis can be a funny place at times, despite being very much on the tourist trail, I get the impression visitors are, at best, tolerated. Even the railways there are nowhere near as welcoming as something like the Vale of Rheidol.

So the tent shouldn’t have been there, but neither should the dogs, and being local doesn’t grant privileges in that respect.

I can understand locals getting the hump especially with the influxes which have happened over the last 18 months. However it does undoubtedly bring a lot of money to an area which would otherwise struggle, and Llanberis in particular has been a tourist hotspot for as long as anyone cares to remember.

So all in all a bit of a non story.
 

Tomos y Tanc

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I can understand locals getting the hump especially with the influxes which have happened over the last 18 months. However it does undoubtedly bring a lot of money to an area which would otherwise struggle, and Llanberis in particular has been a tourist hotspot for as long as anyone cares to remember.
It's a difficult one.

Yes, tourism does bring in a lot of money but it also brings problems in areas such as housing affordability, parking etc. Those negative impacts have been heightened by the pandemic.

There is also a particular kind of visitor that is particularly irksome for local people, the ones who think they have a God-given right to park, camp or drive / ride motorcycles at great speed where ever they want to. They're the kind who bring their food and drink with them meaning they bring zero benefit to the area.

To be fair, other visitors don't much like those kind of people either!
 

6Gman

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It does indeed, and it's the more usual meaning, but the word 'bach' (feminized/soft mutated as 'fach') also has a secondary meaning in Welsh.
Indeed. I have learnt this evening that Eglwysbach (as in the railway station once named Tal y Cafn & Eglwysbach) does not mean small church but church in a nook or corner between two streams.
 

Tomos y Tanc

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Indeed. I have learnt this evening that Eglwysbach (as in the railway station once named Tal y Cafn & Eglwysbach) does not mean small church but church in a nook or corner between two streams.
Similarly the verb 'bachu' which means to hook. Welsh place names are lovely but often deceptive as they pass back and forth between the two languages. Hence we have a place called 'the hill' which becomes 'yr hil' and eventually Rhyl / Y Rhyl.
 

Cymroglan

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Similarly the verb 'bachu' which means to hook. Welsh place names are lovely but often deceptive as they pass back and forth between the two languages. Hence we have a place called 'the hill' which becomes 'yr hil' and eventually Rhyl / Y Rhyl.
And, if I remember professor Bedwyr Lewis Jones’s lectures accurately, isn’t the origin of “hill” itself proto-Germanic? I’ll take my coat….
 

bramling

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It's a difficult one.

Yes, tourism does bring in a lot of money but it also brings problems in areas such as housing affordability, parking etc. Those negative impacts have been heightened by the pandemic.

There is also a particular kind of visitor that is particularly irksome for local people, the ones who think they have a God-given right to park, camp or drive / ride motorcycles at great speed where ever they want to. They're the kind who bring their food and drink with them meaning they bring zero benefit to the area.

To be fair, other visitors don't much like those kind of people either!

Agreed on all of the above. It's unfortunate that the pandemic seems to have brought the "particular kind of visitor" out in their droves.
 

6Gman

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Similarly the verb 'bachu' which means to hook. Welsh place names are lovely but often deceptive as they pass back and forth between the two languages. Hence we have a place called 'the hill' which becomes 'yr hil' and eventually Rhyl / Y Rhyl.
Hence the dreadful Welsh dating programme "Bacha hi o'ma".
 
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