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Coordinates: 53°15'11?N 3°58'23?W? / ?53.253, -3.973
Llanfairfechan is a town in the county borough of Conwy, north Wales, lying on the north coast and the A55 road between Penmaenmawr and Bangor. It was transferred from the preserved county of Gwynedd to that of Conwy in 1996 and prior to 1974 lay in Caernarfonshire. It is known as a seaside resort and has a population of around 3,500 people. It has a railway station on the North Wales Coast Line. For electoral purposes, the community of Llanfairfechan consists of two wards, Bryn and Lafan.
Morfa Madryn, the sea-marsh area immediately west of the town on the shore of Traeth Lafan, is a local authority-managed nature reserve of outstanding beauty and a favourite haunt of bird watchers. The site is home to cormorants & shags. The rare Little Egret can also be spotted.
Llanfairfechan is also home to Bryn y Neuadd, a learning disability hospital (currently subject to a comprehensive resettlement programme - due for completion in 2008), a mental health unit (Carreg Fawr) and a medium-secure unit (Ty Llewelyn). A new Maximum Security Prison is planned for 2009. The new facility is expected to relieve the overcrowding problems in the prison service.
Translated from Welsh into English, Llanfairfechan means "The Little (or Lesser) Church of St. Mary".
[edit] Welsh Language
According to the 2001 census, 50.4% of the population of the town can speak the Welsh language. This is far above the national average of 20.8%. The age group with the highest percentage of Welsh speakers is the 10-14 year olds, where exactly 70% can speak the language fluently.
[edit] External links
(Source: Wikipedia) |