Minllyn is a tiny hamlet on the edge of Dinas Mawddwy. It's a place of carafan parks and camp sites, but in the middle, just to the side of the main road, is the Pont Minllyn.
This double arched Packhorse Bridge, built in the early 17th. century, spans the river, and leads to Meirion Mill craft centre. It was built to create a shorter route for packhorses to cross the River Dyfi on there way to Meirion Mill.
The miniature proportions and mossy green appearance of this two-arched bridge give it a fairytale feel, but it was actually built for practical workaday reasons in the early 17th century to allow packhorses to cross the River Dyfi. Nowadays, traffic whizzes by along the A470 north–south trunk road unaware of its close presence, so be sure to take time to stop off for a look.
Pont Minllyn’s construction was paid for by Dr John Davies, rector of Mallwyd, one of the most prominent Welsh scholars of the era. He is believed to have had a hand in translations of the Bible and the Common Book of Prayer, as well as publishing his own book of Welsh grammar.
You can't see it from the main road, but you can see the bridge that replaced it, and as that bridge too, has been replaced by a larger bridge to take traffic across the river, this 'middle' bridge is closed to traffic, but opn to pedestrians. So you can safvely stand on it and look down upon the old packhorse bridge.
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