County Dossier
Merionethshire
A mountainous county of slate, sheep and song.
Merionethshire is a maritime county in north-west Wales, stretching along Cardigan Bay. Its coastline alternates between dramatic cliffs and long sandy beaches backed by dunes.
At a glance
Merionethshire at a glance
A mountainous county of slate, sheep and song.
- Kingdom of Meirionnydd
- Formed of Meirionydd, Penllyn, Ardudwy cantrefs
- Flag roots = Agincourt
- Area: 676 sq miles / 1,751 sq km
- Population: 37,874
- County Top: Aran Fawddwy (2,969ft / 905m)
County Geography
Merionethshire meets Caernarfonshire to the north, Denbighshire to the east, Montgomeryshire to the south-east, Cardiganshire to the south, and Cardigan Bay forms the county’s western edge. The county is shaped by its mountain mass, its estuaries and western coast, and the upper Dee and Bala side in the east.
Merionethshire is easy to recognise through its bay coast, mountain heartland, and upper Dee country.
Map Reference
View Merionethshire on the map
Merionethshire is the county. The map also shows lieutenancies and council areas that use the county name.
The county.
The lieutenancy.
Council areas.
Places and routes
Dolgellau, Bala, Harlech, Barmouth, and Tywyn show the county from its inland mountain basin and eastern lake side to its western coast.
Connections
The county’s routes have long followed the coast between Tywyn, Barmouth, and Harlech and crossed inland through Dolgellau to Bala and the eastern uplands. Movement follows the same coast, mountain, and upper-valley pattern.
Names
- Merionethshire
- County of Merioneth
- Meirionnydd
Meirionnydd is the Welsh form of Merionethshire. County of Merioneth is the formal historical style, Merionethshire preserves the later English county form, and the older background lies in the region and cantrefs of Meirionydd, Penllyn, and Ardudwy.
Merionethshire became a county in 1284, but its mountain-and-coast setting had long marked it out as a distinct north-western Welsh territory. That coast-and-mountain geography still gives the historic county a clear shape.