Bala (Welsh: Y Bala) is a town and community in Gwynedd, Wales. Formerly an urban district, Bala lies in the historic county of Merionethshire, at the north end of Bala Lake (Welsh: Llyn Tegid). According to the 2021 Census, Bala had a population of 1,999[1] and 72.5 per cent of the population could speak Welsh[2] with a decrease of 6% since 2011.[3]
The Welsh word bala refers to the outflow of a lake.[4]
Tomen Y Bala (30 feet (9 m) high by 50 feet (15 m) diameter) is a tumulus or "moat-hill", formerly thought to mark the site of a Roman camp.
In the 18th century, the town was well known for the manufacture of flannel, stockings, gloves and hosiery.
The large stone-built theological college, Coleg y Bala, of the Calvinistic Methodists and the grammar school (now Ysgol y Berwyn), which was founded in 1712, are the chief features, together with the statue of the Rev. Thomas Charles (1755–1814), the theological writer, to whom was largely due the foundation of the British and Foreign Bible Society.[5] In 1800 a 15-year-old girl, Mary Jones, walked the 25 miles (40 km) from her home village Llanfihangel-y-Pennant to purchase a Welsh Bible in Bala. The scarcity of the Bible, along with the determination of Mary to get one (she had saved for six years), was a major factor in the foundation of the British and Foreign Bible Society in 1804.
Betsi Cadwaladr, who worked with Florence Nightingale in the Crimea, and who gave her name to the Health Board, came from Bala. Other famous people from the Bala area include Michael D. Jones, Christopher Timothy, Owen Morgan Edwards, born in Llanuwchllyn, and T.E. Ellis, born in Cefnddwysarn.
Bala hosted the National Eisteddfod in 1967, 1997 and 2009. The 2009 Eisteddfod was notable because the chair was not awarded to any of the entrants as the standard was deemed to be too low.[6] Bala hosted the Eisteddfod Genedlaethol yr Urdd Gobaith Cymru, National Eisteddfod for the Welsh League of Youth, in 2014. On 16 June 2016, Bala's name was changed to Bale temporarily in honour of Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale. This was only for the duration of UEFA Euro 2016.[7]
Bala, Ontario, Canada, was named after the town in 1868. They have become twin towns.
According to the United Kingdom Census 2021, 72.5 per cent of all usual residents aged 3+ in Bala can speak Welsh.[8]
The 2011 census noted 78.5 per cent of all usual residents aged 3 years and older in the town could speak Welsh. The Welsh-language skills of Bala residents were as follows in 2011 and 2021:
According to the 2011 Census, 70.5 per cent of the population noted that they had Welsh-only national identity, with 22.2 per cent noting that they had no Welsh national identity at all.[11] According to the 2021 Census, 64.8 per cent of the population noted that they had Welsh-only national identity.
Set within the Bala Fault, Bala Lake (Welsh: Llyn Tegid) is the largest natural lake in Wales at 3.7 miles (6.0 km) in length and 800 metres (870 yards) wide. At 35 metres (115 feet), its depths could hide the tower of St Giles Church in Wrexham and still have 1 metre (3.3 feet) of water above. The lake has occasionally been known to freeze over, most recently in the severe winters of 1947 and 1963. The rare Gwyniad fish—trapped in the lake at the end of the last ice age, some 10,000 years ago—is in danger because its natural home is increasingly unsuitable.[12] A member of the whitefish family, it is found only in the lake.
Cwm Hirnant, a valley running south from Bala, gives its name to the Hirnantian Age in the Ordovician Period of geological time.
The closest major urban areas to Bala are Wrexham at 30 miles (48 km), Chester at 40 miles (64 km), and Liverpool, 52 miles (84 km) to the northeast. Nearby villages include Llanfor, Llandderfel, Llanycil, Llangower, Llanuwchllyn, Rhyd-uchaf and Rhos-y-gwaliau.
As with the rest of the UK, Bala benefits from a maritime climate, with limited seasonal temperature ranges, and generally moderate rainfall throughout the year.
The Afon Tryweryn, a river fed from Llyn Celyn which runs through Bala, is world-famous for its white water kayaking. International governing bodies, the International Canoe Federation, the European Canoe Union and the British Canoe Union all hold national and international events there. The Canolfan Tryweryn National Whitewater Centre has its home in Bala. There are at least three local campsites that cater for the influx of canoeists from many parts of the world.
An annual music festival known as 'Wa Bala' is also held in the town. The venue hosts local Welsh bands and is similar in format to Dolgellau's Sesiwn Fawr.
Nearby are the mountains Aran Fawddwy and Arenig Fawr.
Coleg y Bala is at the top of the hill on the road towards Llyn Celyn. The Victoria Hall is a small old cinema, that had been a community hall. There are several chapels: notably Capel Mawr and Capel Bach. The livestock market on Arenig Street is still going strong. Bro Eryl estate was built just after World War II. Mary Jones World, a heritage centre about Mary Jones and her Bible is located just outside the town in nearby Llanycil.
Bala Town Hall, which now operates as a restaurant, dates back to circa 1800.[14]
Bala has been served by various railway stations on the Great Western Railway:[15]
The Bala Lake Railway (Welsh: Rheilffordd Llyn Tegid) runs for 4.5 miles (7.2 km) from Llanuwchllyn to the edge of the town, along a section of the former trackbed of the Great Western Railway's line between Ruabon and Barmouth. It terminates at Bala (Penybont) railway station, which opened in 1976 on the site of the former Lake Halt station. As of 2020, work is being undertaken to extend the line along the lake foreshore to a new station in the town centre.[16]
Bus services are provided by Lloyds Coaches, as part of the Welsh Government funded TrawsCymru network. Services operate westbound to Barmouth via Dolgellau, and eastbound to Wrexham via Corwen and Llangollen. Through ticketing is available for onward connections at Dolgellau, to Bangor, Machynlleth and Aberystwyth.
The town lies on the A494, a major trunk road that leads to Dolgellau, 18 miles to the southwest, and to Ruthin, Mold and Queensferry to the northwest. The A4212 starts in the town, and crosses the Migneint to Trawsfynydd. Heading southeast, the B4391 crosses the Berwyn range to the English border and the town of Oswestry.
Bala is home to Cymru Premier football club Bala Town F.C. who play at Maes Tegid. Bala's local rugby club is Bala RFC.
