‘ym min y môr’ Mae heli’r môr i’w flasu o gwmpas pob cornel o’r dre farchnad hon. Safle Pwllheli ‘ym min y môr’ sydd wedi ei chynnal ar hyd yr oesoedd. Heddiw, pan sefwch ar y Maes, yr awel ffres sy’n chwythu yma’n gyson sy’n eich atgoffa nad yw’r môr yn rhy bell.
Y dref harbwr Byddech wedi gweld fforest o fastiau tal ar waelod Stryd Penlan yn y 18fed ganrif – rhai o’r 450 o longau a adeiladwyd ym Mhwllheli, neu wedi cyrraedd o borthladdoedd eraill, yn barod i gludo’u llwythi i bedwar ban byd. Mae enwau strydoedd megis Y Traeth a Stryd Llygod yn atgof o’r dyddiau pan oedd llongau pren gosgeiddig yn angori yma. Byddai llygod y dref yn gwledda ar y grawn a ddeuai dros y don, nes i’r trên gyrraedd cyrion y dref ym 1867!
Y dref wyliau Pe bai swyddog Edward I yn ymweld â Phwllheli heddiw byddai’n synnu y gallech sefyllar lecyn oedd o dan y môr y pryd hynny. Yn 1293 cofnododd mai dim ond dwy long a nifer o rwydi pysgota oedd y pentref glan y môr hwn. Bellach mae Pwllheli wedi meddiannu’r iseldiroedd tua Charreg yr Imbyll, diolch i’r Dwnan a nerth bôn braich dyn yn codi morgloddiau yn y 19eg ganrif. Yn ystod oes Fictoria ysbrydolwyd tri gŵr busnes lleol i adeiladu tai crand ym Marian y De ac wedyn adeiladodd Solomon Andrews bont, promenâd, tramffordd a thai yn ardal West End ac felly gweddnewidiwyd Pwllheli.
Y dref wrth galon hwylio Cymru Heddiw mae Pwllheli’n Ganolfan Ragori ar y siartiau môr rhyngwladol ond mae’n anodd dychmygu gwely o laid a thywod a arferai lenwi’r olygfa hon wrth ‘fin y môr’. Yn 1980au gwireddwyd y freuddwyd o drawsnewid yr hen harbwr pysgota yn farina, sef Hafan Pwllheli. Cofiwch chi, i ddylanwad Lloyd George yn mae’r diolch am adeiladu’r harbwr gwreiddiol yn 1908 ac efallai mai ei ddull ef o ddiolch i bysgotwyr Pwllheli oedd hwn am iddynt yn ddiarwybod ei helpu i ennill ei Seneddol gyntaf yn 1890! Yn ôl y sôn, cafodd y pysgotwyr eu rhwystro gan y gwynt rhag dychwelyd i dir i bleidleisio ac enillodd yntau 0 18 pleidlais!
Lluniau gan / Photography by: Visit Wales © 2011, Community First De Pwllheli, Gwynedd Council, Turtle Photography www.turtlephotography.co.uk, Sim Bradley, © Casgliad Francis Frith Collection
‘AT the water’s edge’ You can sense the salt laden air in every nook and cranny of this market town. Pwllheli’s position ‘at the water’s edge’ has enabled it to reinvent itself down the centuries. Today, as you stand on the Maes the frequent keen wind reminds you that the sea is not too far.
The harbour town You would have seen a forest of tall masts at the lower end of Penlan Street in the 18th century – some of the 450 ships built in Pwllheli, or those from other ports, about to set sail with their cargoes across the globe. Names such as Sand Street and Custom House Square are a reminder of the days when elegant sailing ships anchored here. The Welsh street name meaning Mice Street tells of the town mice which feasted on the grain brought across the waves until the railway reached the town outskirts in 1867!
The holiday resort If one of Edward 1st’s officials visited Pwllheli today he would be surprised that you can stand on solid ground in a place where he only saw waves lapping. In 1293 he recorded only two ships and several fishing nets in the seaside village here. By today Pwllheli has claimed substantial land from the sea as a result of dunes forming and men building embankments in the 19th century. It was three local Victorian businessmen who first had the vision to build smart houses at South Beach and, by erecting bridges, the promenade and a tramroad at West End, Solomon Andrews transformed Pwllheli.
The town at the heart of Welsh sailing Now that Pwllheli is firmly on the international sailing charts as a Centre of Excellence it is difficult to imagine the muddy wastes which once lay at the water’s edge here. In the 1980s, the dream of transforming the old fishing harbour into a marina was realised. Mind you, it is thanks to David Lloyd George’s influence that the harbour was first built here in 1908 – perhaps his unintended thanks to the fishermen of Pwllheli for helping him win his first Parliamentary seat! Apparently, in 1890, due to the wind changing direction whilst out at sea they were prevented from returning to land to vote and Lloyd George won by 18 votes!