Machynlleth: Glyndŵr's Parliament Town

Machynlleth, a market town in the Dyfi valley, was the seat of Owain Glyndŵr's Welsh parliament in 1404, and on that strength it calls itself the ancient capital of Wales, though it has never been officially recognised as one. Edward I's charter of 1291 granted it a market every Wednesday 'for ever', and the Wednesday market still runs. The Royal House on the corner of the Garsiwn is one of its medieval houses; tradition says Dafydd Gam was held there from 1404 to 1412 for trying to kill Glyndŵr, and that Charles I stayed in 1643. The clock tower at the crossroads, 23.7m high, was paid for by the townspeople to mark the coming of age of Viscount Castlereagh, heir of the Londonderrys of Plas Machynlleth, in 1873. Laura Ashley opened her first shop here in 1961, and MOMA Machynlleth shows modern art in and beside a converted Wesleyan chapel. North of the town the Centre for Alternative Technology, opened in 1973 in the Llwyngwern slate quarry, now opens only to booked groups, courses and events.