Blaenau Ffestiniog is situated among the mountains of Gwynedd, North Wales. Blaenau Ffestiniog was once the capital of the slate industry in Wales. At the beginning of the 19th century, Ffestiniog was a 'small, poor village' with a few isolated farmsteads, and sheep were as important as slate to the early pioneers.
The town is set in an elevated natural bowl between the Manod and Moelwyn Mountains of Snowdonia. Despite being in the centre of the Snowdonia National Park, the grey slate waste tips that surround the town prevented it from being officially included in the national park.