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Llyn Conwy

Llyn Conwy (SH780462) is the source of the River Conwy, in the county of Conwy in central north Wales. It is by far the biggest lake of the Migneint mountains and was once owned and looked after by Lord Penrhyn. Now the lake is owned by the National Trust.

The lake lies at a height of about 1,550 ft on the edge of the Migneint, and is actually fed by a small number of other unnamed streams.

Although it is a natural lake, it also serves as a reservoir, and is popular with anglers and people hunting for game.

There are three old huts on the sides of the lake. On the north shore, there is an old boathouse that was struck by lighting and destroyed in 1918. On the southern shore there is a more in tact boathouse that's still in use today as there is a boat housed inside that was formerly used as a lifeboat. Also to the south of that is an old ruined hut that was formerly used by overnight fishermen as a dwelling place. There are two islands there as well, one just off the eastern shore and more to the south which is covered up by high water levels during most of the year. The other sits to the north east corner of the lake and has a cairn on it as well as a reasonably big grassy/rocky area.

In recent times, Llyn Conwy has endured a decline in the number of people fishing there, the acidity of the water means that fish find it harder to live there, however a process of neutralization is underway there as limestone from the banks of the lake is slowly seeping into the water and levelling the PH levels so gradually, over a process of ten years, the water will return to its normal self.

Residents of much of the Conwy Valley receive water from the lake straight to their homes. So next time you are drinking water from your tap, or you wash in the morning, remember, the water came from Llyn Conwy.

Local historian, Dilwyn Evans has made a video of the lake, feeding us with great info on its purposes.

The easiest access to it is from the B4407, which runs from the A5 near Pentrefoelas to Ffestiniog, near Blaenau Ffestiniog. As you turn right from Ffestiniog you will eventually come to an old house called 'Llyn Cottage'. Park there and walk up the old road until you come to the lake itself. From Penmachno, as you come over the Migneint take the left hand turn sign posted Ysbyty Ifan and do the same.