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First day of annual leave so decided to make the most of it despite losing my voice:
Llyn Crafnant is a lake that lies in a beautiful valley in North Wales where the northern edge of the Gwydir Forest meets the lower slopes of the Carneddau mountains and, more specifically, the ridge of Cefn Cyfarwydd. The head of the valley offers a profile of crags which are silhouetted at sunset, and many people regard the lake as one of the most beautiful spots in North Wales. Indeed, the Forest Park guide (2002) states that "the (view along Llyn Crafnant) is one of the most breathtaking views in all Snowdonia". At 63 acres (250,000 m2) it is the best part of a mile long, although it was clearly once much longer - its southern end shows the evidence of centuries of silting. Jehu’s survey (see references) recorded a maximum depth of 71 ft (22 m).
Crafnant takes its name from “craf”, an old Welsh word for garlic, and “nant”, a stream or valley. Even today the valley of Afon Crafnant smells of wild garlic when it flowers.
The lake can be reached by car only from Trefriw in the Conwy valley, though many visitors walk there from the village or from the neighbouring lake of Llyn Geirionydd, which runs parallel to it, but a mile distant, the two being separated by Mynydd Deulyn – “mountain of the two lakes”. Walkers can also approach the lake from Capel Curig.
There is a Forestry Commission car park with toilets, which is reached just before the lake itself, and the lakeside cafe (open from Easter until late summer) offers car parking for patrons. The lake is a popular fishing spot, and is kept stocked with brown trout and rainbow trout. From the cafe it is possible to hire boats for fishing or for pleasure. Private boating and swimming is not permitted.
The lake is a reservoir, and was dammed at its northern end in 1874, but the dam itself is barely visible as the outflow plunges down steeply from it. By the outflow is an obelisk, erected in 1896 by the inhabitants of Llanrwst which commemorates "the gift to that town of this lake with 19 acres (77,000 m2) of land" by Richard James. The fact that the lake no longer serves this purpose means that the inhabitants of Llanrwst and Trefriw have nowadays to pay for their water like everyone else. The lake is leased to the owners of what is now the cafe.
In the upper part of the valley there is no mains water connection and during the particularly dry summer of 2006 many properties were without water.
The River Crafnant ("Afon Crafnant" in Welsh) joins the River Conwy at Trefriw, but not before some of it has been diverted to pass through the woollen mills to generate hydro-electricity for the mill.
Cornel [1], a large property in 25 acres (100,000 m2) on the southern banks of the lake, is owned and operated by the Welsh Scout Council.
Areas around the lake were used for location shots in the 1981 fantasy movie Dragonslayer and the lake also appeared briefly in the 1966 film Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment.

First day of annual leave so decided to make the most of it despite losing my voice:

Llyn Crafnant is a lake that lies in a beautiful valley in North Wales where the northern edge of the Gwydir Forest meets the lower slopes of the Carneddau mountains and, more specifically, the ridge of Cefn Cyfarwydd. The head of the valley offers a profile of crags which are silhouetted at sunset, and many people regard the lake as one of the most beautiful spots in North Wales. Indeed, the Forest Park guide (2002) states that "the (view along Llyn Crafnant) is one of the most breathtaking views in all Snowdonia". At 63 acres (250,000 m2) it is the best part of a mile long, although it was clearly once much longer - its southern end shows the evidence of centuries of silting. Jehu’s survey (see references) recorded a maximum depth of 71 ft (22 m).
Crafnant takes its name from “craf”, an old Welsh word for garlic, and “nant”, a stream or valley. Even today the valley of Afon Crafnant smells of wild garlic when it flowers.
The lake can be reached by car only from Trefriw in the Conwy valley, though many visitors walk there from the village or from the neighbouring lake of Llyn Geirionydd, which runs parallel to it, but a mile distant, the two being separated by Mynydd Deulyn – “mountain of the two lakes”. Walkers can also approach the lake from Capel Curig.
There is a Forestry Commission car park with toilets, which is reached just before the lake itself, and the lakeside cafe (open from Easter until late summer) offers car parking for patrons. The lake is a popular fishing spot, and is kept stocked with brown trout and rainbow trout. From the cafe it is possible to hire boats for fishing or for pleasure. Private boating and swimming is not permitted.
The lake is a reservoir, and was dammed at its northern end in 1874, but the dam itself is barely visible as the outflow plunges down steeply from it. By the outflow is an obelisk, erected in 1896 by the inhabitants of Llanrwst which commemorates "the gift to that town of this lake with 19 acres (77,000 m2) of land" by Richard James. The fact that the lake no longer serves this purpose means that the inhabitants of Llanrwst and Trefriw have nowadays to pay for their water like everyone else. The lake is leased to the owners of what is now the cafe.
In the upper part of the valley there is no mains water connection and during the particularly dry summer of 2006 many properties were without water.
The River Crafnant ("Afon Crafnant" in Welsh) joins the River Conwy at Trefriw, but not before some of it has been diverted to pass through the woollen mills to generate hydro-electricity for the mill.
Cornel [1], a large property in 25 acres (100,000 m2) on the southern banks of the lake, is owned and operated by the Welsh Scout Council.
Areas around the lake were used for location shots in the 1981 fantasy movie Dragonslayer and the lake also appeared briefly in the 1966 film Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment.

Walk through the woods beyond Llyn (Lake) Crafnant on the outskirts of Trefriw where the Conwy Valley, Carneddau and Snowdonia (Eryri) meet.

A woodland scattered with pine needles and an enchanting waterfall cascading through.

The magic of North Wales!

The Sychnant Pass is one of Conwy's best kept secrets
and the northernmost pass in the Snowdonia National Park.The road leaves Conwy via the Upper Gate in the town walls.
In mail coach days it was the way of choice whenever the tide was in
and the otherwise faster and safer route along the sands was unusable.
It runs westerly along the wide valley on the south side of
Mynydd y Dref (Conwy Mountain) with its
Neolithic Stone Circles and the Castell Caer Seion
and there is good hospitality en route.
Finally, the Sychnant Pass Road runs between the high stone walls
of the Pen Sychnant Estate to emerge at superb views.

Loves spending time in marshes wading and walking. nests colonially and many heronries have been used for over a century. Seen here on a warm windy day in Porthmadog. more information at www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/