Lake Australia
,_Caernarfonshire.jpg)
Lake Australia (Welsh: Llyn Bochlwyd) is a lake of ten and a half acres in the Snowdonia area of Caernarfonshire. It lies in Cwm Bochlwyd, near Llyn Ogwen in the Glyderau mountain range.[1]
Names
The name ‘Lake Australia’ was given to this water I recent times, because the shape of the lake when viewed from above is said to resemble the map of Australia.[2]
The name used in Welsh is Llyn Bochlwyd, which translates as "Lake of the Greycheek". Local legend has devised an ingenious rationalisation of this name; telling that an old grey stag, fleeing a hunter, miraculously escaped by leaping from a great height into the lake and swimming to safety while holding its grey cheeks above the surface, in order to breathe.[3]
The acceptance of the modern English name in place of an older Welsh name has been criticised by supporters of the Welsh language. In 2018 the broadcaster Tudur Owen cited the name change as an example of "erasing history".[3] The name change has also been referenced in the debate around preserving historic place-names in law. In 2023 the Snowdonia National Park Authority decided on using Welsh names only for lakes in the area of its jurisdiction, notwithstanding any long-established English names.[4]
Local
- Streetmap: SH654592
- Location map: 53°6’48"N, 4°-0’42"W
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Lake Australia) |
References
- ↑ "Llyn Bochlwyd". https://www.snowdoniaguide.com/llyn_bochlwyd.htm.
- ↑ "Llyn Bochlwyd". https://www.snowdoniaguide.com/llyn_bochlwyd.htm.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Tudur Owen, Fear 'history is lost when Welsh place names are changed’, BBC Wales
- ↑ Hoskin, Rowenna (16 November 2023). "Snowdonia: Eryri National Park to use Welsh lake names only". BBC News. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-67431789.