Glaslyn
Glaslyn (whose name means 'Blue lake') is a lake that lies beneath the towering height of Snowdon in Caernarfonshire.
The lake is found at approximately 1,970 feet above sea level in a corrie on the eastern flanks of Snowdon. It is a rough ellipse in shape, about 1,640 feet east to west and about 985 feet north to south. The Miners' Track runs along the northern shore.[1]
Glaslyn has a maximum depth of 127 feet, and contains about 59 million cublic feet of water.[2] It is the source of the River Glaslyn, the major river of the interior of Caernarfonshire: from here the river runs east to the reservoir of Llyn Llydaw before turning south-west to reach the sea at Porthmadog.
Folklore
In Welsh folklore, Arthur had Bedivere throw his sword Excalibur into Glaslyn, where Arthur's body was later placed in a boat to be carried away to Afallon. Arthur's men then retreated to a cave on the slopes of Y Lliwedd, where they are said to sleep until such time as they are needed.[3][4] Merlin is supposed to have hidden the golden throne of Britain among the cliffs north of Crib y Ddysgl when the Saxons invaded.[5]
Glaslyn was also the final resting place of a water monster, known as an afanc (also the Welsh word for beaver), which had plagued the people of the Conwy valley. They tempted the monster out of the water with a young girl, before securing it with chains and dragging it to Glaslyn.[3][6] A large stone known as Maen Du'r Arddu, below Clogwyn Du'r Arddu, is supposed to have magical powers. Like several other sites in Wales, it is said that if two people spend the night there, one will become a great poet while the other will become insane.[7] Llyn Coch in Cwm Clogwyn has been associated with the Tylwyth Teg (fairies), including a version of the fairy bride legend.[8]
References
- ↑ Ordnance Survey Explorer OL17: Snowdon/Yr Wyddfa.
- ↑ NLS maps
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Roberts 1995, pp. 145–148
- ↑ Marsh 2010, pp. 25–28
- ↑ Roberts 1995, pp. 143–145
- ↑ Marsh 1984
- ↑ Roberts 1995, pp. 100–101
- ↑ Roberts 1995, pp. 38–39
- Marsh, Terry (1984). "Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon)". The Summits of Snowdonia. Robert Hale Publishing. pp. 178–183. ISBN 978-0-7090-1456-0.
- Marsh, Terry (2010). Great Mountain Days in Snowdonia. Cicerone Press. ISBN 978-1-85284-581-0.
- Roberts, Geraint (1995). The Lakes of Eryri. Gwasg Carreg Gwalch. ISBN 978-0-86381-338-2.