Aberdesach

The Afon Llyfni is a small river in North Wales which arises as Nant Drws y Coed between Mynydd Mawr and Mynydd Drws-y-Coed just to the west of Snowdon. The main river forms at the outlet of the Llyn Nantlle Uchaf and flows past the great slate workings of Nantlle picking up drainage from the very deep flooded quarries. It then passes to the south of Talysarn and Penygroes before eventually discharging to the sea at Pontllyfni. For a number of years there were concerns that the quality of the river might be polluted because of illegal and historical dumping of industrial waste in one of the deep, water-filled quarries. However, it appears that there has been little or no detectable quality shift.

Clynnog Fawr, often simply called "Clynnog", is a village and community on the north coast of Llŷn Peninsula in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. It is in the historic county of Caernarfonshire. The community includes Pant Glas. Clynnog Fawr lies on the A499 road between Caernarfon and Pwllheli, at grid reference SH415500, between the coast and a mountainous area including Bwlch Mawr. It had a population of 130 in 1991, which had increased to 997 at the 2011 Census. The community covers an area of 4,551 hectares (17.57 sq mi). The main feature of the village is the parish church, dedicated to Saint Beuno, which is much larger than would be expected in a village of Clynnog's size. The site is said to be that of a Celtic monastery founded by Beuno in the early 7th century. Clynnog means 'the place of the holly-trees': compare Breton Quelneuc (Kelenneg), Gaelic Cuilneach. In Middle Welsh, its name was Celynnog. It developed into an important foundation and some Welsh law manuscripts specify that the Abbot of Clynnog was entitled to a seat at the court of the king of Gwynedd. The church is recorded as having been burnt in 978 by the Vikings and later burnt again by the Normans. By the end of the 15th century it was a collegiate church, one of only six in Wales. The church was an important stopping place for pilgrims heading for Bardsey Island and contains Cyff Beuno, an ancient wooden chest hollowed out of a single piece of ash and used to keep alms given by the pilgrims. Maen Beuno or "Beuno's Stone" has markings reputed to be those of Beuno's fingers. Outside in the churchyard there is a canonical sundial dated between the late 10th century and the early 12th century. Ffynnon Beuno (St Beuno's Well) is a Grade II* listed structure at the south-west end of the village. The church is a major location on the North Wales Pilgrims Way. The church is open from 10am to 4pm every day. The area has been the site of a number of battles, including the Battle of Bron yr Erw in 1075 when Gruffudd ap Cynan's first bid to become king of Gwynedd was defeated by Trahaearn ap Caradog, and the Battle of Bryn Derwin in 1255 when Llywelyn ap Gruffudd defeated his brothers Owain and Dafydd to become sole ruler of Gwynedd.

St Beuno's Church is a place of worship located in the village of Clynnog Fawr, Gwynedd, Wales. It belongs to the Church in Wales, an Anglican denomination, and is one of six churches in the parish of Beuno Sant Uwch Gwyrfai. It is adjacent to St Beuno's Chapel, to which it is connected, and approximately 322 metres (352 yards) north-east of Ffynnon Beuno (Beuno's Well). Beuno was a seventh-century Welsh abbot who founded a clas on the site of the present church and was later buried there. The church is significant for its architecture and fittings, and has been described by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales as "one of the most notable [churches] in North Wales". It is a Grade I listed building.

Bwlch Mawr is a hill near the northeastern corner of the Llŷn Peninsula in the community of Clynnog in the county of Gwynedd in North Wales. Its name is an odd one for a hill, as it means "big pass" in English. It forms the eastern half of a wider upland area, the highest point of which is the 522 m summit of Gyrn Ddu, though it is Bwlch Mawr on which the Ordnance Survey constructed a trig point.

Dinas Dinlle is a small settlement in Gwynedd, north-west Wales which is also, historically, part of Caernarfonshire.

Gyrn Ddu is a hill near the northeastern corner of the Llŷn Peninsula in the community of Llanaelhaearn in the county of Gwynedd in North Wales. It forms the western half of a wider upland area, another significant top of which is the 510 m summit of Bwlch Mawr to the east. The distinct northern top of Gyrn Ddu is Gyrn Goch, which attains a height of 492 m. The summit of an eastern top which reaches 491 m is crowned by a prehistoric cairn. To the southwest of Gyrn Ddu is the lower top of Moel Pen-llechog, which reaches a height of 316 m, whilst to the south is the 416 m flat top of Moel Bronmiod.

Llandwrog (Welsh pronunciation; Welsh language: meaning 'The church of Saint Twrog') is a village and community in Gwynedd, north-west Wales, most notable for the presence of the headquarters of Welsh record label Sain and the site of Caernarfon Airport. It has a population of 2,466, increasing to 2,539 at the 2011 Census. The community includes the villages of Groeslon, Carmel, Gwynedd, Y Fron, Dinas Dinlle, and Cilgwyn. As suggested by the village name, the parish church is dedicated St Twrog. It was the base of the first ever Sea and Mountain Rescue team, and includes the estate of Glynllifon. RAF Llandwrog was a training airfield during World War II, and was later used as a weapons storage facility. It had a key role in Operation Sandcastle, where a large quantity of Nazi Tabun weapons were stored prior to eventual disposal at sea.

Glynllifon is the name of the old estate which belonged to the Barons Newborough, near the village of Llandwrog on the main A499 road between Pwllheli and Caernarfon in Gwynedd, Wales. The original mansion was until recently a privately owned hotel.

Cors Gyfelog National Nature Reserve is a wetland site near the village of Pant Glas in the community of Clynnog, Gwynedd, Wales. It is important as a habitat for the Marsh Fritillary butterfly, as well as Lesser Redpoll and Grasshopper Warbler.

Penygroes railway station was located in Penygroes, Gwynedd, Wales.The narrow gauge, horse-drawn Nantlle Railway had a station near the site from 1856. From the outset timetables appeared regularly in the "Carnarvon & Denbigh Herald" and in Bradshaw from October 1856. In 1865 the narrow gauge line was closed, to be replaced and updated to standard gauge with contemporary facilities. It reopened in its eventual form in 1867 and closed in December 1964. The station served as the junction station for the short branch to Nantlle which was overlain in 1872 on part of the former Nantlle Railway route, but its main purpose was for traffic on the former Carnarvonshire Railway line from Caernarvon to Afon Wen and beyond.When the line and station were first opened in 1867 a locomotive was hired from the Cambrian Railways. A Cambrian driver, who had never been over the line before, was retained to drive the first directors' inspection special from Afon Wen to Carnarvon (Pant). On the return journey the loco ran short of coal and ran out of steam at Penygroes. There was some peat in a nearby field, which the crew dug and the directors carried to the engine enabling steam to be raised.The passenger service along the Nantlle Branch was withdrawn in 1932, though excursions continued until 1939. The station and line closed on 7 December 1964 as recommended in the Beeching Report. The station building and footbridge remained in place, but increasingly derelict, until at least 1970.

Caernarfon Airworld Aviation Museum is an air museum located on the former Royal Air Force station at Llandwrog, near Caernarfon in North Wales.

The Nantlle Valley (Welsh: Dyffryn Nantlle, IPA: [ˈdəfrɨn ˈnantɬɛ]) is an area in Gwynedd, North Wales, characterised by its numerous small settlements. The area is also historically important geologically, and featured in one of the most contentious disputes of the 19th century, between the 'Diluvialists' who believed in the Biblical flood, and the ‘Glacialists’, who supported the Glacial Theory, which was substantially established by studies of the drift sediments on Moel Tryfan.Between 85 and 90% of the population of the Nantlle Valley speak Welsh as their first language.Some of the communities came into being as a result of slate quarrying in the late eighteenth or early nineteenth centuries, and some have a history stretching back to antiquity. There are Iron Age forts at Caer Engan in Pen-y-groes and on the coast at Dinas Dinlle and evidence of Bronze Age settlement on the higher ground. The valley was important during the Middle Ages, with a clas or ecclesiastical college developed at Clynnog Fawr.The Glynllifon estate can trace its foundation historically to the 8th century and there is evidence of occupation on the site going back to the Iron Age.There were a number of quarries in the valley, the largest being the Dorothea and Pen yr Orsedd quarries. Although the major quarries are worked out, there remains demand for slate waste for garden decoration.In 1991, Antur Nantlle Cyf was established as a community enterprise to work for the benefit of the Nantlle Valley and its surrounding area.