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Moel Eilio

Betws GarmonHewitts of WalesLlanberisMarilyns of WalesMountains and hills of Gwynedd
Mountains and hills of SnowdoniaNuttallsUse British English from September 2022Waunfawr
Moel Eilio
Moel Eilio

Moel Eilio is a mountain in Snowdonia, North Wales, that is situated approximately 3 miles north-west of Snowdon itself. It has two subsidiary tops, Foel Gron and Foel Goch (Eilio). The average annual temperature of the mountain is around 6 degrees Celsius. During the winter season, some significant accumulations of snowfall is known to take place on Moel Eilio, due to its relatively flat, grassy slopes. A popular ascent starts from Llanberis and climbs by way of Bwlch y Groes and then the north ridge of the hill. Moel Eilio, Foel Gron, Foel Goch and Moel Cynghorion form a curved ridge tracking generally south-west towards Snowdon and can provide a less common route to ascend Snowdon.A small lake lies below the summit; Llyn Dwythwch.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Moel Eilio (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

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Latitude Longitude
N 53.09688 ° E -4.15953 °
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Moel Eilio

A4085
LL54 7YT
Wales, United Kingdom
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Moel Eilio
Moel Eilio
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Llyn Cwellyn
Llyn Cwellyn

Llyn Cwellyn (Llyn Quellyn in some antiquated texts) is a reservoir in North Wales which supplies drinking water to parts of Gwynedd and Anglesey. It lies on the Afon Gwyrfai in Nant y Betws between Moel Eilio and Mynydd Mawr in the northern part of Snowdonia National Park. It has an area of 215 acres (0.87 km2), and is over 120 ft (37 m) deep. At the southern end is the small village of Rhyd Ddu. Although it is now dammed at the northern end - below the Castell Cidwm ridge, near the village of Betws Garmon - this has not substantially increased the size of the natural glacial moraine lake that has existed since the last ice age. The lake is very deep and is one of the few lakes in Wales to support a natural population of Arctic char. The lake is also home to brown trout and there are otters that are regularly seen at the Castell Cidwm end. The lake has shared ownership between Lawrence Jones (businessman), owner of the Castell Cidwm estate at the northern end, and Welsh water, who own the right-hand side which supplies the weir. The lake was originally owned by the Marquis of Anglesey who used the Castell Cidwm country house as his hunting lodge. The A4085 runs past the lake; however, there are no lay-bys for picnics and the east side is now considered a Nature Reserve, and fishing is not permitted in the tree-lined area beside the road all the way down to Castell Cidwm. Fishing permits can be purchased for Cwellyn and fly fishing anglers can expect to catch wild brown trout here, which are abundant and often found along the shoreline which has easy wading. Char and salmon can also be caught, usually from the boats available for hire from the Cwellyn hotel. This lake is particularly dangerous when paddle boarding, wild swimming or kayaking in bad weather, as fast winds come down off Snowdon and through the valley, making it hard to travel back up the lake. This lake is a reservoir and electric engines only are permitted; electric engines with 50lb thrust are quite adequate to get around the lake, even in windy conditions. On the far side of the lake the land was planted as a commercial soft-wood forest and is now owned by Natural Resources Wales; however, logging has been stopped to prevent the water in the lake being polluted by silt generated by logging activities. In 2005 an outbreak of Cryptosporidiosis in the water supply drawn from the lake led to improvements being planned for the water treatment works. Work started in 2009 2 miles (3.2 km) down stream on an updated water treatment plant which included froth flotation, upward flow clarifiers and UV sterilisation of the treated water. The revised plant came online in September 2010 Further up the mountainside is the Welsh Highland Railway, which offers splendid views of the lake from the south. Road and railway both run from Caernarfon to Beddgelert and then through the Aberglaslyn Pass to Porthmadog. The railway comes from Caernarfon and as it approaches the lake veers left from the Castell Cidwm rock face through a hand-carved rock cutting and under a small bridge before heading up the east side of the lake towards Snowdon Ranger railway station and later Rhyd Ddu railway station at the start of the Rhyd Ddu path to the summit of Snowdon. Rail and road run side by side for over half a mile to the summit of the mountain pass at Pitt's Head where the road passes over the railway before descending steeply through Nant Colwyn to Beddgelert. Pitt's Head is also the starting point of the old 'Beddgelert' route of the Rhyd Ddu path to Snowdon. Midway along the eastern shore of the lake is the starting point of the easier but less sensational Snowdon Ranger path to the summit of Snowdon. This route makes an excellent way down Snowdon as the view of the lake is magnificent whatever the weather. Since the Middle Ages the overland route from Caernarfon to Beddgelert via Llyn Cwellyn and then via the River Glaslyn and the Traeth Mawr to Cardigan Bay was often the preferred alternative to the long voyage round the Llŷn Peninsula.

Snowdon Ranger railway station
Snowdon Ranger railway station

Snowdon Ranger is a station on the narrow gauge Welsh Highland Railway, which was built in 1878 as the North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways Moel Tryfan Undertaking, to carry dressed slate to Dinas Junction on the LNWR. The station was originally known as Quellyn Lake but was renamed after the path to the Summit of Snowdon popularised by, and named after, the local mountain guide, "The Snowdon Ranger", who went by that name for many years. Certainly the name "Snowdon Ranger" was in common use on company timetables from as early as 1879, and that of the adjacent Snowdon Ranger Hotel from at least 1869.Passenger services ceased on 26 September 1936 and the station was reopened in 2003 following the complete reconstruction of the railway from Waunfawr to Rhyd Ddu. The train services are operated by the Festiniog Railway Company's Welsh Highland Railway subsidiary. Snowdon Ranger is currently operated as an unmanned halt and trains call only by request. Following reconstruction, the Section from Waunfawr to Rhyd Ddu was formally reopened by the Prince of Wales on 30 July 2003. Prince Charles travelled by special train from Waunfawr to Snowdon Ranger station where, having donned overalls, he alighted from the carriage and travelled on the footplate to Rhyd Ddu. Public passenger services re-commenced on 18 August 2003. The former station building is now in private ownership, and as such is one of the six original remaining NWNGR buildings, the others being the ruins of the former station building at Bettws Garmon, the ruined quarry sidings office at nearby Glanrafon Sidings, the restored station buildings at Tryfan Junction and Dinas; and the goods shed at Dinas.

Padarn Halt railway station

Padarn Halt was a passenger only railway station located in Llanberis, Gwynedd, Wales, on the western shore of Llyn Padarn. It opened on 21 November 1936 and closed on the outbreak of the Second World War. The line through the station remained in use for excursions until 1962 and for freight until 1964; it was lifted in 1965. The LMSR closed the Llanberis branch to regular passenger services in 1930, though frequent Summer excursions continued to run. In 1934 the company reinstated a regular Saturdays only train specifically to serve Caernarfon market. In many parts of Britain "Market Trains" were an established part of local commerce and social life in a way which has passed into history. Llanberis station was not in the centre of Llanberis, so the company built the halt half a mile from the terminus specifically for this market traffic. The halt opened on 21 November 1936, from which time the market trains used the halt there instead of at Llanberis station. The halt consisted of an unlit single wooden platform on trestles, with a very small wooden waiting shelter at its southern end. It was accessed by a gravel footpath which continued over the tracks to the lakeside by a foot crossing. The 1939 working timetable shows that some excursions made unadvertised stops at the halt.The track bed from Llanberis through the site of the halt (at what is now the lakeside entrance to the industrial estate) as far as Cwm-y-Glo is now occupied by the improved A4086, which by-passes the centre of Llanberis. No trace of the station remains.

Llyn Padarn
Llyn Padarn

Llyn Padarn is a glacially formed lake in Snowdonia, Gwynedd, north Wales, and is an example of a moraine dammed lake. The lake is approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) long (about 240 acres) and at its deepest point is 94 feet (29 m) deep, and is one of the largest natural lakes in Wales. At its south-eastern end it is linked to the neighbouring Llyn Peris (which forms the lower reservoir of the Dinorwig power station). The busy village of Llanberis lies on the southern banks of the lake. Most of Llyn Padarn is owned by Gwynedd Council and is part of Padarn Country Park. Whilst kayaking, rowing and sailing are permitted on the lake, powered craft require permission to use it. Bangor University Rowing Club row at Llyn Padarn. In April 2014 Llyn Padarn was designated as Bathing Water under the Bathing Water Directive (2006/7/EC). The outflow of Llyn Padarn is on the northern shore and is called Afon Rhythallt, which passes by the village of Brynrefail, Gwynedd and becomes Afon Seiont below Pont Rhythallt, near Llanrug. It reaches the sea at Caernarfon. Padarn Country Park is located on the northern flank of the lake, including Coed Allt Wen, a rare and ancient sessile oak woodland. Both the woodland and Llyn Padarn are designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest. The Llanberis Lake Railway also runs along its eastern bank and various recreational activities take place on the lake, especially during the summer. These include canoeing, boating and fishing. The lake was the venue for the rowing events of the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. Former local bus company Padarn Bus, which operated between 1979 and 2014 from a base at nearby Llanberis, was named after the lake.Llyn Padarn is named after Padarn, an early 6th century saint, who has a church dedicated to him in Llanberis.