Bwlch Mawr

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.

Aberdesach is a small village in a primarily Welsh speaking area of Gwynedd. It is in the historic county of Caernarfonshire. The village is situated approximately 1.5 miles south of the neighbouring village of Pontllyfni and 6 miles south of the county town of Caernarfon.

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.

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.

Caernarfon was a constituency of the National Assembly for Wales from 1999 to 2007. It was one of nine constituencies in the North Wales electoral region until the abolition of the seat. The constituency elected one Assembly Member by the first past the post method, while the North Wales region elected four additional members, to produce a degree of proportional representation for the area as a whole.

Caernarfon was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Caernarfon in Wales. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system. The constituency was created in 1536 as a District of Boroughs, represented in the House of Commons of England until 1707, in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1950. The District of Boroughs was abolished in 1950, and replaced with a county constituency of the same name, which was itself abolished in 2010.

The 1984 Llŷn Peninsula earthquake struck the Llŷn Peninsula in Gwynedd, northwest Wales on Thursday 19 July 1984 at 06:56 UTC (07:56 BST). Measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale, it is the largest onshore earthquake to occur in the UK since instrumental measurements began.The effects were felt throughout Wales, most of England, and parts of Ireland and Scotland. There were many reports of minor damage to chimneys and masonry throughout Wales and England, the biggest concentration of damage being in Liverpool, which is located around 65 miles northeast of the epicentre. Minor injuries were also reported in the areas surrounding the epicentral area, and rockslides occurred at Tremadog in Gwynedd.The 19 July earthquake was followed by many aftershocks in the following months, the largest measuring 4.3 on the Richter scale, which itself was felt as far away as Dublin, in Ireland.

The Battle of Bryn Derwin was fought in Eifionydd in Gwynedd in June 1255, between Llywelyn ap Gruffudd and his brothers, Dafydd ap Gruffudd and Owain Goch ap Gruffydd Llywelyn had ruled over a truncated Kingdom of Gwynedd jointly with Owain since the death of the previous Prince of Wales, Dafydd ap Llywelyn, in 1246, but relations between the two men apparently deteriorated in the early 1250s. The battle lasted for no more than an hour, and resulted in a victory for Llywelyn; Dafydd and Owain were both imprisoned. Owain died in prison around 1282, but Dafydd was soon released and went on to play a central role in the royal government of Gwynedd until his defection and subsequent removal to England in the mid-1260s. Subsequent military campaigns by Llywelyn in 1257 and 1260 recovered much lost Welsh territory, and his undisputed leadership within Wales ushered in a period of stability that would last until the mid-1270s.

Llangybi (English: Cybi's Church) is a village and former civil parish in the Eifionydd area of the Welsh county of Gwynedd, near Llanarmon. The parish was abolished in 1934 and divided between Llanystumdwy and Llannor. St Cybi's church is a grade II* building.As well as various menhirs, tumuli and stone circles in the countryside around, the village is particularly noted for a holy well, Ffynnon Gybi (English: St Cybi's Well). According to local tradition the girls who wished to know their lover's intentions would spread their pocket-handkerchiefs on the water of the well, and, if the water pushed the handkerchiefs to the south they knew that everything was right and that their lovers were honest and honourable in their intentions; but, if the water shifted the handkerchiefs northwards, they concluded the contrary. A reference to this is made in severe terms by a modern Welsh poet. "This parish, which derives its name from the dedication of its church to Saint Cybi, an eminent British saint, who flourished towards the close of the sixth century, is pleasantly situated in the south-western portion of the county, and nearly in the centre of the promontory which separates Cardigan bay from the bay of Carnarvon. It is of very considerable extent, and the lands are mostly enclosed and in a good state of cultivation : the surrounding scenery is pleasingly diversified, comprising some fine views of the adjacent country, which abounds with varied and picturesque beauty. At Pontrhyd Goch is a slate quarry, which, however, is worked only on a limited scale, the slates being of rather an inferior quality, and the demand for them confined principally to the immediate neighbour-hood. The road from Carnarvon to Pwllheli passes through the parish.

Pant Glas was a railway station opened by the LNWR in Pant Glas, Gwynedd, Wales, serving a sparsely populated rural area. Custom was never heavy, leading to goods services being withdrawn in 1952 and the station being closed in 1957, though traffic continued to pass through until the line closed on 7 December 1964 as recommended in the Beeching Report.

The A499 road is the major road of the Llŷn peninsula in North Wales. Its northern terminus is a roundabout with the A487 trunk road between Llanwnda and Llandwrog (53.0948°N 4.2824°W / 53.0948; -4.2824 (A499 road (northern end))). It then runs south-westerly along the northern coast of the peninsula, through Clynnog Fawr then turns inland crossing the peninsula to meet the southern coast at Pwllheli, it then follows that southern coast to terminate at Abersoch (52.8227°N 4.5054°W / 52.8227; -4.5054 (A499 road (southern end))). The total length is 23.4 miles. At no point is it a trunk road, although the Welsh Assembly has considered upgrading its status.

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.