Afon Merddwr

Pentrefoelas is a village and community in Conwy County Borough, Wales. The village lies on the A5 road between Betws-y-Coed to the west and Cerrigydrudion to the east. The Afon Merddwr river, a tributary of the River Conwy, flows through it. The community had a population of 356 at the time of the 2011 census, 70% were able to speak Welsh. It has an area of 53.86 km2 and covers a large region around the village including part of Mynydd Hiraethog, Llyn Alwen and part of Alwen Reservoir. It is in the electoral ward of Llangernyw. The community includes the small settlement of Rhydlydan. The name of the village comes from pentre (Welsh for "village") and a nearby hill, Foel Las ("green bare-topped hill"). The hill is the site of a motte built around 1164 in the time of Owain Gwynedd. Old Voelas House (or Plas Foel Las), mansion of the Wynne family, was built at the foot of the hill in 1545. It was demolished in 1819 and a new site was established two kilometres to the west. The current Voelas Hall was built in 1961 and was designed by the architect Clough Williams-Ellis.Other buildings around the village include: Plas Iolyn, home to Rhys Fawr ap Maredudd, his son Robert ap Rhys (the chaplain to Cardinal Wolsey), his grandson the 16th-century MP Elis Prys (known as Dr Coch and notorious for his oppression of the district) and his great-grandson, the poet Tomos Prys. It is now a farmhouse. Gilar, built in the 16th century for the poet Rhys Wyn ap Cadwaladr (fl. c. 1600), perhaps by his father Cadwaladr ap Maurice after receiving a substantial grant of land from Henry VIII in 1545–1546, which included the land later occupied by Plas Iolyn and Old Voelas House. The village had a chapelry of Ysbyty Ifan built in 1766 and known as Voelas Chapel. The Parish Church was built on the same site in 1857–1859. The Pentrefoelas watermill (Melin Voelas) for grinding flour dates from 1815 and was restored by Clwyd County Council as part of a heritage scheme. The ironwork for the external overshot waterwheel was originally cast by the Llanrwst Foundry probably sometime in the 19th century

Ysbyty Ifan (often formerly anglicised as Yspytty Ifan) is a small, historic village and community in the Conwy County Borough of Wales. The population in 2011 was 196 in 76 households (29 household spaces had no usual residents), over 79% of the population were able to speak Welsh. It has one of the smallest populations of any Welsh community, the smallest being Ganllwyd. It is in the electoral ward of Uwch Conwy.

Rhiw Llwyd is the name of an early medieval Wales lordship which was created in the Kingdom of Gwynedd in the 12th century for Tomas ap Rhodri ab Owain Gwynedd and his successors. The location of this lordship is not certain but it seems likely it refers to a hill of the same name (meaning in Welsh "grey slope") between Penmachno and Ysbyty Ifan in Gwynedd. The precise spelling of the name "Rhiw Llwyd" varies in historic documents, ranging from "Friw", "Friwllwyd", "Rhiwlwyd" and others. Rhiw Llwyd is found within the ecclesiastical parish of Penmachno and is topped with a triangulation point. It is recorded in the Anwyl family papers that "Richard Anwyll of Havodwryd, Penmachno passed his estates in Caernarvonshire to his sisters Elizabeth and Anne Anwyl". There is a 16th-century manor called Hafod Dwyryd very close to Penmachno directly beneath the hill called Rhiwlwyd - this could have been the Anwyl's disposing of their last portion of that ancient lordship. Richard Anwyl (Sheriff of Merionethshire), son of William Lewis Anwyl is recorded as having died in 1685. The family seem to have owned Parc (their primary home) for a long time before they sold "Havodwryd". The sisters of Richard were married and their families, Owen and Roberts, then owned Havodwryd thereafter.

St Garmon's Church, Capel Garmon, is a redundant Anglican parish church in the village of Capel Garmon, Conwy, Wales. The church was restored and reseated in 1862–63 by the Lancaster architect E. G. Paley at a cost of £880 (equivalent to £90,000 in 2021). During the restoration, the south wall was rebuilt, windows were renewed and a porch and north vestry were added. The seating was increased from 145 to 150. The church consists of a single chamber. The windows contain plate tracery. Its exterior is partly rendered. The church is now closed and, as of 2006, it was being used as a builder's store.

Conwy Falls (Welsh: Rhaeadr y Graig Lwyd) is a waterfall on the River Conwy at Bro Garmon in Conwy County Borough in Wales. The falls and surrounding area are a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The nearby cafe, adjacent to the A5, is an interesting example of the work of the Welsh architect Clough Williams-Ellis, of Portmeirion fame.

Bro Garmon is a sparsely populated community in Conwy County Borough, in Wales. It is located on the eastern side of the Conwy Valley, stretching from north east of Llanrwst to just west of Pentrefoelas, and includes the villages of Capel Garmon, Glan Conwy, Melin-y-Coed, Nebo, Oaklands, Rhydlanfair and Pentre-tafarn-y-fedw. Moel Seisiog, on the eastern boundary, rises to a height of 1,535 feet (468 m). The main settlement, Capel Garmon, lies 2.4 miles (3.9 km) east of Betws-y-Coed, 5.2 miles (8.4 km) north west of Pentrefoelas, 4.4 miles (7.1 km) south of Llanrwst and 15.7 miles (25.3 km) south of Conwy. At the 2001 census the community had a population of 648, increasing slightly at the 2011 census to 652.Saint Garmon's church, in Capel Garmon, was consecrated in 1862, but is no longer in use. An Iron Age firedog, discovered buried in a nearby field in 1852, and now held at the National Museum of Wales, is considered to have been produced by a master craftsman. It depicts two mythical creatures, part horse and part bull, and is rated as one of the most important examples of decorative ironwork found in the United Kingdom. To the south of the village, a Neolithic chamber tomb has been dated to 5,500 years ago. Nearby, Melin Plas-yn-Rhos is a water-powered corn mill thought to date from the 18th century.Waterloo Bridge, which carries the A5 across the River Conwy to Betws-y-Coed, was built by Thomas Telford in 1815, the year of the Battle of Waterloo, and is made wholly from cast iron. It is Grade I listed, and Cyffdy Hall, at Melin-y-coed, and Cilcennus at Oaklands are Grade II* listed. Hendre House is a Grade II listed building. Its gardens and grounds are listed, also at Grade II on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales. Numerous other houses, farm buildings and several bridges in the community are also Grade II listed. The community is part of the Uwch Conwy ward for elections to Conwy County Borough Council.

Capel Garmon is a village near Betws-y-Coed in the county borough of Conwy, Wales. It is situated high above the Conwy valley, in the community of Bro Garmon, and commands views over Snowdonia. The village is known for the neolithic burial chamber nearby. The parish church of St Garmon was originally a chapel of ease to the parish of Llanrwst, serving the areas of Garth Garmon and Tybrith Uchaf. Capel Garmon became a separate parish in 1927. The current chapel, the latest in a series of churches at the site, was consecrated in 1862 but is now closed. The burial chamber at Capel Garmon dates from the 3rd millennium BC, and belongs to the Severn-Cotswold group. It consists of a passage leading to a rectangular space, with circular chambers branching to the east and west. The structure has undergone much renovation and the current entrance, originally one of the inner chambers, was made in the 19th century, when the tomb was used as a stable. In addition to sherds of Beaker pottery found in the burial chamber, Capel Garmon was also home to a 1st-century BC iron fire dog which can now be seen at the National Museum of Wales in Cardiff. The village consists of a small number of houses a school a pub which opens rarely for two and a half to three hours and several holiday accommodations as well as surrounding working farms.

Llyn Alwen is a small natural upland lake on Mynydd Hiraethog in Conwy County Borough, Wales at SH 898 565. It lies on the rolling Silurian moorland to the north-west of Mwdwl-eithin and about 10 km to the east of Betws y Coed. The discharge from the lake flows under the A543 road to form the headwater of Alwen Reservoir. The area was used as a special stage during the 2015 Wales Rally GB.

River Machno (Welsh: Afon Machno) is a river in Snowdonia in north-west Wales. It is the first major tributary of the River Conwy, which it joins south of Betws-y-coed, past the Pandy Falls and the Machno Falls. It has its source in the slopes at the head of the Machno valley, and flows through the villages of Cwm Penmachno and Penmachno.

Moel Maelogan (shown on O.S. maps as 'Maelogen', and also sometimes spelled 'Moelogan' and 'Mælogan') is a hill (summit height 424m) on the western edge of Mynydd Hiraethog (also known as the Denbigh Moors) in north Wales, and overlooking the Conwy Valley. It is known mostly as the general location of a wind farm. The initial three turbines were erected in 2002, and started generating in January 2003; each turbine is capable of producing 1300 kW. This scheme marked erection of the UK wind industry's 1000th turbine and was initially welcomed, as it had been set up by three local farmers to boost their incomes, under the name of Cwmni Gwynt Teg ("Fair Wind Company"). After commissioning, however, it was opposed by some, not least because, although not located in the Snowdonia National Park itself, the turbines are visible from many parts of it. Of the three turbines, two were owned and operated by the local farming co-operative; the third was owned and operated by Energiekontor UK Ltd, the UK subsidiary of the German wind development company Energiekontor AG, which was instrumental in the finance and construction of the wind farm. The electricity produced goes to the local Llanrwst sub-station 4.5 km away, and is sold to the Non-Fossil Purchasing Agency. Under the project name of "Ail Wynt" (Second Wind), Cwmni Gwynt Teg planned a further 11 turbines but this was rejected. Despite further opposition an amended plan for an additional 9 turbines was passed, and these were built and commissioned in 2008 "within a more compact area and at reduced height".Cwmni Gwynt Teg won an Ashden Award in 2003 for its work on the wind farm.

Mwdwl-eithin (532 metres (1,745 ft)) is the highest point on the Denbigh Moors (Welsh: Mynydd Hiraethog) of North Wales. This gently rising mountain lies about 10 miles (16 km) east of Betws-y-Coed. On its summit is a trig point and a ruined building which still provides shelter against a storm. A few metres away is a large raised stone cairn. The whole area is underlain by Silurian mudstone which was extensively glaciated during the last British glaciation. The whole area is now very wet moorland dominated by heather (Calluna and Erica spp.) and rushes. Three of the surrounding valleys and depressions have been used for drinking water storage reservoirs, Llyn Alwen, Llyn Aled and Alwen Reservoir.

The Afon Lledr (or the River Lledr) is a river in north-west Wales and the second major tributary of the River Conwy. It is about 10 miles or 16 km long, and flows in a generally easterly direction. The Lledr has its source on the eastern slopes of Ysgafell Wen, which lies about 3 km NE of Cnicht. It initially flows in a north-easterly direction towards Blaenau Dolwyddelan, where Ceunant Ty'n y Ddol joins it, then flows under the Roman Bridge (Welsh: Pont-y-Sarn-Ddu) and past Dolwyddelan, where Afon Penamnen joins it. It continues to the north-east past Pont-y-Pant and then east along the Lledr Valley, running parallel to the A470 and the railway line from Blaenau Ffestiniog to Llandudno. This line has stations in the Lledr Valley at Roman Bridge, Dolwyddelan, and Pont-y-Pant. The river joins the River Conwy to the south of Betws-y-Coed.