Llyn Padarn is a glacially formed

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

Snowdonia Snowdonia, or Eryri (), is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in North Wales. It contains all 15 mountains in Wales Welsh 3000s, over 3000 feet high, including the country's highest, Snowdon (), which i ...

Gwynedd Gwynedd () is a county in the north-west of Wales. It borders Anglesey across the Menai Strait to the north, Conwy, Denbighshire, and Powys to the east, Ceredigion over the Dyfi estuary to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The ci ...

, north

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, and is an example of a moraine dammed lake. The lake is approximately long (about ) and at its deepest point is 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 Llanberis () is a village, community (Wales), community and electoral ward in Gwynedd, northwest Wales, on the southern bank of the lake and at the foot of Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales. It is a centre for outdoor activity, outdoor ac ...

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 The River Rhythallt (Welsh language, Welsh: Afon Rhythallt) is a river in Gwynedd, North Wales whose source is Llyn Padarn. It flows in a northwesterly direction past the village of Brynrefail, Gwynedd and changes its name to Afon Seiont downstre ...

, which passes by the village of Brynrefail, and becomes Afon Seiont below Pont Rhythallt, near

Llanrug Llanrug (or Llanfihangel-yn-y-grug) is a medium-sized village and community (Wales), community in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. It lies about to the east of Caernarfon, south of Bangor, Gwynedd, Bangor and northwest of Llanberis. It is the larg ...

. It reaches the sea at

Caernarfon Caernarfon (; ) is a List of place names with royal patronage in the United Kingdom, royal town, Community (Wales), community and port in Gwynedd, Wales. It has a population of 9,852 (with Caeathro). It lies along the A487 road, on the easter ...

. Padarn Country Park is located on the northern flank of the lake, including Coed Allt Wen, a rare and ancient sessile oak

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with woody plants (trees and shrubs), or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunli ...

. Both the woodland and Llyn Padarn are designated as

Sites of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

. The Llanberis Lake Railway also runs along its northeastern 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 The 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games (Welsh: ''Gemau Ymerodraeth Prydain a'r Gymanwlad'' 1958) were held in Cardiff, Wales, from 18 to 26 July 1958. It was the sixth edition of what would come to be known as the Commonwealth Games, the ...

. A lone birch tree grows just off the south western shore, a short walk from the Llanberis Water Sports Centre carpark. The tree, about 18' high in 2020, has become a celebrity and well-known to walkers and photographers under the name "The Lonely Tree" (or sometimes just "The Lone Tree"). 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.

1993 RAF Helicopter Crash

In 1993, an RAF Westland Wessex helicopter suffered a

rotor ROTOR was an elaborate air defence radar system built by the British Government in the early 1950s to counter possible attack by Soviet bombers. To get it operational as quickly as possible, it was initially made up primarily of WWII-era syst ...

failure, and crashed into the lake, killing three

Air Training Corps The Air Training Corps (ATC) is a British Youth organisations in the United Kingdom, volunteer youth organisation; aligned to, and fostering the knowledge and learning of military values, primarily focusing on military aviation. Part of the ...

Cadets, Christopher Bailey (15) from Horwich, Mark Oakden (16) and Amanda Whitehead (17) from Bury, and injuring one.

References

External links

* {{authority control Llanberis Llanddeiniolen Padarn Tourism in Gwynedd Sites of Special Scientific Interest in West Gwynedd Padarn