Llyn Park (also known as "Llyn y Parc") is a

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much lar ...

in the

Gwydir Forest Gwydir Forest, also spelled Gwydyr, is located in Conwy county borough and the Snowdonia National Park in Wales. It takes its name from the ancient Gwydir Estate, established by the John Wynn family of Gwydir Castle, which owned this area. N ...

North Wales North Wales ( cy, Gogledd Cymru) is a region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders Mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdonia N ...

. Lying at a height of 664 feet, it covers an area of , and is long and narrow in shape. A natural lake, the building of a dam at the southern end raised the level to provide water to drive machinery at the nearby Aberllyn lead and zinc mine, which in 1900 employed some 200 men. The outflow of the lake today passes the ruined remains of the mills before joining the

River Conwy , name_etymology = , image = Boats in River Conwy.jpg , image_size = 300 , image_caption = Boats in the river estuary at Conwy , map = , map_size = , map_caption = , push ...

. To the west of the lake are the remains of a high wall, built by French

Napoleonic Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

prisoners of war, to keep deer within the

Gwydir High Park Gwydir may refer to: ;Australia * Division of Gwydir, electoral division *Gwydir by-election, 1989 * Gwydir Highway, New South Wales * Gwydir River, New South Wales * Gwydir Shire, New South Wales *Gwydir Wetlands, New South Wales ;United Kingdom ...

. In 1938, when a large forest fire destroyed parts of the forest, it was hoped that Llyn Parc would act as a natural fire break. The fire, though, was so fierce that it crossed from one side to the other. The high (though reducing) level of lead in the water means that there are no fish in the lake. Some sources quote that the area around Llyn Parc is reported to be one of the few remaining strongholds of the

red squirrel The red squirrel (''Sciurus vulgaris'') is a species of tree squirrel in the genus '' Sciurus'' common throughout Europe and Asia. The red squirrel is an arboreal, primarily herbivorous rodent. In Great Britain, Ireland, and in Italy numbers ...

. This is not so, confusion having arisen between this location and the similarly named "Llyn Parc Mawr" at Newborough on

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a Local government in Wales, principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strai ...

References

*''The Lakes of Eryri'', by Geraint Roberts, Gwasg Carreg Gwalch, 1985 {{authority control Parc Parc