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

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 ...

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 ( ) is a Regions of Wales, 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 Snowdon ...

. 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 The River Conwy (; ) is a river in north Wales. From its source to its discharge in Conwy Bay it is long and drains an area of 678 square km. "Conwy" was formerly anglicised as "Conway." The name 'Conwy' derives from the old Welsh words ''c ...

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

Napoleonic Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led a series of mi ...

prisoners of war, to keep deer within the Gwydir High Park. 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''), also called Eurasian red squirrel, is a species of tree squirrel in the genus ''Sciurus''. It is an arboreal and primarily herbivorous rodent and common throughout Eurasia. Taxonomy There have been ...

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

Anglesey Anglesey ( ; ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms the bulk of the Principal areas of Wales, county known as the Isle of Anglesey, which also includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island () and some islets and Skerry, sker ...

References

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