Nant Gwynant
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Nant Gwynant (also spelt Nantgwynant) is a
valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over ...
in northern
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 ...
. The A498 road descends into the valley in about two miles (3 km) from Pen-y-Gwryd; it follows the Nant Cynnyd, the Afon Glaslyn and alongside Llyn Gwynant, then beside the Nant Gwynant river to Llyn Dinas and passing below Dinas Emrys to
Beddgelert Beddgelert () is a village and community (Wales), community in the Snowdonia area of Gwynedd, Wales. The population of the community taken at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census was 460 (rounded to the nearest 10). This includes Nan ...
. The road continues through the Aberglaslyn Pass to
Porthmadog Porthmadog (), originally Portmadoc until 1972 and known locally as "Port", is a coastal town and community (Wales), community in the Eifionydd area of Gwynedd, Wales, and the historic counties of Wales, historic county of Caernarfonshire. It li ...
.


History and geography


Early references

The earliest contemporary reference to a route down the valley comes from John Leland, antiquarian to King
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...
, who travelled to Wales in 1538. In describing Nant Gwynant, he wrote: "The trees were so thick that a man on a white horse could not be seen from Llyn y Dinas to Pen y Gwryd." In 1802 Williams Williams described it as “a road, or rather a mere right of passage”. He continued: "Through this charming valley, like all other mountainous unimproved roads, the road is very bad, circuitous, and winding, and absolutely impassable when the floods are violent after a fall of rain ..." Soon afterwards it was improved, and in 1808 George Nicholson wrote: "A new turnpike-road is completed to Beddgellart. This drive exhibits a wonderful variety of sublime scenery. The new road is excellent, and conveys the traveller amid Snowdonia along the banks of several beautiful lakes."


Upper section

The upper section of Nant Gwynant, from the site of the Roman fort and marching camp situated at the junction with the modern A4086
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 ...
to Capel Curig road, follows the valley of Nant Cynnyd to a viewpoint (in about a mile) overlooking the Cwm Dyli hydro-electric power station, which was built in 1899/1900 by the North Wales Power and Traction Company''Snowdon - The Story So Far'', Tony Ellis, 2018 to supply electricity to the Porthmadog, Beddgelert and South Snowdon Railway that failed before it was completed. The power station however still uses the waters of Llyn Llydaw to generate electricity for the National Grid (UK).


Hafod Lwyfog

A mile further and the road passes Hafod Lwyfog, the summer homestead built in the 1540s, the birthplace of Sir John Williams, goldsmith to King James I, who in 1610 presented the Church of St Mary in Beddgelert with a fine chalice. In 1938, the then owner, Clough Williams-Ellis presented part of the Hafod Lwyfog land to the
National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...
in anticipation of the establishment of the Snowdonia National Park. A campsite now operates at the head of Llyn Gwynant, and the balance of the farm is managed as a conservation estate by descendants of Sir Clough Williams-Ellis.


Hafod-y-Llan and the Watkin Path

Between the two lakes is Hafod-y-Llan (bought by the National Trust in 1998) with the Watkin Path climbing above Afon Cwm Llan to the summit of Snowdon. The path passes through South Snowdon Quarry, which was later the intended destination of that never completed narrow gauge railway from Porthmadog. The path, which was ceremonially opened on 13 September 1892 by
William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...
, the then
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
, was specially constructed for Sir Edward Watkin, railway entrepreneur and Victorian pioneer of the
Channel Tunnel The Channel Tunnel (), sometimes referred to by the Portmanteau, portmanteau Chunnel, is a undersea railway tunnel, opened in 1994, that connects Folkestone (Kent, England) with Coquelles (Pas-de-Calais, France) beneath the English Channel at ...
for the benefit of guests at ''The Chalet'', his summer retirement home in the woods.


Craflywn

Another National Trust property in the valley is Craflwyn. It stands below the hill of Dinas Emrys to which according to tradition, in retreat with his adviser Myrddin Emrys, came an unhappy
Vortigern Vortigern (; , ; ; ; Old Breton: ''Gurdiern'', ''Gurthiern''; ; , , , etc.), also spelled Vortiger, Vortigan, Voertigern and Vortigen, was a 5th-century warlord in Sub-Roman Britain, Britain, known perhaps as a king of the Britons or at least ...
, the Romano-British King who first encountered the Anglo Saxon immigrants. The house is not listed but the gardens are designated Grade II on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.


Bryn Gwynant

Bryn Gwynant is a Victorian country house which operates as a youth hostel. The house is not listed, but its gardens are listed at Grade II on the Cadw/ICOMOS register.


Recreation

Llyn Gwynant is used, like many lakes in north Wales, as a watersports facility by local education authorities. Access to the water is provided from the roadside lay-bys. At the eastern end of the valley is a crag called Clogwyn y Wenallt which has some steep climbing routes, one of which is 'Lockwoods Chimney'; this is named after Arthur Lockwood, who was the tenant, then owner of Pen-y-Gwryd hotel (one mile further up the valley) from 1909 to 1945. There is a lakeside campsite at the north east end of Llyn Gwynant. The National Trust also has a campsite at Hafod y Llan.


References

* ''Snowdonia, National Park Guide Number 2'', edited Edmund Vale, HMSO 1958/1960


External links


Clogwyn y Wenallt (Climbing)

Local Map from Streetmap.com

National Trust website
{{coord, 53.0374, -4.0471, scale:30000_region:GB, display=title Beddgelert Registered historic parks and gardens in Gwynedd Tourism in Gwynedd Tourism in Snowdonia Valleys of Gwynedd Valleys of Snowdonia