The Afon Ysgethin is a short river in

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 ...

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 ...

. Flowing entirely within

Snowdonia National Park 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 ...

it rises beneath the peaks of Y Llethr and Diffwys within the Rhinogs mountain range and runs in a generally ESE direction towards

Cardigan Bay Cardigan Bay () is a large inlet of the Irish Sea, indenting the west coast of Wales between Bardsey Island, Gwynedd in the north, and Strumble Head, Pembrokeshire at its southern end. It is the largest bay in Wales. Geography Cardigan Bay ha ...

. Headwater streams flow into a small upper lake, Llyn Dulyn, and Llyn Bodlyn reservoir. Originally a natural lake, Llyn Bodlyn was enlarged in 1894 to provide

Barmouth Barmouth (formal ; colloquially ) is a seaside town and community in the county of Gwynedd, north-west Wales; it lies on the estuary of the Afon Mawddach and Cardigan Bay. Located in the historic county of Merionethshire, the Welsh form of t ...

with water. The river emerging from the reservoir is crossed by a historic track at Pont Scethin. This old stone arch bridge ("probably 18th century") was once used by

packhorse A packhorse, pack horse, or sumpter refers to a horse, mule, donkey, or pony used to carry goods on its back, usually in sidebags or panniers. Typically packhorses are used to cross difficult terrain, where the absence of roads prevents the use of ...

s and drovers moving between

Harlech Harlech () is a seaside resort and community (Wales), community in Gwynedd, North Wales, and formerly in the Historic counties of Wales, historic county of Merionethshire. It lies on Tremadog Bay in the Snowdonia National Park. Before 1966, it ...

and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. A further 3 km downstream the river enters a narrower wooded valley and is crossed by Pont Fadog. An inscription on the bridge states that it was improved in 1762 by a mason called H. Edward, who was commissioned by William Vaughan, a member of the powerful owner family of nearby Cors-y-gedol hall (see

Dyffryn Ardudwy Dyffryn Ardudwy (; ) is a village, community and electoral ward in the Ardudwy area of Gwynedd, Wales. It comprises several small, almost conjoined, villages including Coed Ystumgwern, Llanenddwyn (), Llanddwywe, Talybont and Dyffryn Ardudwy ...

). There are two further crossings at the village of Tal-y-bont: by the A496 road and by the Cambrian Coast railway. After another 1 km, the Afon Ysgethin enters the sea.

Gallery

Llyn Bodlyn.jpg, Llyn Bodlyn Pont Scethin.jpg, Pont Scethin and Moelfre Pont Fadog.jpg, Pont Fadog Pont Fadog inscription.jpg, Inscription on Pont Fadog: W.V. 1762. H. Ed. saer (saer: mason) Afon Ysgethin 2.jpg, Coed Cors-y-gedol, the small "rain forest" below Pont Fadog

References

{{coord, 52.77677, -4.11480, format=dms, type:river_region:GB, display=title Ysgethin Ysgethin