Afon Gwyrfai
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The Afon Gwyrfai is a short river in
Gwynedd Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, and C ...
,
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
. For half of its length it flows through
Snowdonia National Park Snowdonia or Eryri (), is a mountainous region in northwestern Wales and a national park of in area. It was the first to be designated of the three national parks in Wales, in 1951. Name and extent It was a commonly held belief that the nam ...
. Exiting Llyn y Gader it flows north through the small village of
Rhyd-ddu Rhyd-ddu (Welsh for 'black ford') is a small village in Snowdonia, North Wales which is a starting point for walks up Snowdon (via the Rhyd Ddu Path), Moel Hebog, Yr Aran and the Nantlle Ridge. It lies on the A4085 between Beddgelert and Ca ...
to enter the southeastern end of
Llyn Cwellyn Llyn Cwellyn (''Llyn Quellyn'' in some antiquated texts) is a reservoir in North Wales which supplies drinking water to parts of Gwynedd and Anglesey. It lies on the Afon Gwyrfai in Nant y Betws between Moel Eilio and Mynydd Mawr in the north ...
. Downstream of the lake it flows northwest past
Betws Garmon Betws Garmon is a community and small hamlet outside Waunfawr and near Beddgelert in Gwynedd, Wales. It has a population of 249. The summit of Snowdon lies within the community boundaries. Bryn Gloch has the newly reopened narrow gauge Welsh ...
, leaving the national park and continues to the southern edge of
Waunfawr Waunfawr (''gwaun'' + ''mawr'', en, large moorland/meadow) is a village and community, SE of Caernarfon, near the Snowdonia National Park, Gwynedd, in Wales. Description Waunfawr is in the Gwyrfai valley, on the A4085 road from Caernarfon to ...
. It then turns slightly west to flow on to Bontnewydd beyond which it turns slightly south to enter
Foryd Bay Y Foryd (meaning 'the estuary' or 'the inlet'), also known as Foryd Bay, is a tidal bay in Gwynedd, Wales. It is located at the south-western end of the Menai Strait, about two miles south-west of Caernarfon. Several rivers flow into the bay a ...
(Y Foryd). The tidal channel within the bay flows north into the western end of the
Menai Strait The Menai Strait ( cy, Afon Menai, the "river Menai") is a narrow stretch of shallow tidal water about long, which separates the island of Anglesey from the mainland of Wales. It varies in width from from Fort Belan to Abermenai Point to from ...
. Principal tributary streams include the Afon Treweunydd which contributes water from the reservoir of Llyn Ffynnon-y-gwas and from the lakes of Llyn Glas, Llyn Coch and Llyn Nadroedd in Cwm Clogwyn immediately west of the summit of
Snowdon Snowdon () or (), is the highest mountain in Wales, at an elevation of above sea level, and the highest point in the British Isles outside the Scottish Highlands. It is located in Snowdonia National Park (') in Gwynedd (historic ...
. The tidal channel of the Gwyrfai within Foryd Bay also accepts the flow of the left bank tributaries, the Afon Foryd, Afon Rhyd and Afon Carrog. The river is shadowed by the line of the
Welsh Highland Railway The Welsh Highland Railway (WHR) or Rheilffordd Eryri is a long, restored narrow gauge heritage railway in the Welsh county of Gwynedd, operating from Caernarfon to Porthmadog, and passing through a number of popular tourist destinations in ...
for much of its length, and by which it is crossed four times. The name may signify the '(river of) curved places', referencing its meandering course.


References

Gwyrfai Gwyrfai {{Wales-river-stub