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, an ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. For half of its length it flows through Snowdonia National Park. Exiting Llyn y Gader it flows north through the small village of Rhyd-ddu to enter the southeastern end of Llyn Cwellyn. 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 W ...

, 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 t ...

. 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 and ...

(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 (histori ...

. 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 ...

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