Llyn Padarn is a glacially formed

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

Snowdonia 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 ...

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 ...

, north

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 2 ...

, and is an example of a moraine dammed lake. The lake is approximately long (about 240 acres) and at its deepest point is deep, and is one of the largest natural lakes in Wales. At its south-eastern end it is linked to the neighbouring Llyn Peris (which forms the lower reservoir of the

Dinorwig power station The Dinorwig Power Station (; ), known locally as Electric Mountain, or Mynydd Gwefru, is a pumped-storage hydroelectric scheme, near Dinorwig, Llanberis in Snowdonia national park in Gwynedd, north Wales. The scheme can supply a maximum power ...

). The busy village of

Llanberis (; ) is a village, community and electoral ward in Gwynedd, northwest Wales, on the southern bank of the lake and at the foot of Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales. It is a centre for outdoor activities in Snowdonia, including walking, m ...

lies on the southern banks of the lake. Most of Llyn Padarn is owned by Gwynedd Council and is part of Padarn Country Park. Whilst kayaking, rowing and sailing are permitted on the lake, powered craft require permission to use it. Bangor University Rowing Club row at Llyn Padarn. In April 2014 Llyn Padarn was designated as Bathing Water under the Bathing Water Directive (2006/7/EC). The outflow of Llyn Padarn is on the northern shore and is called Afon Rhythallt, which passes by the village of Brynrefail, Gwynedd and becomes

Afon Seiont Afon Seiont ( Welsh, meaning ''River Seiont'' in English) is a river in Gwynedd, Wales which runs into the Menai Strait. Its source is the outflow of Llyn Padarn near Llanberis, and it flows out in a generally northwest direction. Between t ...

below Pont Rhythallt, near

Llanrug Llanrug (or Llanfihangel-yn-y-grug) is a medium-sized village and community in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. It lies about to the east of Caernarfon, south of Bangor and northwest of Llanberis. It is the largest populated village in the Arfon ...

. It reaches the sea at

Caernarfon Caernarfon (; ) is a royal town, community and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,852 (with Caeathro). It lies along the A487 road, on the eastern shore of the Menai Strait, opposite the Isle of Anglesey. The city of Bangor is ...

. Padarn Country Park is located on the northern flank of the lake, including Coed Allt Wen, a rare and ancient

sessile oak ''Quercus petraea'', commonly known as the sessile oak, Cornish oak, Irish Oak or durmast oak, is a species of oak tree native to most of Europe and into Anatolia and Iran. The sessile oak is the national tree of Ireland, and an unofficial e ...

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

. Both the woodland and Llyn Padarn are designated as

Sites of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

. The Llanberis Lake Railway also runs along its eastern bank and various recreational activities take place on the lake, especially during the summer. These include canoeing, boating and fishing. The lake was the venue for the rowing events of the

1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games The 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games (Welsh: Gemau Ymerodraeth Prydain a'r Gymanwlad 1958) were held in Cardiff, Wales, from 18–26 July 1958. Thirty-five nations sent a total of 1,130 athletes and 228 officials to the Cardiff Games ...

. Former local bus company Padarn Bus, which operated between 1979 and 2014 from a base at nearby Llanberis, was named after the lake. Llyn Padarn is named after

Padarn Padarn ( la, Paternus, Padarnus; cy, Padarn; br, Padern; ? – 550 AD) was an early 6th century British Christian abbot-bishop who founded St Padarn's Church in Ceredigion, Wales. He appears to be one and the same with the first bishop of Bra ...

, an early 6th century saint, who has a church dedicated to him in Llanberis.

1993 RAF Helicopter Crash

In 1993, an

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

Westland Wessex The Westland Wessex is a British-built turbine-powered development of the Sikorsky H-34 (in US service known as Choctaw). It was developed and produced under licence by Westland Aircraft (later Westland Helicopters). One of the main changes ...

helicopter suffered a rotor failure, and crashed into the lake, killing three

Air Training Corps The Air Training Corps (ATC) is a British Youth organisations in the United Kingdom, volunteer-military youth organisation. They are sponsored by the Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), Ministry of Defence and the Royal Air Force. The majorit ...

Cadets, Christopher Bailey (15) from

Horwich Horwich ( ) is a town and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. Prior to 1974 in the historic county of Lancashire. It is southeast of Chorley, northwest of Bolton and northwest of Manchester. It ...

, Mark Oakden (16) and Amanda Whitehead (17) from Bury, and injuring one.

References

External links

www.geograph.co.uk : photos of Llyn Padarn and surrounding area
{{authority control Llanberis Llanddeiniolen

Tourism in Gwynedd Sites of Special Scientific Interest in West Gwynedd