River Llugwy (Welsh: ''Afon Llugwy'') is a tributary of the

River Conwy , name_etymology = , image = Boats in River Conwy.jpg , image_size = 300 , image_caption = Boats in the river estuary at Conwy , map = , map_size = , map_caption = , push ...

, and has its source at Ffynnon Llugwy, a lake in the

Carneddau The (lit. 'the cairns'; is a Welsh plural form, and is sometimes anglicised to ''Carnedds'') are a group of mountains in Snowdonia, Wales. They include the largest contiguous areas of high ground (over or high) in Wales and England (although l ...

range of mountains in

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 ...

in north-west

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 ...

Location and catchment area

Ice Circles in the river Llugwy at Betws-y-coed 31

The average annual

rain Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...

fall in the catchment of the Llugwy is the highest recorded in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

. The Llugwy largely follows the route of the A5, passing firstly through the village of

Capel Curig Capel Curig (; meaning " Curig's Chapel") is a village and community in Conwy County Borough, Wales. Historically in Caernarfonshire, it lies in the heart of Snowdonia, on the River Llugwy, and has a population of 226, reducing slightly to 206 ...

, then on to fall over the Swallow Falls, a popular tourist attraction. On entering

Betws-y-Coed Betws-y-coed (; '' en, prayer house in the wood'') is a village and community in the Conwy valley in Conwy County Borough, Wales, located in the historic county of Caernarfonshire, right on the boundary with Denbighshire, in the Gwydir Forest. ...

it is crossed by the Miner's Bridge, a curious wooden bridge set at a steep incline over the river, and shortly after passing under Pont-y-pair road bridge it flows beside the main street before its confluence with the Conwy at the northernmost end of the golf course.

In landscape painting

The Llugwy was a favourite of many well-known Victorian artists such as

Frederick William Hulme Frederick William Hulme (22 October 1816 – 14 November 1884) was an English landscape painter and illustrator. Hulme was born in Swinton in Yorkshire, the son of Jesse Hulme and Elizabeth Trewolla. His mother was a porcelain painter and ...

. The scenery around its banks was the subject of a number of important British paintings, including several included in Royal Academy exhibits. River Llugwy was a place of death of the painter

James William Whittaker James William Whittaker (1828, Manchester - 6 September 1876, Betws-y-Coed) was a British watercolour painter, best known for his landscapes of North Wales. Life He was born in a family of a warehouseman and began his artistic career as an appr ...

, who fell there trying to collect his painting gear and drowned.

References

Betws-y-Coed Capel Curig Llugwy Llugwy {{Wales-river-stub