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SOUTH-EAST LLYN

Croeso i De-ddwyrain Llyn
Welcome to South-east Llyn

The south-east of Llyn is where the peaks of Snowdonia roll down into the waters of Traeth Bach, the estuary of the Afon Glaslyn which flows down from near the summit of Snowdon.

Porthmadog is sited on the banks of the Glaslyn estuary, from where a huge artificial embankment called "the Cob" runs across the estuary, which was built by William Madocks early in the 19th Century to reclaim thousands of acres of land behind the embankment up the river estuary, most of which is now used for grazing.

Black Rock Sands is one of the most famous beaches in Wales, probably because of its shear size. Borth-y-Gest is a pretty little fishing village on the side of what is still the tidal estuary of the Afon Glaslyn near where it joins with the Afon Dwyryd.

Portmeirion lies on the peninsula between the two estuaries and was built by Clough Williams-Ellis in the last century and has many Italian hallmarks. Also worth a visit is the Ffestiniog Railway which runs into the mountains of Snowdonia to Blaenau Ffestiniog from Porthmadog. The railway is now a tourist attraction, but used to carry slate down from the mountains to the harbour at Porthmadog where ships were loaded to take the slate world-wide.

Criccieth is a pretty seaside resort, just out from the estuary and is full of character. The long High Street has a good selection of shops and services and is only 8 miles from Pwllheli. Criccieth also has a ruined castle and was the birthplace of Cadwalader's Ice Cream now "world famous".

Tremadog was planned out by William Madocks and is one of the best examples of early planned towns in Wales. Tremadog was the childhood home of T. E. Lawrence so called "Lawrence of Arabia".

Llanystumdwy is about 2 miles west of Criccieth and was the the childhood home of David Lloyd George, one of the most famous statesmen to come from Wales. Just to the south of Llanystumdwy is the mouth of the Afon Dwyfor and Dwyfach, the longest rivers on Llyn.